Theological Status: ACTIVE HERESY
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Thyatira
❓ What do these grades mean?
🔍 Biblical Discernment: The 7 Church Parallels
The Cold Orthodox Parallel
Ephesus
Teaching that upholds doctrinal precision yet parallels the loss of the "first love"—the vital, motivating power of the Gospel (Rev 2:4).
The Compromised Parallel
Pergamum
Teaching that parallels churches tolerating the "doctrine of Balaam" through cultural accommodation (Rev 2:14), characterized by weak boundaries, sloppy theology, and worldly compromise.
Why strictly "Mark & Avoid"?
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
We do not issue this rating to attack the speaker, but to protect the listener. This ministry's overall teaching trend consistently deviates from sound doctrine. As per Romans 16:17, we identify these patterns so believers can guard their hearts.
🧐 Overview
Theological Verdict & Summary
Sermon Summary: A call to be 'unmuted' for Jesus in 2026, urging believers to step out of comfort zones to share personal testimonies and demonstrate God's love through everyday interactions.
Pastoral Analysis: While the sermon encourages active faith and evangelism, it fundamentally misdiagnoses the source of spiritual vitality. By framing evangelism as a matter of stepping out of comfort zones and human willpower, the message omits the essential doctrine of regeneration. This reduces the Christian life to moralistic activism, failing to ground the believer's ability to witness in the power of the Holy Spirit and the sufficiency of Christ's grace.
Biblical Parallel (Archetype): Thyatira — The sermon exhibits active moralistic heresy by substituting the Gospel of Grace with a system of works-based righteousness. It elevates human behavioral modification and self-initiated evangelistic effort to the foundational metric of spiritual health, entirely omitting the doctrine of Total Depravity and the regenerating power of the Gospel. This aligns with the error of Thyatira, where truth is blended with compromising doctrines that lead believers away from reliance on Christ's finished work.
Big Idea: In 2026, the church is called to be 'unmuted' for Jesus by stepping out of comfort zones to share personal testimonies and demonstrate God's love through natural, everyday interactions. [00:21:00 ▶️ 📄]
🎨 The Visual Metaphor
The hollow reed symbolizes the believer as a vessel, while the wind flowing through represents a testimony liberated from silence by the Spirit. This visual metaphor illustrates the call to be 'unmuted,' allowing God's love to resonate naturally through everyday interactions without obstruction.
📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus
- Primary Text: Mark 16:15
- Usage Classification: Thematic
- Text-to-Talk Ratio: Low
- Pulpit Decorum: ✅ PASS - The tone is encouraging and pastoral, though the theological content is flawed.
✝️ Christological Focus: Absent
"The sermon focuses on human effort ('stepping out') rather than Christ's finished work as the basis for evangelism."
Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 2 | Referenced: 3 | Alluded: 2
Passages Read Aloud:
-
Mark 16:15
[00:21:43 ▶️ 📄]
"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creatures."
-
Matthew 28:19
[00:36:22 ▶️ 📄]
"go therefore and make disciples."
Key References: Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19, Philemon
🎙️ Sermon Content & Delivery
Word Count: 3,254 words
📌 Key Topics Addressed
-
Church Ministry Announcement
[00:19:26 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor announces a Wednesday evening event featuring praise, worship, testimonies, and food, encouraging attendance without registration. -
Prayer and Fasting
[00:20:26 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor reflects on the previous year's emphasis on prayer and fasting and introduces the upcoming year's focus on continuing prayer while adding a specific emphasis on sharing faith. -
Sharing Faith / Evangelism
[00:21:00 ▶️ 📄]
> The core topic of the segment, where multiple speakers discuss overcoming fear, avoiding 'banging the Bible over heads,' and using personal testimony and kindness as primary methods for sharing the gospel. -
Introversion and Extroversion in Ministry
[00:25:11 ▶️ 📄]
> Speakers discuss how different personality types (introverts vs. extroverts) can share their faith effectively through different means, such as kindness and presence versus direct conversation. -
Sharing Faith / Evangelism
[00:31:16 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor uses the book of Philemon to illustrate that Christians are called to share their faith, not just through grand gestures but through simple acts like inviting someone to church or praying with them. -
Sphere of Influence
[00:33:00 ▶️ 📄]
> The speaker emphasizes that God intentionally places people in our lives (family, coworkers, neighbors) for the purpose of loving them and sharing the gospel, often starting with those closest to us. -
Overcoming Fear / Stepping Out
[00:34:47 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor challenges the congregation to overcome intimidation and fear, using personal anecdotes about stepping out of comfort zones to speak publicly, urging them to 'push themselves out' in 2026. -
Revival
[00:36:13 ▶️ 📄]
> The speaker defines revival not just as a spiritual feeling, but as the active result of believers sharing their faith and making disciples, which will impact the Mooresville community.
🖼️ Illustrations & Stories
-
Sermon Illustration
[00:21:14 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor mentions seeing a sign held by college students that read 'Unmuted for Jesus,' symbolizing the refusal to let fear or insecurity silence their testimony. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:23:00 ▶️ 📄]
> Speaker SPEAKER_05 shares a personal anecdote about being taken to church by his grandparents as a child, noting that the seed they planted flourished in his later life, illustrating the impact of family influence. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:24:08 ▶️ 📄]
> Speaker SPEAKER_04 shares a personal realization that while trying to 'bang the Bible over people's heads' failed, simply asking to tell people what God did for him always succeeded because it was personal and inviting. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:26:58 ▶️ 📄]
> Speaker SPEAKER_01 recounts a specific instance where the Holy Spirit prompted her to return to a woman in a store to encourage her, resulting in the woman being touched and in tears, illustrating sensitive, Spirit-led interaction. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:28:17 ▶️ 📄]
> Speaker SPEAKER_03 tells a story about trading his small car for a minivan to accommodate children from his cul-de-sac who wanted to go to church, which led to opportunities to share the gospel, including speaking at a young person's memorial service on a soccer field. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:31:18 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor recounts the biblical story of Paul writing to Philemon regarding his runaway slave Onesimus, urging Philemon to receive him back not as a slave but as a brother in Christ, using this as an analogy for not 'counting people out' when sharing faith. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:35:19 ▶️ 📄]
> A speaker shares a personal anecdote about being nervous about getting up on stage to do the offering after joining the church team, noting that despite 15 years of not doing it, stepping out made it easier and more natural over time.
🚀 Calls to Action (Application)
-
Pastoral Charge
[00:19:43 ▶️ 📄]
> Attend the Wednesday evening prayer and worship event at 6:30 PM without registering. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:22:52 ▶️ 📄]
> Take a specific step of faith to share one's faith, starting with family members. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:36:48 ▶️ 📄]
> To actively speak up for Christ and share their faith to impact the local community. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:37:03 ▶️ 📄]
> To pursue spiritual revival through the active sharing of faith.
🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard
Overall Verdict: Fundamentally in Error
| Category | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Gospel Presentation | ❌ FAIL | The Gospel Engine is critically compromised. The sermon omits the doctrine of Total Depravity and the regenerating power of the Gospel, elevating human behavioral modification to the metric of spiritual health. This constitutes a 'Gospel Engine Omission' that requires immediate correction. |
| Soteriology | ❌ FAIL | The sermon promotes a works-based view of spiritual vitality, suggesting that stepping out of comfort zones is the primary driver of faith, rather than the result of salvation by grace. |
| Bibliology | ⚠️ WEAK | Scripture is used minimally (0.5% ratio) and primarily as a backdrop for moral exhortation rather than as the authoritative source for defining the nature of faith and salvation. |
| Hermeneutic | ⚠️ WEAK | The sermon employs a moralistic hermeneutic, extracting behavioral imperatives without grounding them in the redemptive-historical context of the Gospel. |
| Theology Proper | ✅ PASS | The sermon does not explicitly deny the nature of God, but it fails to properly articulate God's sovereignty in salvation. |
| Sacramentology | ⚪ N/A | No specific sacramental errors were detected, though the lack of Gospel focus impacts the understanding of sacraments as signs of grace. |
| Confessional Depth | ❌ FAIL | The sermon lacks depth in explaining the 'why' and 'how' of salvation, focusing instead on the 'what' of behavioral output. |
⚙️ The Gospel Engine (Confessional Distinctives)
❌ The Law And Wrath: Not observed in the sermon.
❌ Total Depravity And Inability: Not observed in the sermon.
❌ Active Obedience Of Christ: Not observed in the sermon.
❌ The Cross And Atonement: Not observed in the sermon.
✅ Commendations
Pastoral Encouragement | Emphasis on Personal Testimony
The pastor correctly identifies that personal testimony is a powerful tool for evangelism, encouraging believers to share what God has done for them rather than engaging in abstract theological argumentation.
Practical Application | Accessibility of Faith
The sermon makes faith accessible to introverted or reserved believers by validating non-verbal acts of kindness and presence as valid expressions of Christian love.
⚠️ Theological Concerns
🔴 The Error of Human Self-Sufficiency (Moralistic Deism)
Root Cause: This error mirrors the Pelagian heresy, which asserts that human beings can achieve salvation and spiritual growth through their own free will and effort, independent of divine grace.
"we believe that God wants us as a body of believers to step out of our comfort zone and share our faith." [00:21:40 ▶️ 📄]
Correction: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)
Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.
[00:01:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Sing to the Lord if the cross won your freedom Sing to the Lord if you know that He sings Tell all the earth that His arms are wide open Salvation is in His name Let the lost be found
[00:02:07] Here we go!
[00:02:18] Worship the Lord In the light of His presence Worship the Lord
[00:02:32] With the angels and saints You tell all the earth That the Savior is risen The stone has been rolled away Let the dead rise up Let the bound free Let the church have faith Let the people sing Let the people sing
[00:03:04] For great are You, Lord, worthy of praise Jesus, Your love has defeated the grave Let the people sing
[00:03:28] Worthy of praise Jesus your love has defeated the grave Let the people sing Jesus, Jesus all the praise Belongs to you Jesus all the praise
[00:04:00] So let the lost be found
[00:04:32] Let the people sing Let the people sing For great are You, Lord Worthy of praise Jesus, Your love has defeated the grave
[00:05:08] We praise Jesus, your King
[00:05:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Lake City Church, what is going on?
[00:05:49] Good morning and welcome.
[00:05:50] We are so glad you are here today.
[00:05:52] If you are a first-time guest, in the inside flap of your worship guide is a guest card.
[00:05:56] Fill that out.
[00:05:57] Bring it to the Welcome Center.
[00:05:58] We got a gift for you.
[00:05:59] Or go online.
[00:06:01] We got a card you can fill out as well.
[00:06:02] So glad you're here.
[00:06:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Hey guys, this is it.
[00:06:04] This week we're having our New Year's Eve worship celebration, our testimony night.
[00:06:09] If you want to come and celebrate with us all the cool things that God has done in your life and do it with an amazing group of people and bring in the New Year this way, we want to invite you.
[00:06:18] Come on out, 6.30 to 7.30.
[00:06:20] It's going to be awesome.
[00:06:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Lake City, we are so excited.
[00:06:24] A revival conference is right around the corner.
[00:06:27] If you have a youth student, you need to sign them up as soon as possible.
[00:06:31] You could register them on the Church Center app.
[00:06:34] And guys, we do not want money to be an issue.
[00:06:36] The cost of it is $50.
[00:06:38] But if you're a student can't afford it, or you know of a student who can't afford it, we have sponsorships and donations available for them.
[00:06:45] So please sign them up and don't hesitate to reach out.
[00:06:48] Email me, daniel at lakecitychurch.org for more information.
[00:06:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Hey guys, I just want to invite you to join us on January 12th, 13th, and 14th for our three-day fast.
[00:06:59] It is really amazing what God does in this time, and we really would love for you to be a part of it.
[00:07:06] We have a meeting every night and just have prayer together, so we expect God to do great things, so please join us on this fast.
[00:07:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Thanks for being here today.
[00:07:17] If you have any questions, go to our website, lakecitychurch.org.
[00:07:21] Check out all of our social medias.
[00:07:23] Remember, we love you.
[00:07:24] God loves you.
[00:07:25] Make it a great day.
[00:07:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Hey everyone, this is a time of the service we just like to give back.
[00:07:35] And I just wanna say thank you from our entire pastoral team, especially from Pastor Rob and Diana.
[00:07:41] We just wanna say thank you for making 2025 an absolutely an amazing year.
[00:07:47] and those of you that make commitments to make room we just want to say thank you once again we know it's been like a two-year journey but recently we did get full approval from the town of mooresville and you're going to see all kinds of machinery and fencing and stuff going up so that we can hit the new year uh running and if if you're looking to make the final uh gifts and donations to lake city church just remember the end of the year is coming up to be able to get full tax credit can we pray this morning
[00:08:14] Lord, I just thank you for what you have done in 2025.
[00:08:19] But God, you are calling us to even greater things in 2026, Lord.
[00:08:24] Lord, I pray that in 2026 that we have a boldness that we have never had before, God, that we have a boldness to reach this entire community and those around us, Lord.
[00:08:35] And in Jesus' name we pray, amen.
[00:08:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
One with God, the Lord most high Your hidden glory and creation Now revealed in You, our Christ What a beautiful name it is
[00:09:25] What a beautiful name it is, nothing compares to this.
[00:09:33] What a beautiful name it is, the name of Jesus.
[00:10:00] Last sin was great, your love was greater What could separate us now?
[00:10:12] What a wonderful name it is What a wonderful name it is The name of Jesus
[00:10:27] What a wonderful name it is, the name of God.
[00:11:03] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
How great Thou art!
[00:11:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
The dead could not hold you The veil tore before you You silenced the boughs of sin and grave The heavens are roaring The praise of your glory
[00:11:58] The death could not hold you The veil tore before you
[00:12:45] What a powerful name it is, the name of Jesus.
[00:12:58] You have no rival, you have no foe.
[00:13:08] Yours is the kingdom.
[00:13:29] Yours is the glory.
[00:13:30] Yours is the name above all names.
[00:13:30] What a powerful name it is.
[00:13:31] What a powerful name it is.
[00:13:31] The name of Jesus.
[00:13:37] What a powerful name it is And nothing can stand against What a powerful name it is The name of Jesus What a powerful name it is The name of Jesus What a powerful name it is
[00:14:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Good morning.
[00:14:14] Welcome to Lake City Church.
[00:14:16] So glad you're here.
[00:14:17] I was able to gather some of the pastors up and here in just a few moments we're going to ask them to introduce themselves and tell you just a little bit about the areas that they're overseeing.
[00:14:28] But first of all, I just want to say that I hope that you had a wonderful and a meaningful Christmas season this year.
[00:14:37] We had so many volunteers involved in the ministry of the season, the Christmas season.
[00:14:44] Hundreds actually were involved that we have decided to give them today off so they can be with their families
[00:14:52] and they could just enjoy this time together so thus we're doing an online service if you plan to come to an insert in-person service this morning don't do it stay at home watch it online because this is the service for this week next week we'll be here live and in person so with with that said daniel why don't you start us off and just tell us who you are and just a little bit about you
[00:15:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Good morning.
[00:15:19] Welcome.
[00:15:19] We're so glad you're here with us this morning as you're on your couch cozied up.
[00:15:23] I'm Daniel.
[00:15:23] I'm the youth pastor here at Lake City Church.
[00:15:25] I oversee our young adults ministry, 18 to 25, our middle school and high school, and our internship program.
[00:15:31] And I just wanted to say personal thank you to everyone who served in the tree lot.
[00:15:36] Massive, massive success.
[00:15:37] And thank you guys for your time because it was amazing.
[00:15:39] But yeah, so that's what I do.
[00:15:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
My name is Anna I'm the kids pastor so if you have kids from birth through fifth grade they fall under me and we love kids in this church Carly's not up here but you probably know her better if you have toddlers and preschoolers and we hope that you guys had a great Christmas my name is Justin and I have the awesome honor and privilege of overseeing our worship here yeah it's a great time
[00:16:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
and you have amazing shoes too thank you I don't think they could see them but my name is Terry I'm the executive pastor and I handle a lot of just special projects a lot of phone calls emails things pertaining to the building project these days and yeah how about you
[00:16:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
I'm Jordan.
[00:16:26] It's good to see all you guys.
[00:16:28] I'm the associate pastor here, and my primary focus is on discipleship, pastoral care, teaching and preaching, that kind of thing, and just kind of a little bit of a lot of things.
[00:16:40] So it's good to be here.
[00:16:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I'm Diana and besides keeping track of Rob, I oversee life groups and missions and involved with Celebrate Recovery and it's great to be with you guys this morning.
[00:16:54] Hope you had an awesome Christmas.
[00:16:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
So this is our pastoral team, and who's missing?
[00:17:02] We have everybody?
[00:17:03] I think we pretty much have everybody, so this is kind of a small miracle in and of itself.
[00:17:08] But we just wanted to, today, we wanted to just come and share a couple of things with you that we feel that God has put on our hearts.
[00:17:17] Before we jump into that conversation, I just want to tell you about something that is coming up this Wednesday, which will be the 31st.
[00:17:26] Right, the 31st is this coming Wednesday, and we're doing something that we haven't done for many years.
[00:17:33] Churches used to do this kind of thing, but we haven't done it in many years.
[00:17:37] But here at Lake City Church, this Wednesday evening at 6.30, we are having something called New Year's Eve Worship Celebration.
[00:17:46] And it is going to be absolutely amazing.
[00:17:49] Tremendous praise and worship.
[00:17:51] Justin, are you ready for this?
[00:17:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
I'm ready.
[00:17:53] It's going to be amazing.
[00:17:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
It is going to be off the charts, and we've also got some other things planned.
[00:17:59] Pastor Jordan is kind of teeing this up, so Jordan, take it away.
[00:18:03] Just tell everybody about this, because I want to spread the word.
[00:18:06] I think this is going to be one of those evenings that's going to be a life changer, a game changer for a lot of people.
[00:18:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Yeah, so we're going to celebrate everything that God has done.
[00:18:17] and start the next year out with the good things that that god has going in your life and and we just want to celebrate what he's done and and if you have a story from last week amazing if you have a story from five years ago amazing we just want you to bring the testimonies that night because we know that before you start something new with god it's good to look back
[00:18:38] and say thank you you have to start with thankfulness and so that night it's going to be worship and testimonies and it's just think about praise all night we've never done a night quite like that where it's all praise all through the night and so yes we're going to have touching stories and moments but it's going to be about saying yes to god saying thank you to god and then asking what are you going to be doing in the new year what are you going to do if you did this for me this year if you did this for me in the past
[00:19:06] What in the world are you going to do for me this next year?
[00:19:09] What can we do for God next year?
[00:19:10] And so it's just going to be a beautiful moment.
[00:19:13] It's the heart of our pastors to kind of start looking outward next year.
[00:19:18] And so what better way to kick it off than by saying, hey, this is what God did, this is what He's done, and this is what He's going to do for you.
[00:19:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
So it all starts at 6.30, Wednesday evening, this Wednesday evening, praise and worship, lots of testimonies, and I understand there's going to be food involved too.
[00:19:36] You didn't mention that, so we probably should mention that.
[00:19:38] There will be food.
[00:19:39] You can trust me on that.
[00:19:43] so we hope you'll come on out you don't need to register all you need to do is show up this Wednesday evening 6 30 6 30 until we we're not going to go we don't think until midnight but we're just going to start at 6 30 and see what happens we're going to see what god does and i hope you'll be here to enjoy the refreshing blessings of god's presence
[00:20:06] So with that being said this year as we entered 2025 one of the things the Lord put on my heart was that as a church God was calling us to an emphasis on prayer and so we did a number of different prayer emphases throughout the year and we made it a special
[00:20:26] A special point to focus on prayer and fasting.
[00:20:31] We began the year as we have always done, but we made a special emphasis in 2025 to begin with prayer and fasting.
[00:20:39] We did an all-night prayer meeting.
[00:20:41] We did other
[00:20:42] Prayer meetings and things where we accentuated prayer.
[00:20:45] This year, what the Lord has put on my heart is that, yes, we're going to continue to pray.
[00:20:50] In fact, we're going to be starting the year as we always have with the three-day churchwide fast, but we're also focusing on sharing our faith.
[00:21:00] I think God really wants us to be more aggressive in sharing our faith.
[00:21:06] I saw a sign in the hands of some college students somewhere that they had a sign that had the words,
[00:21:14] Unmuted for Jesus on the sign.
[00:21:17] And what they were conveying by that is that we're not going to allow the world or fear or insecurity to mute us in our testimony for Christ.
[00:21:27] Again, we're going to step up and share our faith.
[00:21:31] This year we believe that God wants us as a body of believers to step out of our comfort zone and share our faith.
[00:21:40] There are so many scriptures about sharing our faith.
[00:21:43] One of the obvious passages is from the words of Jesus in Mark 16, 15, where he said, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creatures.
[00:21:55] sometimes we hear that and we know Jesus commissioned us to go out into the world and share our faith but when we hear the words that say go into all the world and preach the gospel sometimes that just freezes us because a lot of people are afraid of the thought of standing up and preaching or even sharing publicly
[00:22:16] So Daniel, what do you think?
[00:22:19] How can we help people understand that it's not this formal preaching as we normally think of as preaching, but a very comfortable, natural way of just sharing what God has done for us?
[00:22:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Yeah, it's actually one of the things that me and Haley had talked about a couple weeks ago when we were celebrating our 10 years of marriage and ministry and saying we don't need to overcomplicate it.
[00:22:42] And so I think one of the things that was on our hearts was you don't have to overcomplicate it, overthink it, but just share it.
[00:22:50] Get out of your comfort zone.
[00:22:52] I would say probably this next year, take a step of faith and even
[00:22:56] the next step the next thing um whether it's in your own household with your own children um man we were talking about it today grandparents are a powerful place in the home of i was taken to a church by my grandparents i was taking a children's church and and later in life that seed that they planted flourished and so don't over complicate sharing your faith whether it's with a co-worker um and also a lot of people a lot of times
[00:23:23] I hear it from students all the time.
[00:23:26] I don't know enough.
[00:23:27] I don't know enough of the Bible to feel confident in sharing my faith.
[00:23:32] But God can work through so many ways and so many people, even through the littlest things.
[00:23:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
I think you said something, Jordan, that I think really kind of distills it to a point that we can all get it.
[00:23:47] You said sharing our faith is really just telling people what God has done
[00:23:54] For me.
[00:23:55] So speak to that.
[00:23:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Yeah, absolutely.
[00:23:57] I have tried to go out and share my faith with people before, and I have tried to just bang the Bible over their head before, and you can all imagine how well that tends to go.
[00:24:08] It doesn't go great.
[00:24:09] But what I've realized is I have never had anybody say no to me
[00:24:13] When I said, hey, can I just tell you what God did for me?
[00:24:16] And they love to hear about this Jesus they've never heard of or maybe the person they thought they knew.
[00:24:23] But when you hear a real story from a person like that, it changes everything.
[00:24:27] It's not about folding you or convincing you of my beliefs.
[00:24:31] It's about inviting you to something that happened to me.
[00:24:34] and people just they tend to just really connect with that it's it's very personal because you know he's a personal god so it's a very personal approach it works every time yeah i i really think if we can keep it simple and natural yeah that's the best way uh anna you are
[00:24:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Talking earlier when we were just talking about this whole concept of sharing our faith about how you're wired and you probably wouldn't be thumping people over the head with the Bible as Jordan tried to do.
[00:25:09] Tell us, what is your approach?
[00:25:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Well I'm an introvert so and I am probably one of the most the least likely people to go talk to a stranger to tell someone um to preach the gospel to them that's not me when I was growing up people were like my youth pastor would say if you love Jesus enough then you just can't keep it inside of you and you're gonna tell everybody and then I thought I didn't love Jesus enough because I didn't go tell everybody
[00:25:34] um and that's not the point if you're an introvert or you're just more reserved so much of who jesus is to you can be shown just by how you're living just by being kind to people i tell the kids all the time just be kind to people don't be mean
[00:25:50] don't say mean things just show kindness and people will notice something different in you because there's so few kind people in the world and it's all about the fruit of the spirit that we have coming out of us that's how people see jesus in us it doesn't take going and telling a million people that jesus loves them that's good that's good dinah you had some thoughts along those lines too
[00:26:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well Jesus said that people will know us by our love and I think that's the most important thing that people when they're around us no matter if we walk down the street of our neighborhood or we're going to the grocery store something that I've tried to start doing in my life is whenever I'm
[00:26:31] about to go somewhere in a store wherever that the holy spirit will be on me and help me to be sensitive to where people are at and if i need to talk to someone that i'll hear the voice of the spirit and i'll share something that will encourage them and let them know that god loves them because most people are fearful of god they're afraid of god they think god's gonna you know
[00:26:58] The Holy Spirit said, go back.
[00:27:16] and tell her that I see her and I was just like Lord that's gonna be a little weird I don't know how to do that and he said just go and I so I just went back and I just started talking to her for a couple minutes and just let her know how much God loved her and that he saw where she was and that he had a plan for her life and she was so touched and in tears by that so it's just simple simple little things
[00:27:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
That's good.
[00:27:43] I really like that.
[00:27:45] Terry, we haven't had a chance to really talk, but what is your take on your approach to sharing your faith?
[00:27:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
You know, I think God puts you in situations sometimes, and you're not actually maybe consciously thinking about how you're going to share your faith at that moment in time or in the situation, but opportunities arise.
[00:28:07] And I know for us, we moved into this area in Charlotte when we first moved from Florida, and we're in this cul-de-sac full of kids.
[00:28:17] and at first we had a small car and I had just bought this car and I really liked this car and the kids wanted to go to church with us because we would go to church on Wednesday nights and had all these kids programs going on and suddenly we were having to turn kids away and so we turned it into an opportunity we traded the car I loved in for a minivan yes I said a minivan
[00:28:36] and we started our own church van business right and so we started taking all these kids uh to church on wednesday nights and and god just created so many opportunities through that uh you know one of those kids is serving the lord today he is a very public semi-public figure at this point and uh we're very proud of him and there was another situation popped up out of that where
[00:29:03] One of the kids actually passed away and the father had come to me and he said, you know, Terry, you're one of the only Christians I know.
[00:29:11] He's like, would you speak at her remembrance service?
[00:29:18] And I'm like, okay, where's this at?
[00:29:19] It ended up being on a soccer field.
[00:29:21] And this is recently.
[00:29:23] And I ended up sharing the gospel message in front of maybe a thousand young people.
[00:29:28] that were there to celebrate this college kid's life.
[00:29:31] And it was just a touching moment, but you don't know when the opportunity is going to happen, but you've got to be ready.
[00:29:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
I like that.
[00:29:40] I love that story.
[00:29:43] Justin, you know, all of us, as Anna pointed out, we're wired differently.
[00:29:49] And some of the folks watching us may be the extroverted type, some are the introverted type, some are in the middle.
[00:29:57] But God doesn't force us to be something or someone we're not.
[00:30:02] He wants us to share.
[00:30:03] Really out of the truth of what God has done in our own lives.
[00:30:08] What is it that you... How is it that you share your faith in a way that is natural to you?
[00:30:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Yeah, so for me, I'm not a very good...
[00:30:20] I'm a good singer, but I'm not a very good speaker, per se.
[00:30:23] But I like to just show up for people and just...
[00:30:29] Be there for them, do things for them, care for them, love them, be an ear for them.
[00:30:35] Naturally build a relationship so then I can talk a little bit more in depth with them and share like how, you know,
[00:30:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
what my faith walk looks like and things like that so it's just being present in someone's life being a consistent if that makes sense yeah yeah yeah and you are a great singer anybody with a great beard like that must be a great singer and and you're a great speaker too well thank you
[00:31:07] Daniel, there is a scripture that you were talking about earlier and that talks about sharing our faith.
[00:31:16] Speak to that.
[00:31:16] Philemon, I believe.
[00:31:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Yeah, it's in Philemon.
[00:31:19] So if you go read Philemon and Paul is talking to Philemon, he has a servant named Onesimus who runs away and he says, I pray, I love that you love the saints and your love for them and how much you take care of them.
[00:31:35] but don't forget about the people in your own household and and I pray that you would be active in sharing your faith and so we need to be as Christians sharers of our faith and like we were saying we all have different unique giftings
[00:31:50] But the people around us, just like Pastor Terry was saying, God has put us in certain positions for a reason.
[00:31:57] It's not by chance that the Lord put you in other people's lives.
[00:32:02] And the simplest thing can mean salvation for people.
[00:32:07] The simplest church invite, the simplest prayer.
[00:32:10] How can I pray with you?
[00:32:11] It's going to look different for everybody.
[00:32:14] But what Paul was writing to him is, and it's kind of radical, was, hey,
[00:32:18] Don't take Onesimus back as a slave.
[00:32:21] Take him back as a brother in Christ.
[00:32:23] And so I would just maybe challenge you this morning.
[00:32:25] What is in 26 God speaking to you to share your faith with?
[00:32:31] Maybe it's someone that you didn't think would even hear you out.
[00:32:34] Maybe it's a co-worker who you know doesn't believe in God or go to church or
[00:32:38] that you kind of just count it out.
[00:32:39] Don't count people out.
[00:32:41] As Paul's writing to Philemon, hey, don't count Onesimus.
[00:32:46] Take him back as a brother in Christ.
[00:32:47] So this year in 26, challenge yourself to share that faith because when you share your faith, lives are changed.
[00:32:55] And that's what we want to do in the body of Christ, to share our faith and change lives.
[00:33:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
And all around us there are people that God brings into our sphere of influence.
[00:33:05] And those people are people that God brings there, I believe, for the purpose of us loving them and sharing with them the truth of the gospel.
[00:33:16] And we do it through our lives and through our good deeds.
[00:33:21] But also, God gives us words to speak.
[00:33:24] And sometimes it's just a simple word.
[00:33:26] We're planting the seed of faith in somebody's heart.
[00:33:29] Daniel mentioned a little bit earlier about grandparents.
[00:33:33] And so many times, people in our own families, they plant the seeds of faith.
[00:33:40] And to share your faith doesn't always mean going up to a stranger.
[00:33:46] Oftentimes, it's just planting the seed of faith in a family member right in your own family sphere.
[00:33:55] And so that is so powerful.
[00:33:58] I guess we're talking to some grandparents out there.
[00:34:01] I know we're grandparents and great-grandparents, but it's a wonderful thing to think about how impactful our lives can be by just sharing those words of encouragement to young people and to the other people in our lives.
[00:34:18] and and I think we can step out we can push ourselves out just a little bit more in 2026 and that's the emphasis that the Lord has put in my heart to that we would just stir this thing up inside of us that in 2026 we're going to be unmuted we're not going to let the fears we're not going to let the intimidation we're certainly not going to let the lies of the world keep us muted we're going to speak up for Christ and push ourselves out
[00:34:47] Who has a thought about stepping out of your comfort zone?
[00:34:52] Maybe even pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.
[00:34:55] Who has something to say about that?
[00:35:00] I caught you guys speechless.
[00:35:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Terry, you have your mic?
[00:35:05] Justin, who?
[00:35:06] No, I think I just put my mic up here instinctually.
[00:35:08] Not that I had something concrete to say, but now I do.
[00:35:12] No, I think it goes back to...
[00:35:16] That opportunity thing I was talking about before.
[00:35:19] There's times when God puts you in a position.
[00:35:21] Many people may not know that when I joined the team here and suddenly Pastor Rob's like, hey, you got to get up on stage and you got to do offering and things like that.
[00:35:29] I haven't done that in 15 years or so since I was part of my dad's church when I was younger.
[00:35:36] And just coming up here was a little bit nerve-wracking.
[00:35:40] It was hard to get your sea legs of how do you actually look at all of you and to talk to you in front of a crowd and things.
[00:35:50] I think things like that, for me, I just had to kind of step out and do it.
[00:35:58] you know and as you keep doing it and doing it all of a sudden you know it becomes easier and easier and easier and almost becomes natural at a certain point and those nerves and everything else that you might deal with just kind of start to mellow away
[00:36:12] Did you have something, Daniel?
[00:36:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Yeah, ultimately, when we're sharing our faith, we want revival.
[00:36:17] You know, that's something that I've been passionate about and praying for.
[00:36:22] You know, the Bible says, go therefore and make disciples.
[00:36:26] Pastors aren't the only people who go and make disciples.
[00:36:30] are in 2026 the revival that will happen when you share your faith.
[00:36:36] And that's what I'm praying, that's what we're praying for.
[00:36:38] We're praying for, and we know you guys are, Lake City Church is the church that shares their faith, whether it's life groups, Celebrate Recovery on Monday nights, Youth on Tuesday nights, Wednesday night worship service, our young adults,
[00:36:48] Let's be unmuted because, man, I think we will change Mooresville community for sure.
[00:36:55] And we're praying for that.
[00:36:57] But I just feel that's revival.
[00:36:59] When you share your faith, that's what we're enacting.
[00:37:02] Let's have revival.
[00:37:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Amen.
[00:37:04] And we are going to pray here in just a moment.
[00:37:06] Anybody else have anything really percolating?
[00:37:09] Justin, was there something that you want to kick in on?
[00:37:11] Or are you good?
[00:37:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
You know, just as you go into this year, just...
[00:37:18] For me, the challenge would be just to be more prone to be open to being there for people, showing up when people least expect it.
[00:37:28] Just be present.
[00:37:30] Sometimes you don't have to say anything because who you are as a person and the way you walk and just your presence with people, they know.
[00:37:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
That's really good.
[00:37:42] I want us to close with a prayer.
[00:37:45] There are two prayers that I'd like us to pray over ourselves, but also over everybody in our church family and beyond.
[00:37:53] The first one is that God would open doors of opportunity to share our faith with people.
[00:38:02] and number two that God would give us the ability to see those opportunities because I have this sense that all around us there are opportunities and sometimes we just don't even see we're not in the present as you're talking about Justin and and we need God to help us to see the opportunities to share our faith and I think it begins by seeing the people that God has brought into our sphere of influence so we're going to pray
[00:38:28] and would you just pray with us right now father thank you so very much for the year 2025 we give you praise we give you honor and glory for all the wonderful things that have happened that have happened during this year in our lives personally but also as a church lake city church we say thank you lord for the hundreds of people that have given their lives to jesus marriages that have been healed and restored families that have
[00:38:53] have just been set free and lives that have been put back together thank you god and as we get ready to embrace this brand new year of 2026 lord i pray that you would bring opportunities into our lives to be able to share our faith
[00:39:09] and you with others and Lord I also pray that you would give us the eyes to see the opportunities the people that you bring into our lives God I pray that 2026 would be an amazing year that would bring honor and glory to you we thank you for all this in the mighty and the powerful name of Jesus amen
Sing to the Lord if the cross won your freedom Sing to the Lord if you know that He sings Tell all the earth that His arms are wide open Salvation is in His name Let the lost be found
[00:02:07] Here we go!
[00:02:18] Worship the Lord In the light of His presence Worship the Lord
[00:02:32] With the angels and saints You tell all the earth That the Savior is risen The stone has been rolled away Let the dead rise up Let the bound free Let the church have faith Let the people sing Let the people sing
[00:03:04] For great are You, Lord, worthy of praise Jesus, Your love has defeated the grave Let the people sing
[00:03:28] Worthy of praise Jesus your love has defeated the grave Let the people sing Jesus, Jesus all the praise Belongs to you Jesus all the praise
[00:04:00] So let the lost be found
[00:04:32] Let the people sing Let the people sing For great are You, Lord Worthy of praise Jesus, Your love has defeated the grave
[00:05:08] We praise Jesus, your King
[00:05:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Lake City Church, what is going on?
[00:05:49] Good morning and welcome.
[00:05:50] We are so glad you are here today.
[00:05:52] If you are a first-time guest, in the inside flap of your worship guide is a guest card.
[00:05:56] Fill that out.
[00:05:57] Bring it to the Welcome Center.
[00:05:58] We got a gift for you.
[00:05:59] Or go online.
[00:06:01] We got a card you can fill out as well.
[00:06:02] So glad you're here.
[00:06:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Hey guys, this is it.
[00:06:04] This week we're having our New Year's Eve worship celebration, our testimony night.
[00:06:09] If you want to come and celebrate with us all the cool things that God has done in your life and do it with an amazing group of people and bring in the New Year this way, we want to invite you.
[00:06:18] Come on out, 6.30 to 7.30.
[00:06:20] It's going to be awesome.
[00:06:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Lake City, we are so excited.
[00:06:24] A revival conference is right around the corner.
[00:06:27] If you have a youth student, you need to sign them up as soon as possible.
[00:06:31] You could register them on the Church Center app.
[00:06:34] And guys, we do not want money to be an issue.
[00:06:36] The cost of it is $50.
[00:06:38] But if you're a student can't afford it, or you know of a student who can't afford it, we have sponsorships and donations available for them.
[00:06:45] So please sign them up and don't hesitate to reach out.
[00:06:48] Email me, daniel at lakecitychurch.org for more information.
[00:06:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Hey guys, I just want to invite you to join us on January 12th, 13th, and 14th for our three-day fast.
[00:06:59] It is really amazing what God does in this time, and we really would love for you to be a part of it.
[00:07:06] We have a meeting every night and just have prayer together, so we expect God to do great things, so please join us on this fast.
[00:07:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Thanks for being here today.
[00:07:17] If you have any questions, go to our website, lakecitychurch.org.
[00:07:21] Check out all of our social medias.
[00:07:23] Remember, we love you.
[00:07:24] God loves you.
[00:07:25] Make it a great day.
[00:07:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Hey everyone, this is a time of the service we just like to give back.
[00:07:35] And I just wanna say thank you from our entire pastoral team, especially from Pastor Rob and Diana.
[00:07:41] We just wanna say thank you for making 2025 an absolutely an amazing year.
[00:07:47] and those of you that make commitments to make room we just want to say thank you once again we know it's been like a two-year journey but recently we did get full approval from the town of mooresville and you're going to see all kinds of machinery and fencing and stuff going up so that we can hit the new year uh running and if if you're looking to make the final uh gifts and donations to lake city church just remember the end of the year is coming up to be able to get full tax credit can we pray this morning
[00:08:14] Lord, I just thank you for what you have done in 2025.
[00:08:19] But God, you are calling us to even greater things in 2026, Lord.
[00:08:24] Lord, I pray that in 2026 that we have a boldness that we have never had before, God, that we have a boldness to reach this entire community and those around us, Lord.
[00:08:35] And in Jesus' name we pray, amen.
[00:08:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
One with God, the Lord most high Your hidden glory and creation Now revealed in You, our Christ What a beautiful name it is
[00:09:25] What a beautiful name it is, nothing compares to this.
[00:09:33] What a beautiful name it is, the name of Jesus.
[00:10:00] Last sin was great, your love was greater What could separate us now?
[00:10:12] What a wonderful name it is What a wonderful name it is The name of Jesus
[00:10:27] What a wonderful name it is, the name of God.
[00:11:03] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
How great Thou art!
[00:11:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
The dead could not hold you The veil tore before you You silenced the boughs of sin and grave The heavens are roaring The praise of your glory
[00:11:58] The death could not hold you The veil tore before you
[00:12:45] What a powerful name it is, the name of Jesus.
[00:12:58] You have no rival, you have no foe.
[00:13:08] Yours is the kingdom.
[00:13:29] Yours is the glory.
[00:13:30] Yours is the name above all names.
[00:13:30] What a powerful name it is.
[00:13:31] What a powerful name it is.
[00:13:31] The name of Jesus.
[00:13:37] What a powerful name it is And nothing can stand against What a powerful name it is The name of Jesus What a powerful name it is The name of Jesus What a powerful name it is
[00:14:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Good morning.
[00:14:14] Welcome to Lake City Church.
[00:14:16] So glad you're here.
[00:14:17] I was able to gather some of the pastors up and here in just a few moments we're going to ask them to introduce themselves and tell you just a little bit about the areas that they're overseeing.
[00:14:28] But first of all, I just want to say that I hope that you had a wonderful and a meaningful Christmas season this year.
[00:14:37] We had so many volunteers involved in the ministry of the season, the Christmas season.
[00:14:44] Hundreds actually were involved that we have decided to give them today off so they can be with their families
[00:14:52] and they could just enjoy this time together so thus we're doing an online service if you plan to come to an insert in-person service this morning don't do it stay at home watch it online because this is the service for this week next week we'll be here live and in person so with with that said daniel why don't you start us off and just tell us who you are and just a little bit about you
[00:15:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Good morning.
[00:15:19] Welcome.
[00:15:19] We're so glad you're here with us this morning as you're on your couch cozied up.
[00:15:23] I'm Daniel.
[00:15:23] I'm the youth pastor here at Lake City Church.
[00:15:25] I oversee our young adults ministry, 18 to 25, our middle school and high school, and our internship program.
[00:15:31] And I just wanted to say personal thank you to everyone who served in the tree lot.
[00:15:36] Massive, massive success.
[00:15:37] And thank you guys for your time because it was amazing.
[00:15:39] But yeah, so that's what I do.
[00:15:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
My name is Anna I'm the kids pastor so if you have kids from birth through fifth grade they fall under me and we love kids in this church Carly's not up here but you probably know her better if you have toddlers and preschoolers and we hope that you guys had a great Christmas my name is Justin and I have the awesome honor and privilege of overseeing our worship here yeah it's a great time
[00:16:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
and you have amazing shoes too thank you I don't think they could see them but my name is Terry I'm the executive pastor and I handle a lot of just special projects a lot of phone calls emails things pertaining to the building project these days and yeah how about you
[00:16:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
I'm Jordan.
[00:16:26] It's good to see all you guys.
[00:16:28] I'm the associate pastor here, and my primary focus is on discipleship, pastoral care, teaching and preaching, that kind of thing, and just kind of a little bit of a lot of things.
[00:16:40] So it's good to be here.
[00:16:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
I'm Diana and besides keeping track of Rob, I oversee life groups and missions and involved with Celebrate Recovery and it's great to be with you guys this morning.
[00:16:54] Hope you had an awesome Christmas.
[00:16:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
So this is our pastoral team, and who's missing?
[00:17:02] We have everybody?
[00:17:03] I think we pretty much have everybody, so this is kind of a small miracle in and of itself.
[00:17:08] But we just wanted to, today, we wanted to just come and share a couple of things with you that we feel that God has put on our hearts.
[00:17:17] Before we jump into that conversation, I just want to tell you about something that is coming up this Wednesday, which will be the 31st.
[00:17:26] Right, the 31st is this coming Wednesday, and we're doing something that we haven't done for many years.
[00:17:33] Churches used to do this kind of thing, but we haven't done it in many years.
[00:17:37] But here at Lake City Church, this Wednesday evening at 6.30, we are having something called New Year's Eve Worship Celebration.
[00:17:46] And it is going to be absolutely amazing.
[00:17:49] Tremendous praise and worship.
[00:17:51] Justin, are you ready for this?
[00:17:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
I'm ready.
[00:17:53] It's going to be amazing.
[00:17:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
It is going to be off the charts, and we've also got some other things planned.
[00:17:59] Pastor Jordan is kind of teeing this up, so Jordan, take it away.
[00:18:03] Just tell everybody about this, because I want to spread the word.
[00:18:06] I think this is going to be one of those evenings that's going to be a life changer, a game changer for a lot of people.
[00:18:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Yeah, so we're going to celebrate everything that God has done.
[00:18:17] and start the next year out with the good things that that god has going in your life and and we just want to celebrate what he's done and and if you have a story from last week amazing if you have a story from five years ago amazing we just want you to bring the testimonies that night because we know that before you start something new with god it's good to look back
[00:18:38] and say thank you you have to start with thankfulness and so that night it's going to be worship and testimonies and it's just think about praise all night we've never done a night quite like that where it's all praise all through the night and so yes we're going to have touching stories and moments but it's going to be about saying yes to god saying thank you to god and then asking what are you going to be doing in the new year what are you going to do if you did this for me this year if you did this for me in the past
[00:19:06] What in the world are you going to do for me this next year?
[00:19:09] What can we do for God next year?
[00:19:10] And so it's just going to be a beautiful moment.
[00:19:13] It's the heart of our pastors to kind of start looking outward next year.
[00:19:18] And so what better way to kick it off than by saying, hey, this is what God did, this is what He's done, and this is what He's going to do for you.
[00:19:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
So it all starts at 6.30, Wednesday evening, this Wednesday evening, praise and worship, lots of testimonies, and I understand there's going to be food involved too.
[00:19:36] You didn't mention that, so we probably should mention that.
[00:19:38] There will be food.
[00:19:39] You can trust me on that.
[00:19:43] so we hope you'll come on out you don't need to register all you need to do is show up this Wednesday evening 6 30 6 30 until we we're not going to go we don't think until midnight but we're just going to start at 6 30 and see what happens we're going to see what god does and i hope you'll be here to enjoy the refreshing blessings of god's presence
[00:20:06] So with that being said this year as we entered 2025 one of the things the Lord put on my heart was that as a church God was calling us to an emphasis on prayer and so we did a number of different prayer emphases throughout the year and we made it a special
[00:20:26] A special point to focus on prayer and fasting.
[00:20:31] We began the year as we have always done, but we made a special emphasis in 2025 to begin with prayer and fasting.
[00:20:39] We did an all-night prayer meeting.
[00:20:41] We did other
[00:20:42] Prayer meetings and things where we accentuated prayer.
[00:20:45] This year, what the Lord has put on my heart is that, yes, we're going to continue to pray.
[00:20:50] In fact, we're going to be starting the year as we always have with the three-day churchwide fast, but we're also focusing on sharing our faith.
[00:21:00] I think God really wants us to be more aggressive in sharing our faith.
[00:21:06] I saw a sign in the hands of some college students somewhere that they had a sign that had the words,
[00:21:14] Unmuted for Jesus on the sign.
[00:21:17] And what they were conveying by that is that we're not going to allow the world or fear or insecurity to mute us in our testimony for Christ.
[00:21:27] Again, we're going to step up and share our faith.
[00:21:31] This year we believe that God wants us as a body of believers to step out of our comfort zone and share our faith.
[00:21:40] There are so many scriptures about sharing our faith.
[00:21:43] One of the obvious passages is from the words of Jesus in Mark 16, 15, where he said, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creatures.
[00:21:55] sometimes we hear that and we know Jesus commissioned us to go out into the world and share our faith but when we hear the words that say go into all the world and preach the gospel sometimes that just freezes us because a lot of people are afraid of the thought of standing up and preaching or even sharing publicly
[00:22:16] So Daniel, what do you think?
[00:22:19] How can we help people understand that it's not this formal preaching as we normally think of as preaching, but a very comfortable, natural way of just sharing what God has done for us?
[00:22:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Yeah, it's actually one of the things that me and Haley had talked about a couple weeks ago when we were celebrating our 10 years of marriage and ministry and saying we don't need to overcomplicate it.
[00:22:42] And so I think one of the things that was on our hearts was you don't have to overcomplicate it, overthink it, but just share it.
[00:22:50] Get out of your comfort zone.
[00:22:52] I would say probably this next year, take a step of faith and even
[00:22:56] the next step the next thing um whether it's in your own household with your own children um man we were talking about it today grandparents are a powerful place in the home of i was taken to a church by my grandparents i was taking a children's church and and later in life that seed that they planted flourished and so don't over complicate sharing your faith whether it's with a co-worker um and also a lot of people a lot of times
[00:23:23] I hear it from students all the time.
[00:23:26] I don't know enough.
[00:23:27] I don't know enough of the Bible to feel confident in sharing my faith.
[00:23:32] But God can work through so many ways and so many people, even through the littlest things.
[00:23:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
I think you said something, Jordan, that I think really kind of distills it to a point that we can all get it.
[00:23:47] You said sharing our faith is really just telling people what God has done
[00:23:54] For me.
[00:23:55] So speak to that.
[00:23:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Yeah, absolutely.
[00:23:57] I have tried to go out and share my faith with people before, and I have tried to just bang the Bible over their head before, and you can all imagine how well that tends to go.
[00:24:08] It doesn't go great.
[00:24:09] But what I've realized is I have never had anybody say no to me
[00:24:13] When I said, hey, can I just tell you what God did for me?
[00:24:16] And they love to hear about this Jesus they've never heard of or maybe the person they thought they knew.
[00:24:23] But when you hear a real story from a person like that, it changes everything.
[00:24:27] It's not about folding you or convincing you of my beliefs.
[00:24:31] It's about inviting you to something that happened to me.
[00:24:34] and people just they tend to just really connect with that it's it's very personal because you know he's a personal god so it's a very personal approach it works every time yeah i i really think if we can keep it simple and natural yeah that's the best way uh anna you are
[00:24:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Talking earlier when we were just talking about this whole concept of sharing our faith about how you're wired and you probably wouldn't be thumping people over the head with the Bible as Jordan tried to do.
[00:25:09] Tell us, what is your approach?
[00:25:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Well I'm an introvert so and I am probably one of the most the least likely people to go talk to a stranger to tell someone um to preach the gospel to them that's not me when I was growing up people were like my youth pastor would say if you love Jesus enough then you just can't keep it inside of you and you're gonna tell everybody and then I thought I didn't love Jesus enough because I didn't go tell everybody
[00:25:34] um and that's not the point if you're an introvert or you're just more reserved so much of who jesus is to you can be shown just by how you're living just by being kind to people i tell the kids all the time just be kind to people don't be mean
[00:25:50] don't say mean things just show kindness and people will notice something different in you because there's so few kind people in the world and it's all about the fruit of the spirit that we have coming out of us that's how people see jesus in us it doesn't take going and telling a million people that jesus loves them that's good that's good dinah you had some thoughts along those lines too
[00:26:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well Jesus said that people will know us by our love and I think that's the most important thing that people when they're around us no matter if we walk down the street of our neighborhood or we're going to the grocery store something that I've tried to start doing in my life is whenever I'm
[00:26:31] about to go somewhere in a store wherever that the holy spirit will be on me and help me to be sensitive to where people are at and if i need to talk to someone that i'll hear the voice of the spirit and i'll share something that will encourage them and let them know that god loves them because most people are fearful of god they're afraid of god they think god's gonna you know
[00:26:58] The Holy Spirit said, go back.
[00:27:16] and tell her that I see her and I was just like Lord that's gonna be a little weird I don't know how to do that and he said just go and I so I just went back and I just started talking to her for a couple minutes and just let her know how much God loved her and that he saw where she was and that he had a plan for her life and she was so touched and in tears by that so it's just simple simple little things
[00:27:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
That's good.
[00:27:43] I really like that.
[00:27:45] Terry, we haven't had a chance to really talk, but what is your take on your approach to sharing your faith?
[00:27:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
You know, I think God puts you in situations sometimes, and you're not actually maybe consciously thinking about how you're going to share your faith at that moment in time or in the situation, but opportunities arise.
[00:28:07] And I know for us, we moved into this area in Charlotte when we first moved from Florida, and we're in this cul-de-sac full of kids.
[00:28:17] and at first we had a small car and I had just bought this car and I really liked this car and the kids wanted to go to church with us because we would go to church on Wednesday nights and had all these kids programs going on and suddenly we were having to turn kids away and so we turned it into an opportunity we traded the car I loved in for a minivan yes I said a minivan
[00:28:36] and we started our own church van business right and so we started taking all these kids uh to church on wednesday nights and and god just created so many opportunities through that uh you know one of those kids is serving the lord today he is a very public semi-public figure at this point and uh we're very proud of him and there was another situation popped up out of that where
[00:29:03] One of the kids actually passed away and the father had come to me and he said, you know, Terry, you're one of the only Christians I know.
[00:29:11] He's like, would you speak at her remembrance service?
[00:29:18] And I'm like, okay, where's this at?
[00:29:19] It ended up being on a soccer field.
[00:29:21] And this is recently.
[00:29:23] And I ended up sharing the gospel message in front of maybe a thousand young people.
[00:29:28] that were there to celebrate this college kid's life.
[00:29:31] And it was just a touching moment, but you don't know when the opportunity is going to happen, but you've got to be ready.
[00:29:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
I like that.
[00:29:40] I love that story.
[00:29:43] Justin, you know, all of us, as Anna pointed out, we're wired differently.
[00:29:49] And some of the folks watching us may be the extroverted type, some are the introverted type, some are in the middle.
[00:29:57] But God doesn't force us to be something or someone we're not.
[00:30:02] He wants us to share.
[00:30:03] Really out of the truth of what God has done in our own lives.
[00:30:08] What is it that you... How is it that you share your faith in a way that is natural to you?
[00:30:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Yeah, so for me, I'm not a very good...
[00:30:20] I'm a good singer, but I'm not a very good speaker, per se.
[00:30:23] But I like to just show up for people and just...
[00:30:29] Be there for them, do things for them, care for them, love them, be an ear for them.
[00:30:35] Naturally build a relationship so then I can talk a little bit more in depth with them and share like how, you know,
[00:30:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
what my faith walk looks like and things like that so it's just being present in someone's life being a consistent if that makes sense yeah yeah yeah and you are a great singer anybody with a great beard like that must be a great singer and and you're a great speaker too well thank you
[00:31:07] Daniel, there is a scripture that you were talking about earlier and that talks about sharing our faith.
[00:31:16] Speak to that.
[00:31:16] Philemon, I believe.
[00:31:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Yeah, it's in Philemon.
[00:31:19] So if you go read Philemon and Paul is talking to Philemon, he has a servant named Onesimus who runs away and he says, I pray, I love that you love the saints and your love for them and how much you take care of them.
[00:31:35] but don't forget about the people in your own household and and I pray that you would be active in sharing your faith and so we need to be as Christians sharers of our faith and like we were saying we all have different unique giftings
[00:31:50] But the people around us, just like Pastor Terry was saying, God has put us in certain positions for a reason.
[00:31:57] It's not by chance that the Lord put you in other people's lives.
[00:32:02] And the simplest thing can mean salvation for people.
[00:32:07] The simplest church invite, the simplest prayer.
[00:32:10] How can I pray with you?
[00:32:11] It's going to look different for everybody.
[00:32:14] But what Paul was writing to him is, and it's kind of radical, was, hey,
[00:32:18] Don't take Onesimus back as a slave.
[00:32:21] Take him back as a brother in Christ.
[00:32:23] And so I would just maybe challenge you this morning.
[00:32:25] What is in 26 God speaking to you to share your faith with?
[00:32:31] Maybe it's someone that you didn't think would even hear you out.
[00:32:34] Maybe it's a co-worker who you know doesn't believe in God or go to church or
[00:32:38] that you kind of just count it out.
[00:32:39] Don't count people out.
[00:32:41] As Paul's writing to Philemon, hey, don't count Onesimus.
[00:32:46] Take him back as a brother in Christ.
[00:32:47] So this year in 26, challenge yourself to share that faith because when you share your faith, lives are changed.
[00:32:55] And that's what we want to do in the body of Christ, to share our faith and change lives.
[00:33:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
And all around us there are people that God brings into our sphere of influence.
[00:33:05] And those people are people that God brings there, I believe, for the purpose of us loving them and sharing with them the truth of the gospel.
[00:33:16] And we do it through our lives and through our good deeds.
[00:33:21] But also, God gives us words to speak.
[00:33:24] And sometimes it's just a simple word.
[00:33:26] We're planting the seed of faith in somebody's heart.
[00:33:29] Daniel mentioned a little bit earlier about grandparents.
[00:33:33] And so many times, people in our own families, they plant the seeds of faith.
[00:33:40] And to share your faith doesn't always mean going up to a stranger.
[00:33:46] Oftentimes, it's just planting the seed of faith in a family member right in your own family sphere.
[00:33:55] And so that is so powerful.
[00:33:58] I guess we're talking to some grandparents out there.
[00:34:01] I know we're grandparents and great-grandparents, but it's a wonderful thing to think about how impactful our lives can be by just sharing those words of encouragement to young people and to the other people in our lives.
[00:34:18] and and I think we can step out we can push ourselves out just a little bit more in 2026 and that's the emphasis that the Lord has put in my heart to that we would just stir this thing up inside of us that in 2026 we're going to be unmuted we're not going to let the fears we're not going to let the intimidation we're certainly not going to let the lies of the world keep us muted we're going to speak up for Christ and push ourselves out
[00:34:47] Who has a thought about stepping out of your comfort zone?
[00:34:52] Maybe even pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.
[00:34:55] Who has something to say about that?
[00:35:00] I caught you guys speechless.
[00:35:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Terry, you have your mic?
[00:35:05] Justin, who?
[00:35:06] No, I think I just put my mic up here instinctually.
[00:35:08] Not that I had something concrete to say, but now I do.
[00:35:12] No, I think it goes back to...
[00:35:16] That opportunity thing I was talking about before.
[00:35:19] There's times when God puts you in a position.
[00:35:21] Many people may not know that when I joined the team here and suddenly Pastor Rob's like, hey, you got to get up on stage and you got to do offering and things like that.
[00:35:29] I haven't done that in 15 years or so since I was part of my dad's church when I was younger.
[00:35:36] And just coming up here was a little bit nerve-wracking.
[00:35:40] It was hard to get your sea legs of how do you actually look at all of you and to talk to you in front of a crowd and things.
[00:35:50] I think things like that, for me, I just had to kind of step out and do it.
[00:35:58] you know and as you keep doing it and doing it all of a sudden you know it becomes easier and easier and easier and almost becomes natural at a certain point and those nerves and everything else that you might deal with just kind of start to mellow away
[00:36:12] Did you have something, Daniel?
[00:36:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Yeah, ultimately, when we're sharing our faith, we want revival.
[00:36:17] You know, that's something that I've been passionate about and praying for.
[00:36:22] You know, the Bible says, go therefore and make disciples.
[00:36:26] Pastors aren't the only people who go and make disciples.
[00:36:30] are in 2026 the revival that will happen when you share your faith.
[00:36:36] And that's what I'm praying, that's what we're praying for.
[00:36:38] We're praying for, and we know you guys are, Lake City Church is the church that shares their faith, whether it's life groups, Celebrate Recovery on Monday nights, Youth on Tuesday nights, Wednesday night worship service, our young adults,
[00:36:48] Let's be unmuted because, man, I think we will change Mooresville community for sure.
[00:36:55] And we're praying for that.
[00:36:57] But I just feel that's revival.
[00:36:59] When you share your faith, that's what we're enacting.
[00:37:02] Let's have revival.
[00:37:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Amen.
[00:37:04] And we are going to pray here in just a moment.
[00:37:06] Anybody else have anything really percolating?
[00:37:09] Justin, was there something that you want to kick in on?
[00:37:11] Or are you good?
[00:37:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
You know, just as you go into this year, just...
[00:37:18] For me, the challenge would be just to be more prone to be open to being there for people, showing up when people least expect it.
[00:37:28] Just be present.
[00:37:30] Sometimes you don't have to say anything because who you are as a person and the way you walk and just your presence with people, they know.
[00:37:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
That's really good.
[00:37:42] I want us to close with a prayer.
[00:37:45] There are two prayers that I'd like us to pray over ourselves, but also over everybody in our church family and beyond.
[00:37:53] The first one is that God would open doors of opportunity to share our faith with people.
[00:38:02] and number two that God would give us the ability to see those opportunities because I have this sense that all around us there are opportunities and sometimes we just don't even see we're not in the present as you're talking about Justin and and we need God to help us to see the opportunities to share our faith and I think it begins by seeing the people that God has brought into our sphere of influence so we're going to pray
[00:38:28] and would you just pray with us right now father thank you so very much for the year 2025 we give you praise we give you honor and glory for all the wonderful things that have happened that have happened during this year in our lives personally but also as a church lake city church we say thank you lord for the hundreds of people that have given their lives to jesus marriages that have been healed and restored families that have
[00:38:53] have just been set free and lives that have been put back together thank you god and as we get ready to embrace this brand new year of 2026 lord i pray that you would bring opportunities into our lives to be able to share our faith
[00:39:09] and you with others and Lord I also pray that you would give us the eyes to see the opportunities the people that you bring into our lives God I pray that 2026 would be an amazing year that would bring honor and glory to you we thank you for all this in the mighty and the powerful name of Jesus amen
