The Danger of the Decision: Why ‘Saying the Prayer’ Is Not Salvation

• Pouring out the heart as worship 00:22:27 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor defines pouring out one's heart as an intimate act of worship involving honesty, vulnerability, and confession of fears and doubts.
• Jesus' invitation to rest 00:23:34 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor cites Matthew 11:28, explaining that Jesus invites the weary to come to Him to find rest.
• God as refuge 00:27:51 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses Psalm 62 and the analogy of hurricane shelters to describe God as a place of safety and refuge during life's storms.
• Remembering God's faithfulness 00:29:45 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor advises believers to recall God's past faithfulness when facing current trials, citing David and Jeremiah as examples.
• God's Faithfulness in the Past 00:31:37 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor urges the congregation to look back at their past difficulties and see God's hand of faithfulness, using personal anecdotes and the example of Jeremiah to illustrate how remembering past deliverance provides hope.
• Pouring Out the Heart 00:32:44 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor encourages honest expression of pain, complaint, and confusion to God, citing Jeremiah's 'weeping prophet' persona and the song 'Count Your Blessings' as models for bringing raw emotion before God.
• Trusting God's Promises for the Future 00:35:20 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shifts focus to the future, using Psalm 102 to show that even in despair, one can find hope by remembering that God is enthroned and has plans to bless and prosper His people.
• New Year's Eve Worship Celebration 00:34:03 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor announces a specific church event for New Year's Eve where the congregation will gather to give testimony to God's faithfulness, contrasting this with worldly celebrations.
• Salvation Assurance and Prayer 00:41:11 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor addresses those unsure of their salvation, inviting them to raise their hands and repeat a specific prayer of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

• Sermon Illustration 00:28:54 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal story about his son Jesse calling him to report that their baby had died, causing him and his wife to immediately drop everything and drive to Denver, illustrating how God responds to cries for help.
• Sermon Illustration 00:28:03 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of designated hurricane shelters in Florida to explain the concept of God as a refuge during the storms of life.
• Sermon Illustration 00:31:43 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about driving down the highway with his wife Diana, reflecting on how looking back reveals God's hand of faithfulness in their lives over the years.
• Sermon Illustration 00:32:44 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references the biblical figure Jeremiah, known as the 'weeping prophet,' who experienced heartbreak and pain but ultimately found hope by calling to mind God's great love and compassions in Lamentations 3.
• Sermon Illustration 00:35:36 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references the Psalmist in Psalm 102, who was at his lowest point, pouring out his heart in distress, but found a turning point with the words 'But you, O Lord,' reminding him of God's eternal throne and future plans.

• Pastoral Charge 00:23:44 ▶️ 📄
  > Come to Jesus for rest.
• Pastoral Charge 00:24:49 ▶️ 📄
  > Pour out one's heart to Jesus.
• Pastoral Charge 00:26:05 ▶️ 📄
  > Pour out one's heart to God.
• Pastoral Charge 00:27:11 ▶️ 📄
  > Pour out complaints to God.
• Pastoral Charge 00:27:41 ▶️ 📄
  > Trust in God and pour out hearts.
• Pastoral Charge 00:34:25 ▶️ 📄
  > Attend the New Year's Eve worship celebration.
• Pastoral Charge 00:39:56 ▶️ 📄
  > Raise hand to indicate readiness for prayer.
• Pastoral Charge 00:41:46 ▶️ 📄
  > Raise hand to indicate a need for prayer regarding salvation assurance.
• Pastoral Charge 00:42:50 ▶️ 📄
  > Recite the sinner's prayer aloud.

[00:01:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Well, good morning, Lake City Church.
[00:01:03] Let's stand and repeat as we worship Jesus this morning.
[00:01:06] Come on.

[00:01:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
We sing ignore the plains and the mountains in reply
[00:02:21] In excelsis Deo.
[00:02:57] In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[00:03:18] Amen.
[00:03:29] In excelsis Deo
[00:04:05] Christ the Lord, the newborn King We adore You Come in our own ministry
[00:04:38] Christ the Lord, the newborn King
[00:05:39] You shall see who You are You are our God You are our God Our strength and our defense Our salvation, our peace
[00:06:58] Our strength and our defense Our salvation, our deliverance There's no other way

[00:07:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
So we call upon the name of our Lord

[00:08:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
We say with our defense Our salvation, our deliverance No other name that could save So we call upon the name of the Lord There's no other name that could save

[00:09:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
There's no other name that can save as we call upon the name of the Lord.
[00:09:10] Amen?
[00:09:11] Well, before you're seated this morning, turn around, high-five your neighbor and welcome to Lake City.

[00:09:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Good morning.
[00:09:37] Welcome to Lake City Church.
[00:09:39] If it's your first time here, open up your worship guide, grab that guest card, fill it out, take it to the front desk.
[00:09:45] We have a special gift just for you.
[00:09:47] I'm stoked that you're here.

[00:09:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Hi, guys.
[00:09:51] Diane and I want to invite you to join us right here on December 23rd for our Christmas candlelight communion.
[00:09:57] It's going to be amazing, and I can't wait.

[00:10:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
It's my favorite service of the year.
[00:10:02] You don't want to miss it.
[00:10:04] The presence of Jesus is always there with us, so make sure you mark your calendars and come on December 23rd.
[00:10:11] See you there.

[00:10:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
What's up, Lake City?
[00:10:14] Mark your calendars.
[00:10:16] Sunday, December 28th, we will have no in-person services, but you can check in with us online at all of the regular service times.
[00:10:23] See you soon.

[00:10:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Hey guys, December 31st is our New Year's celebration.
[00:10:27] That's going to be from 6.30 to 7.30-ish.
[00:10:30] We don't know.
[00:10:31] We're not going to make plans.
[00:10:32] We just want to celebrate what God is doing.
[00:10:34] So bring your praise and bring a testimony of what God did this year and just party with us.
[00:10:40] Welcome in the new year.
[00:10:41] It's going to be amazing.

[00:10:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Once again, thanks for being here.
[00:10:45] Make sure to check us out on our socials or our website, lakecitychurch.org.
[00:10:49] And remember, we love you.
[00:10:51] God loves you.
[00:10:52] Make it a great day.

[00:10:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Good morning.
[00:10:55] Good morning, good morning, good morning.
[00:10:59] I'm not sure, I can't remember what I say in these things, but I think I heard myself say, come party with us on, okay, yeah, it's gonna be wild.
[00:11:07] Testimony, celebration night, it's gonna be incredible.
[00:11:10] Hey, did you notice anything different when you drove in to the property this morning?
[00:11:15] Did you notice anything new?
[00:11:17] There are some heavy machines parked on our property getting ready to do some stuff.
[00:11:24] Man, if there's nothing else that happens before the end of the year, that is a miracle that they are out here this fast.
[00:11:31] Thank you, Jesus.
[00:11:32] Amen?
[00:11:33] Why don't you stand up to your feet?
[00:11:35] We're going to continue to worship with our giving at Lake City Church.
[00:11:39] If today's your first day, let me just tell you, we worship with song and music and worship
[00:11:44] We give together as a church.
[00:11:50] It's amazing.
[00:11:50] If you're watching online, it's good to have you.
[00:11:52] You look like a little black box to me.
[00:11:54] But, hey, Jordan.
[00:11:58] But it's good to have you.
[00:11:59] You can join in with us and give.
[00:12:01] Behind me on the screen, you should see four ways that you can partner with us and give.
[00:12:04] And what's so funny about giving is that it's an invitation.
[00:12:08] It's unlike anything else.
[00:12:10] It's distinct from any other form of worship because it's an invitation, a personal invitation to trust God.
[00:12:16] I was driving in my car and I was looking down at the steering wheel and I looked out the window and I looked back down at the steering wheel looked out the window and I thought God you know I just I just don't know yet if I can trust you with my money and God said Jordan that's funny that you say that I was wondering the same thing about you and I thought that's fair that's fair God it's a conversation
[00:12:42] It's a conversation.
[00:12:44] And when me and my wife learned how to trust God with all of it, with finances, with gifts, with everything, it's just amazing what happened in our life and in the outlook and our family's future.
[00:12:55] And God is trustworthy, amen?
[00:12:59] So bring a gift to the Lord this morning.
[00:13:01] This is a giving church, and so I'm so blessed to be a part of it.
[00:13:04] Let's pray over this offering today.
[00:13:06] God, thank you so much for every gift, every giver, every family that's represented.
[00:13:11] God, I pray for even the families that are watching online and in the overflow.
[00:13:14] God, I pray that anybody within the sound of my voice would receive a fresh blessing, God, a fresh anointing.
[00:13:22] God, thank you for the generosity of our church.
[00:13:24] Thank you that we can look out and we can physically see the things that you're doing.
[00:13:29] God, thank you so much that we get to be Lake City Church.
[00:13:34] Thank you, God.
[00:13:35] Thank you.
[00:13:36] Thank you.
[00:13:36] In Jesus' name.
[00:13:38] And everybody said amen.
[00:13:40] Amen.
[00:13:40] God bless you as you give.

[00:14:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
Behold the King has come Divinity incarnate Creator of the world Breathing our inners Behold the light has come
[00:14:35] In the dark and not containing The Savior of the world is finally here O come, let us adore Him

[00:15:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
He gave His only Son to die for me
[00:15:39] Jesus Christ the King of kings

[00:16:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
We give You all the glory We give You all the glory We give You all the glory Christ the Lord

[00:17:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Come, let us shoulder in Come, let us shoulder in For we are on His journey
[00:17:53] Amen.

[00:18:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_11]:
You can be seated this moment.
[00:18:20] Sing choirs of angels Sing in exultation Sing all ye citizens of heaven above Glory to God Glory in the highest O come let us sing

[00:19:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Good morning.
[00:19:11] One, two, three.
[00:19:12] There I am.
[00:19:13] Good morning, everybody.
[00:19:14] It is great to see you.
[00:19:17] I hope you're pumped.
[00:19:18] Are you guys excited about worshiping Jesus?
[00:19:21] Hey, we've come to the right place.
[00:19:23] We've got the right group this morning, don't we?
[00:19:26] So glad you are here and maybe you're watching online or in one of the overflow areas.
[00:19:32] Thank you so much.
[00:19:33] We're glad you're here as well.
[00:19:37] I just wanted to say before we get started that Diane and I are so humbled and so blessed.
[00:19:43] Thank you so very much for your expressions of love.
[00:19:46] In the pastor's Christmas love offering, we have been able to take those gifts and share them with our team.
[00:19:55] And we are, from the bottom of our hearts, we just want you to know how much we appreciate your expressions of love.
[00:20:01] I consider it the highest honor of my life to be able to serve and to be a part of what God is doing here at Lake City Church.
[00:20:08] And so I love you guys.
[00:20:10] Thank you so much.
[00:20:12] So, with that, I think we better dive in.
[00:20:19] God has put this word in my heart.
[00:20:21] I've been carrying it for a while now, and I feel like God has you here for a reason.
[00:20:28] You didn't just walk in off the street and, you know, God brought you here.
[00:20:32] God has a special word of encouragement.
[00:20:34] So, would you pray with me as we get ready?
[00:20:37] Father, in the next few minutes, we turn our attention to you and to what you have to say in your Word.
[00:20:43] And I pray that in these moments that you would speak to us.
[00:20:47] Holy Spirit, may you give us revelation.
[00:20:50] Help us to hear the very voice of God through your Holy Scripture.
[00:20:55] And Lord, we just...
[00:20:57] We open our hearts and we open our minds.
[00:21:01] Holy Spirit, do your work in us today.
[00:21:03] We love you and we thank you.
[00:21:04] We pray all this in the mighty and the powerful name of Jesus.
[00:21:08] And everybody said amen.
[00:21:09] Hallelujah.
[00:21:11] Thank you for the yo's.
[00:21:12] Thank you.
[00:21:13] You guys are good on the yo's.
[00:21:14] Way to go, guys.
[00:21:15] Rent a crowd right here.
[00:21:18] Thank you all.
[00:21:20] Our Christmas series is called Come to Worship Him.
[00:21:23] From the words of Matthew 2 verse number 1 it reads, After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews?
[00:21:41] We saw his star in the east, amen, and we have come to worship him.
[00:21:47] During this Christmas season, and really throughout the year, we have come to worship Him.
[00:21:53] The only reason the wise men traveled 900 long and dangerous miles was to worship Him, the Savior of the world.
[00:22:06] The only reason that you and I
[00:22:09] We are on this journey of faith is that we have come to worship Him, our personal Savior and Lord.
[00:22:17] We've talked about lifting our hands to Him as an act of worship.
[00:22:21] Last week we talked about bringing our gifts to Him as an act of worship.
[00:22:27] Today, I want to talk with you about something that we don't hear much about, and that is pouring out our hearts to Him as an act of worship.
[00:22:37] Now, maybe you've never thought of this as an act of worship, but it is.
[00:22:41] In fact, it is a very intimate...
[00:22:43] Act of worship.
[00:22:46] When you pour out your heart to God, you're not just worshiping with your mind, you're worshiping from your soul, from the depths of your soul.
[00:22:56] You're sharing your deepest feelings.
[00:22:59] You're asking for godly comfort.
[00:23:01] You're confessing your human worries and fears.
[00:23:07] You're becoming totally honest with God, vulnerable about your joys, vulnerable about your concerns, about your questions, about your doubts, even your sorrows.
[00:23:20] See, the thing is that God loves it when we are completely open to Him, when we are completely honest with Him, and He promises to give us encouragement.
[00:23:29] He even promises to give us rest.
[00:23:34] Remember the invitation that Jesus gave to us when he said, come to me in your difficult times.
[00:23:41] It's found in Matthew 11, 28.
[00:23:44] Jesus said, come to me, all of you who are tired.
[00:23:49] Anybody tired in the room?
[00:23:50] Don't raise your hand.
[00:23:54] Come to me, all of you who are tired, you are like people who have worked for a long time.
[00:24:00] You're like people, this is a different version, the easy version it's called.
[00:24:06] Come to me, you have worked for a long time, you look like people who have carried heavy things.
[00:24:14] Come to me.
[00:24:15] If you do that, you will find a place of rest.
[00:24:22] Now maybe you're here this morning, you're just on top of the world.
[00:24:25] Everything is going great!
[00:24:27] You have no problems, you have no struggles, you are just fantastic!
[00:24:34] Well take this message, put it in your back pocket, because one day, you're gonna need it.
[00:24:40] I promise you.
[00:24:42] But maybe you're just a little bit tired today.
[00:24:44] Maybe you've been carrying some things, some heavy things.
[00:24:47] Jesus says, come to me.
[00:24:49] Pour out your heart to me.
[00:24:53] And then did you notice his promise?
[00:24:55] He says, if you do that, if you come to me, you pour out your heart to me, you will find a place of rest.
[00:25:03] I hear people all the time saying things like, well, I'm at my wit's end.
[00:25:08] Or, I'm so tired.
[00:25:12] I am worn slap out.
[00:25:18] For all you Yankees, that's a Southern expression.
[00:25:22] Some people say, well, I've really been under it.
[00:25:27] My question is, why don't you accept Jesus' invitation and find His place of rest?
[00:25:33] And you do that when you come to Him and you pour out your heart to Him.
[00:25:37] In the middle of this Christmas season, maybe you feel alone.
[00:25:45] Maybe someone who was with you last year is not with you this year.
[00:25:52] Maybe you have received a negative medical report.
[00:25:58] Or maybe you're struggling with a relationship right now, and maybe it's even a separation or potential divorce.
[00:26:05] If you're going through a hard time, regardless of what it is, you definitely need to pour out your heart to Him.
[00:26:11] And here's the thing, God is especially close to those who are experiencing times of brokenness.
[00:26:20] Psalm 34 18 says the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit at one point in his life David King David was in a very hard place he was he was experiencing very difficult times he was literally hiding in a cave
[00:26:43] and fear of his life and he he writes in Psalm 142 verse number two he says i pour out my complaint before him before him i tell my trouble at this point he isn't saying oh god you're wonderful he's saying oh god my life is difficult he's pouring out his complaint
[00:27:07] Maybe you have a complaint that you need to pour out before God.
[00:27:11] If there's something in there, pour it out.
[00:27:13] God wants to hear it.
[00:27:16] In verse number 5, he says, I cry to you, O Lord.
[00:27:21] I say, you are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.
[00:27:27] Sometimes you just need to cry out to the Lord.
[00:27:30] Sometimes you need to confess, God, You are my refuge.
[00:27:36] You are my only hiding place.
[00:27:41] David uses the same phrase in Psalm 62, verse number 8, when he says, Trust in Him at all times, O people.
[00:27:51] Pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.
[00:27:57] One version says God is our place of safety.
[00:28:03] When I lived in Florida, we had designated hurricane shelters, and those were buildings that were built specifically to withstand the wind and the rain of a major storm.
[00:28:16] And so when hurricanes were coming, people would go to those shelters.
[00:28:22] It was known as a place of refuge.
[00:28:25] Folks, when the storms of life come, God
[00:28:29] God is our refuge.
[00:28:30] God is our refuge.
[00:28:33] He wants you to call out to Him.
[00:28:35] He wants you to pour out your heart to Him.
[00:28:38] If you're a parent, you know that it doesn't matter how young or how old your children are, when they call out to you for help, you go to them.
[00:28:54] When our son Jesse called me one day at work and he said with a broken voice, he said, Dad, our baby is dead.
[00:29:02] Diane and I dropped everything.
[00:29:06] We jumped in the car and we immediately drove to Denver, Colorado.
[00:29:12] We dropped everything.
[00:29:13] What I'm telling you is that God is our Heavenly Father and when we cry out to Him, He drops everything to come to our aid.
[00:29:21] Everything!
[00:29:23] When you pour out your heart to God, He will respond.
[00:29:27] Do you hear me on that?
[00:29:28] When you pour out your heart to God, He will respond.
[00:29:31] There's something about it when we cry out of desperation from the depths of our soul and we say, Oh God!
[00:29:39] And He will respond.
[00:29:42] But there are two things to remember.
[00:29:45] Number one, remember God's faithfulness in the past.
[00:29:51] David's son, Absalom.
[00:29:53] He had rebelled against him, and many people had betrayed him as well.
[00:29:58] And in Psalm 42, verse number 3, David writes, My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, Where is your God?
[00:30:09] Have you ever been in a place that felt kind of like that?
[00:30:12] Maybe you've been betrayed.
[00:30:15] Maybe you're hurting so deeply that at times you can hardly breathe.
[00:30:20] Maybe you feel all alone.
[00:30:21] Maybe people are asking, where is your God?
[00:30:25] Why are all these negative things happening?
[00:30:29] But verse number four is the key.
[00:30:33] Psalm 42, verse number four, David says, "'These things I remember.'"
[00:30:39] These things I remember as I pour out my soul, how I used to go with a multitude leading the procession to the house of God with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throngs.
[00:30:52] He remembered the good times.
[00:30:53] He remembered the faithfulness of God.
[00:30:59] And he says to himself in verse number 5, he says, Why are you downcast, O my soul?
[00:31:04] Why so disturbed within me?
[00:31:06] Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.
[00:31:13] My soul is downcast within me, therefore I will remember.
[00:31:17] The point is that when you're in the midst of hurt, when you're in the midst of pain, in the midst of difficulty, when you're pouring out your heart to Him, you need to remember God's faithfulness in the past.
[00:31:37] Diana and I were driving down the highway yesterday and we were just talking about God's faithfulness.
[00:31:43] I tell you, after a few years on the planet, we can look back and we can see the hand of God all over our lives and in different situations.
[00:31:54] and different things where God came through and God proved himself faithful again and again and again.
[00:32:00] If you look at your past you can see the hand of God all over those things that look so bad, look so difficult.
[00:32:08] You felt like this was the end and if you look back you can see how God was so faithful.
[00:32:14] There's an old song it came to my mind the old song count your blessings name them one by one I dare you you begin to count the blessings and the faithfulness of God you can't name them all God is so faithful and the Old Testament Jeremiah was a man who had experienced pain he experienced heartbreak he's known as the weeping prophet in fact he's the one who said pour out your heart like water
[00:32:44] In Lamentations 3 he lays out 20 verses and in those 20 verses he lists all the bad things that have happened to him.
[00:32:53] But finally in Lamentations 3 verse 21 he says,
[00:33:00] This I call to mind.
[00:33:02] Therefore I have hope, because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed.
[00:33:08] For His compassions never fail, they are new every morning.
[00:33:13] Great is your faithfulness.
[00:33:16] Great is your faithfulness.
[00:33:17] Bum, bum, bum, bum, hallelujah.
[00:33:21] Great is His faithfulness.
[00:33:27] Maybe you need to call some things to mind.
[00:33:30] Maybe you need to remember his faithfulness.
[00:33:34] Like when He forgave you of your sins and took all the guilt and all the shame away.
[00:33:39] Like when He healed your body.
[00:33:42] Like when He healed that relationship that you thought was beyond repair.
[00:33:47] When He protected you from an accident and most certain death.
[00:33:52] When He comforted you in times of loss.
[00:33:55] Remember the faithfulness of God and all the things that He has done for you over the past months, over the past years.
[00:34:03] On New Year's Eve, we're having our New Year's Eve worship celebration.
[00:34:09] And on this evening, we're coming together to worship God and to give testimony for all the wonderful things that God has done.
[00:34:16] We're gonna give testimony to the faithfulness of our God.
[00:34:20] If God has blessed you, if God has been faithful in your life over this past year,
[00:34:25] We're going to be here on the 31st of December.
[00:34:29] We're not going to be out in the world just celebrating with liquor and getting high.
[00:34:34] We're going to be here even though we're going to party, right Pastor Jordan?
[00:34:38] We're going to party in Jesus.
[00:34:39] It's going to be a wonderful time of giving thanks to God for His faithfulness.
[00:34:46] God has been so faithful to us.
[00:34:50] Jeremiah said, This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope.
[00:34:58] Yes, cry out to God.
[00:34:59] Yes, tell Him you're hurt.
[00:35:01] Yes, tell Him you're complaining.
[00:35:03] Tell Him you don't understand.
[00:35:04] But after you do all of that, look back at the faithfulness of God and let it turn into worship.
[00:35:12] We're gonna do that on the 31st.
[00:35:14] It's gonna be wonderful.
[00:35:20] The second thing to remember as you pour your heart out to God is remember to trust in God's promises for your future.
[00:35:30] Not only has God been faithful in the past, but He has promises for your future.
[00:35:36] The Psalmist was at his lowest point when he writes these words in Psalm 102, verse number 1.
[00:35:44] He says to God, Hear my prayer, O Lord.
[00:35:48] Let my cry for help come to you.
[00:35:50] Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress.
[00:35:54] Turn your ear to me.
[00:35:56] When I call, answer me quickly, for my days vanish like smoke, my bones they burn like glowing embers.
[00:36:04] He's pouring out his heart.
[00:36:07] He continues in verse 7, he says, I lie awake, I have become like a bird alone on a roof.
[00:36:14] All day long my enemies taunt me.
[00:36:17] Then there are four words that change everything.
[00:36:22] Because in verse number 12 he says, But you, O Lord.
[00:36:27] But you, O Lord.
[00:36:30] But you, O Lord, sit enthroned forever.
[00:36:33] Your renown endures through all generations.
[00:36:37] You will arise and have compassion on Zion.
[00:36:42] He remembers the promises of God for his future.
[00:36:47] But you, O Lord.
[00:36:49] But you, O Lord.
[00:36:51] I believe this Christmas season some of you are going to have a but you, O Lord moment regarding your future.
[00:36:58] You'll say, God, I don't understand it.
[00:37:00] God, I don't like it.
[00:37:02] God, I wish there was another way.
[00:37:03] But you, O Lord, are still on the throne.
[00:37:06] But you, O Lord, are still in charge.
[00:37:09] But you, O Lord, still have plans to bless and to prosper me.
[00:37:12] But you, O Lord, still have plans to give me a hope and a good future.
[00:37:16] Somebody needs to hear this today.
[00:37:19] God has a good plan and a good future for you.
[00:37:25] Regardless of what you're experiencing this moment right now, God has a good future for you.
[00:37:34] You will plead.
[00:37:35] You will cry.
[00:37:37] You'll pour out your heart.
[00:37:41] But at some point, you will feel so close to God that you will stop pleading and you'll start praising.
[00:37:52] Oh, hallelujah.
[00:37:54] Hallelujah.
[00:37:55] Listen to the Apostle Paul's prayer for you and for me and for all of us.
[00:38:01] In Romans 15, verse number 13, he prays, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing through the experience of your faith, that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will abound in hope and overflow with confidence
[00:38:25] in His promises.
[00:38:29] Today you may not know exactly how everything's gonna work out, but you can have joy, you can have peace because you have confidence in His promises.
[00:38:39] And one day you'll look back on this difficult time and you will see His hand of faithfulness all over it because God is so faithful.
[00:38:51] This Christmas,
[00:38:53] Pour out your heart to God and say, But you, O Lord, are always faithful, and I have come to worship him.
[00:39:08] God, we have come to worship you.
[00:39:11] Father, in this hour, we have come to worship you.
[00:39:17] Lord, I pray, Lord, that your word would sink deeply into our hearts today.
[00:39:24] Thank you for your presence in Jesus' name.
[00:39:29] Would you go ahead and stand together with me?
[00:39:36] As we stand in the presence of the Lord with our heads bowed and our eyes closed, if you are in one of those places where you're just needing to pour out your heart to God,
[00:39:52] I just want to pray for you.
[00:39:56] Just raise your hand and say, yeah, I'm pouring out my heart to God.
[00:39:59] I'm going through some things.
[00:40:01] I'm carrying some heavy things.
[00:40:04] I'm kind of tired.
[00:40:05] Whatever it is, just lift up your hand.
[00:40:07] I want to pray for you.
[00:40:08] Father, you see hands all over the room, but God, more than that, you see hearts.
[00:40:14] You know exactly what every person is experiencing.
[00:40:17] You know the hurt, the pain, the loss.
[00:40:19] You know the concerns.
[00:40:21] Lord, today, in these sweet moments, I pray, Holy Spirit, that you would so surround us that we would feel the encouragement of God Almighty.
[00:40:34] Oh, God.
[00:40:37] Lord, for those that...
[00:40:40] I'm just feeling this so deeply.
[00:40:42] Lord, may you lift their spirits today.
[00:40:45] May the spirit of encouragement be upon my brothers and sisters.
[00:40:49] Lord, I just say thank you.
[00:40:51] Thank you for the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
[00:40:54] Thank you for the hope that we have because we know your promises and you are faithful.
[00:41:02] We thank you in Jesus' name.
[00:41:05] Thank you, Lord.
[00:41:05] Amen.
[00:41:06] You can take your hand down.
[00:41:07] Our heads are still bowed and eyes are closed.
[00:41:11] I want to pray one more prayer.
[00:41:12] Maybe you're here this morning, you're not really sure about your relationship with God.
[00:41:19] In just a moment, I want to have a prayer for you and others who would say, I'm not sure.
[00:41:23] The question I always ask is this.
[00:41:26] If you were to die today, like right now,
[00:41:29] Do you know beyond any shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ is your Savior and your Lord?
[00:41:34] Do you know beyond any shadow of a doubt that you're ready to stand before God?
[00:41:38] If you're not sure, in just a moment I'm going to say a simple prayer for you and for others.
[00:41:44] You say, I'm not sure, but I want to be sure.
[00:41:46] Would you just lift up your hand right now so that I can pray for you?
[00:41:49] Just lift it up right now and say, please pray for me.
[00:41:51] God bless you.
[00:41:52] Others, just lift it up and say, pray for me.
[00:41:54] Yeah, I see that.
[00:41:59] Just lift it up.
[00:42:00] Anybody else?
[00:42:03] Yeah.
[00:42:06] Okay.
[00:42:07] Father, in the back.
[00:42:09] Thank you, Lord, for those that have responded.
[00:42:11] Now, Lord, I just pray that you would give every person the assurance of their salvation.
[00:42:17] In just a moment, I'm going to say a simple prayer.
[00:42:22] I'm going to ask everybody in the room to repeat it after me.
[00:42:26] And if you raised your hand, you just pray this prayer along with the rest of us.
[00:42:32] Maybe you didn't raise your hand, but you felt a tugging on the inside.
[00:42:37] That's the Holy Spirit drawing you to Jesus.
[00:42:42] So, I'm going to invite you to pray this prayer along with the rest of us.
[00:42:48] Let's say this together.
[00:42:50] Say, God, I know that you love me because you sent your son Jesus.
[00:42:57] He died on the cross for my sins.
[00:43:02] Today, I repent of my sins.
[00:43:06] And I ask you to be my Savior and my Lord.
[00:43:09] From today on, I'm going to live for you.
[00:43:15] In Jesus' name.
[00:43:19] Amen.
[00:43:19] Amen.
[00:43:20] Come on, y'all.
[00:43:20] Let's give God praise.
[00:43:23] Lord, we give you honor.
[00:43:24] We give you glory.
[00:43:25] Thank you, Lord Jesus.
[00:43:28] Thank you, Father.
[00:43:29] If you raised your hand, if you prayed that prayer, I want you to know I am so proud of you.
[00:43:34] I'm going to be praying for you this week.
[00:43:36] The Bible says, Old things have passed away.
[00:43:38] Behold, all things have become new.
[00:43:40] God has exciting, new, wonderful things in store for you.
[00:43:44] I want to ask you to do one more thing for me before you when you leave when we this meeting is over in just a few minutes go out into the lobby right in front of the living room we have a stand sign that says I said yes to Jesus I want you to find that sign because some of our leaders will be back there and and and I have a bag
[00:44:05] I've got some literature that will explain the decision that you've made.
[00:44:12] I've also got a Bible, a special Bible that will help you understand what God is saying to you.
[00:44:18] Make sure you go back there and you get those materials because it will help you in your journey of faith.
[00:44:24] I'm so proud of you.
[00:44:26] God bless you.
[00:44:28] Maybe you're here this morning as a guest.
[00:44:30] We're so glad you're here.
[00:44:31] Thanks for coming.
[00:44:32] I hope you'll come back.
[00:44:34] But one of the things we do every Sunday morning here at Lake City is that we share together in the Lord's Supper, Holy Communion.
[00:44:41] For the next few minutes, I'm going to ask that no one leave because these are holy moments before the Lord.
[00:44:46] In these moments, we celebrate the fact that God, our Father, loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus,
[00:44:54] Jesus loved us so much that he sacrificed his body and his blood for us.
[00:45:01] So, Father, as we prepare our hearts to receive these emblems in just a couple of moments, God, I pray that we would be reminded of
[00:45:13] That little cracker that reminds us of your body that was bruised and broken for us.
[00:45:20] God, we say thank you for that cup with the juice in it because it reminds us of the blood of Jesus that was shed for us as he hung on Calvary's cross.
[00:45:31] So God, I pray that today, Lord, that you would make it so real to us.
[00:45:36] God, we love you and we're so thankful for your faithfulness.
[00:45:41] And we pray all of this
[00:45:42] In the wonderful name of Jesus, Amen.

[00:46:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
All Your mercy never failed me And all my days I've been held in Your hands From the moment that I wake up until I lay my head I will sing of the goodness of God

[00:47:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
You have been so, so good With every breath that I am able I will sing of the goodness of God I love Your voice You have led me through the fire
[00:47:28] In your darkest nights you are close like no other I've known you as a father, I've known you as a friend And I have lived in the goodness of God

[00:47:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
All my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am in Oh, I will sing of the good
[00:48:24] Your goodness is running after, is running after me, yeah Your goodness is running after, is running after me With my life right there, I surrender now I'll give You everything Your goodness is running after, is running after me
[00:48:53] Your goodness is running after, it's running after me Your goodness is running after, it's running after me In my life without a surrender now I give You everything Your goodness is running after, it's running after me

[00:49:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_12]:
And all my life you have been And all my life you have been With every breath that I am making Oh, I will sing of the goodness

[00:50:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Give Him praise this morning.
[00:50:47] Holy Spirit, You are worthy.
[00:50:48] Can we just lift our hands this morning?
[00:50:52] If you know He's faithful and you're going through it.
[00:50:58] Maybe you're here this morning and you need provision.
[00:51:02] Maybe you need a healing.
[00:51:04] Maybe you just need a fresh touch.
[00:51:07] His presence is available to you right here, right now.
[00:51:14] Father, you are good.
[00:51:15] You see every need.
[00:51:18] You are a God who hears us, who sees us, and you are a God who is faithful time and time again.
[00:51:25] Even when we don't deserve it, we didn't do anything to earn it, I pray your power this morning before your people, that you go before us even when we don't have the answers, Lord.
[00:51:37] The answer is in you, in our faith in you.
[00:51:41] You are our blessed assurance.
[00:51:42] You are our hope.
[00:51:44] So this morning, Father, I pray that your peace would go before us, your healing hand over us.
[00:51:51] I pray just over every sickness right now, God, that you would bring a healing God to families, to relationships, physical needs this morning, and body, Lord.
[00:52:03] I pray this morning that your hand would be over us.
[00:52:07] You know what we need before we even do.
[00:52:11] So, Lord, this morning, provided you are good to us, and we declare that and we proclaim that over our life, in Jesus' mighty name, amen.
[00:52:23] Come on, church, give God praise this morning.
[00:52:27] Hey, we love you.
[00:52:29] God loves you.
[00:52:30] Go make it a great day, and Merry Christmas.

[00:54:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
I could sing your name for all my life And still find more to love each time Jesus be the name ever on my life
[00:55:16] There is no other name There is no other name There is no other name
[00:55:52] The friend who never left I won't forget your faithfulness Jesus be the name ever on my list It's real every time that I call on it This is something about your name
[00:56:22] There's just something about your name There's just something about your name That makes me cry
[00:57:11] There is no other name, Jesus Jesus
[00:57:52] The one the darkness can't deny The resurrection and the life Jesus, Jesus your name Can save, can make, can heal Can make, can make the storm escape Can ever fail, can ever win Jesus, Jesus your name

[00:59:32] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Thank you for watching!
[01:05:41] Let us pray.
[01:07:10] Let us pray.
[01:07:42] Let us pray.
[01:07:59] Let us pray.
[01:08:41] Let us pray.
[01:09:10] Let us pray.
[01:09:15] In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[01:09:38] Amen.