Theological Status: DEAD ORTHODOXY / DECISIONISM
Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Sardis
❓ What do these grades mean?
🔍 Biblical Discernment: The 7 Church Parallels
The Cold Orthodox Parallel
Ephesus
Teaching that upholds doctrinal precision yet parallels the loss of the "first love"—the vital, motivating power of the Gospel (Rev 2:4).
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: An exploration of the physical and spiritual dimensions of worship, emphasizing surrender, community support in battle, and the joy of approaching God as Father.
Pastoral Analysis: The sermon offers warm, relatable illustrations regarding the posture of worship and the importance of fathers modeling faith. However, the message is critically compromised by a fundamental error in soteriology, teaching that salvation is secured by a human decision and prayer rather than God's sovereign grace. Additionally, the administration of Communion lacked the necessary biblical warnings regarding self-examination.
Biblical Parallel (Archetype): Sardis — The sermon presents a 'name that it is alive, but is dead' orthodoxy. While it maintains the external forms of worship and church life, it fundamentally lacks the life of the Gospel by teaching that salvation is contingent upon human volition and a specific prayer, rather than the sovereign, monergistic work of God's grace.
Big Idea: Believers are created to worship God, and lifting hands is a physical expression of surrender, praise, and spiritual battle that pleases the Father. [00:20:38 ▶️ 📄]
📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus
- Primary Text: Matthew 2:1-11
- Usage Classification: Thematic
- Text-to-Talk Ratio: High
- Pulpit Decorum: ⚠️ CAUTION - The pastor makes subjective authority claims ('Personally, I don't know how you could experience...') that elevate personal experience above biblical instruction.
✝️ Christological Focus: Moralistic/Imitative
"Christ is presented primarily as the object of a decision and the model for living, rather than the sole author and finisher of faith."
Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 11 | Referenced: 4 | Alluded: 0
📖 View 6 Passages Read Aloud
-
Matthew 2:1-2
[00:20:40 ▶️ 📄]
"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem and 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? We saw his star in the east, and we have come to worship Him."
-
Revelation 4:11
[00:26:28 ▶️ 📄]
"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are created."
-
Psalm 63:1-4
[00:28:54 ▶️ 📄]
"O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You. My soul thirsts for You. My body longs for You in a dry and a weary land where there is no water. I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and Your glory. because your love is better than life my lips will glorify you I will praise you as long as I live and watch this and in your name I will lift up my hands"
-
1 Timothy 2:8
[00:31:25 ▶️ 📄]
"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer without anger or disputing."
-
James 4:8
[00:34:19 ▶️ 📄]
"Draw near to God. and He will draw near to you."
-
Psalm 141:1-2
[00:36:36 ▶️ 📄]
"Oh Lord, I am calling to you. Please hurry. Have you ever prayed one of those emergency prayers? It's like, Oh Lord, help! God hears those prayers. David was at a low point. He says, God, I'm calling to you. Please hurry. Listen when I cry to you for help. Accept my prayers as incense offered to you. And then he says this, and my upraised hands as an evening offering."
Key References: Matthew 2:11, Daniel (Old Testament), Exodus 17:8-13, Psalm 134:2
💧 Liturgy & Sacraments
Fencing the Table (Communion):
- Believers Only Stated: ❌ No (Open Table Risk)
- Warning Against Unworthy Manner: ⚠️ None Detected
- Verbatim Warning: "One of the things we do every Sunday morning is we share together in the Lord's Supper, Holy Communion."
Altar Call / Invitation Observed: Yes
- Theological Conditions: Repentance of sins, Acknowledgment that Jesus died on the cross for sins, Request for Jesus to be Savior and Lord, Commitment to live for God
- Sinner's Prayer: "God, I know that you love me because you sent your son Jesus and he died on the cross for my sins. Today I repent of my sins and I ask you to be my Savior and my Lord. And from today on, I'm going to live for you. In Jesus' name. Amen." 00:45:42 ▶️ 📄
- Coercive Pressure: "The question I always ask is this, if you were to die today, do you know beyond any shadow of a doubt that you're ready to stand before God?" [00:44:05 ▶️ 📄]
🎙️ Sermon Content & Delivery
Word Count: 4,110 words
📌 View 12 Key Topics Addressed
-
True Meaning of Christmas
[00:21:26 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor contrasts the commercialism of Christmas (Black Friday, decorations) with the biblical mandate to worship Jesus, citing the Magi's response. -
Worship as Identity
[00:26:14 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor argues that worship is not just an activity but the core identity of believers, created to glorify and bring pleasure to God. -
Lifting Hands in Worship
[00:27:18 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor encourages the congregation to lift their hands, explaining it as an act of worship, surrender, and openness to God's presence, supported by Scripture (Psalm 63, Psalm 134, 1 Timothy 2). -
Male Spiritual Leadership
[00:31:24 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor interprets 1 Timothy 2:8 as a specific call for men to lead in worship and set a spiritual example for their families. -
Male Spiritual Leadership
[00:32:07 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor calls Christian men to set the standard for worship and be spiritual leaders for their families, emphasizing that children need to see their fathers worshipping God. -
Divine Pleasure in Worship
[00:33:01 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor argues that God loves when His children lift their hands, using the analogy of a father's heart melting when a toddler reaches out, connecting this to the intimacy of calling God 'Abba' or 'Daddy'. -
Worship as Offering
[00:34:56 ▶️ 📄]
> Lifting hands is described as an offering of praise, particularly powerful when done despite feeling tired or down, illustrated by David's emergency prayer in Psalm 141. -
Spiritual Battle and Community
[00:37:59 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor explains that lifting hands declares spiritual battle and need for God's help, citing Moses in Exodus where his hands had to be held up by Aaron and Hur, emphasizing the necessity of community support. -
Surrender and Victory
[00:40:23 ▶️ 📄]
> The sermon concludes that uplifted hands symbolize both surrender to God and the declaration of victory in Him, leading into a corporate prayer for those in difficult situations. -
Salvation Assurance
[00:45:03 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor prays for the assurance of salvation for those who responded. -
Sinner's Prayer
[00:45:42 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor leads the congregation in a verbatim prayer of repentance and acceptance of Jesus as Savior. -
Holy Communion
[00:47:21 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor introduces the Lord's Supper, explaining the symbolism of the crackers and juice as the body and blood of Jesus.
🖼️ View 5 Illustrations & Stories
-
Sermon Illustration
[00:26:48 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his mother using the phrase 'The $64,000 question' and his own experience as a father missing the moment his toddlers reached up to him saying 'Daddy,' using it to illustrate God's love for our worship. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:28:02 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor contrasts the natural, uninhibited raising of hands at sporting events with the shyness or awkwardness some feel when lifting hands in church worship. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:33:13 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor shares a personal anecdote about missing the time when his toddlers would reach up to him saying 'Daddy,' using this to illustrate how God's heart melts when we approach Him with the intimacy of 'Abba, Father.' -
Sermon Illustration
[00:38:34 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor recounts the biblical story of Moses fighting the Amalekites, where Israel won as long as Moses held up his hands, and when he grew tired, Aaron and Hur held his hands up, illustrating the need for community support in spiritual battles. -
Sermon Illustration
[00:39:41 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor tells of a man who came to the church with a 'God-sized need' who had never lifted his hands before; after lifting them, he felt the weight of the world lift off his shoulders as God intervened.
🚀 View 7 Calls to Action
-
Pastoral Charge
[00:27:34 ▶️ 📄]
> The congregation is asked to physically lift their hands as an act of worship. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:42:10 ▶️ 📄]
> Lift up hand to signal need for prayer and God's intervention -
Pastoral Charge
[00:44:33 ▶️ 📄]
> Lift hand to request prayer for assurance of salvation -
Pastoral Charge
[00:45:12 ▶️ 📄]
> Repeat the prayer for salvation after the pastor. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:45:21 ▶️ 📄]
> Pray the provided prayer from the heart. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:45:35 ▶️ 📄]
> Pray the provided prayer for salvation. -
Pastoral Charge
[00:48:37 ▶️ 📄]
> Resurrender hearts and lives to God.
🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard
Overall Verdict: Fundamentally in Error
| Category | Status | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Gospel Presentation | ❌ FAIL | The Gospel Engine is broken. The sermon attributes the decisive action of salvation to human volition (the sinner's prayer) rather than God's monergistic grace, effectively replacing the Gospel of free grace with a system of human works/decision. |
| Soteriology | ❌ FAIL | The sermon teaches Decisionist Soteriology and Synergism, asserting that salvation is contingent upon a human verbal act of repentance and decision, contradicting the doctrine of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. |
| Bibliology | ✅ PASS | Scripture is referenced and used to support the call to worship and spiritual battle, though the interpretive lens is skewed by the soteriological error. |
| Hermeneutic | ⚠️ WEAK | The sermon relies heavily on subjective authority claims and anecdotal evidence to establish theological norms for worship and salvation, rather than strict exegesis. |
| Theology Proper | ✅ PASS | The sermon correctly affirms the love of God the Father and the work of Christ, though the mechanism of applying this salvation is erroneous. |
| Sacramentology | ❌ FAIL | The pastor failed to fence the table, omitting the biblical command to examine oneself before partaking in the Lord's Supper, thereby risking the congregation partaking unworthily. |
| Confessional Depth | ❌ FAIL | The sermon lacks depth in explaining the mechanics of grace, regeneration, and the nature of the sacraments, focusing instead on emotional experience and human response. |
⚙️ The Core Gospel Framework
What is this? This section checks if the sermon contains the essential building blocks of the Gospel. We look for explicit, substantive mentions of God's holy standard, human inability, and Christ's finished work on the cross.
Why it matters for the final verdict: A complete Gospel framework protects a sermon from becoming man-centered. If a preacher gives commands for good behavior but leaves out the grace and atonement of the Gospel, it often results in a 🔴 Critical or 🟠 Major error for Moralism (teaching human self-improvement rather than reliance on Christ). However, if these Gospel elements are missing simply because the pastor is preaching a highly focused, practical message to mature believers (e.g., instructions on biblical marriage), our system applies a "Safe Harbor" pardon, graciously reducing the omission to a 🟡 Minor error.
Why it matters for the final verdict: A complete Gospel framework protects a sermon from becoming man-centered. If a preacher gives commands for good behavior but leaves out the grace and atonement of the Gospel, it often results in a 🔴 Critical or 🟠 Major error for Moralism (teaching human self-improvement rather than reliance on Christ). However, if these Gospel elements are missing simply because the pastor is preaching a highly focused, practical message to mature believers (e.g., instructions on biblical marriage), our system applies a "Safe Harbor" pardon, graciously reducing the omission to a 🟡 Minor error.
❌ 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:
"God, I know that you love me because you sent your son Jesus and he died on the cross for my sins." [00:45:42 ▶️ 📄]
⚠️ Theological Concerns
🔴 Critical Synergistic Soteriology
Root Cause: Decisionism / Synergism
"Today I repent of my sins and I ask you to be my Savior and my Lord. And from today on, I'm going to live for you." [00:45:42 ▶️ 📄]
The Belief/Behavior: The pastor teaches that salvation is secured by the human act of reciting a specific prayer ('Today I repent... I ask you to be my Savior') and making a decision.
Why It's Dangerous: This destroys the Gospel by teaching that human volition, not God's sovereign grace, is the decisive factor in salvation, leading to false assurance based on a past action rather than Christ's finished work.
Biblical 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. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
🔴 Critical Decisionist Soteriology and Contingent Assurance
Root Cause: Decisionism
"Today I repent of my sins and I ask you to be my Savior and my Lord. And from today on, I'm going to live for you." [00:45:42 ▶️ 📄]
The Belief/Behavior: The sermon implies that assurance is contingent upon having made a specific verbal decision and prayer.
Why It's Dangerous: This creates fragile assurance based on human performance and memory of a moment, rather than the unshakeable promise of God's covenant.
Biblical Correction: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:13)
🟠 Major Failure to Fence
Root Cause: Liturgical Omission
"One of the things we do every Sunday morning is we share together in the Lord's Supper, Holy Communion." [00:47:21 ▶️ 📄]
The Belief/Behavior: The pastor omits the biblical warning against partaking in an unworthy manner and fails to instruct the congregation to examine themselves.
Why It's Dangerous: This exposes the congregation to spiritual danger by allowing them to partake without discerning the Lord's body, potentially bringing judgment upon themselves.
Biblical Correction: Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. (1 Corinthians 11:27-29)
✅ Commendations
Pastoral Warmth | Relatable Illustrations
The use of personal anecdotes, such as the 'God-sized need' and the memory of toddlers reaching up, creates a warm, accessible atmosphere that helps the congregation connect emotionally with the concept of approaching God as 'Abba, Father.'
Community Focus | Spiritual Warfare and Support
The illustration of Moses, Aaron, and Hur effectively communicates the biblical truth that spiritual battles are not fought in isolation, encouraging the congregation to rely on community support.
Family Discipleship | Modeling Faith
The strong emphasis on fathers modeling worship and spiritual humility for their children is a biblically sound and practically vital application for family life.
📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)
Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.
[00:01:12] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
The Gospel of the Lord.
[00:02:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
All fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy Repeat the sounding joy Repeat, repeat the sounding joy We will sing, sing, sing
[00:03:04] He rules the world with truth and grace And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness And wonders of His love And wonders of His love And wonders, wonders of His love
[00:04:14] of Christ Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[00:05:21] Christ did say was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay in fields where they lay keeping their sheep on a cold winter's night there was
[00:06:19] We are so strong
[00:07:30] The King is born, The King is born Noel, Noel, Noel Born is the King
[00:08:38] Man, that's an awesome song to sing during this Christmas season.
[00:08:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Amen?
[00:08:56] Well, before we see you this morning, turn around, high-five your neighbor, and welcome to Lake City.
[00:09:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Lake City Church, what is going on?
[00:09:23] Good morning and welcome.
[00:09:24] We are so glad you are here today.
[00:09:25] If you are a first-time guest and the inside flap of your worship guide is a guest card, fill that out.
[00:09:31] Bring it to the Welcome Center.
[00:09:32] We got a gift for you.
[00:09:33] Or go online.
[00:09:34] We got a card you could fill out as well.
[00:09:36] So glad you're here.
[00:09:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
What's up, guys?
[00:09:38] Tonight is our Christmas tree lighting at 5 p.m. We're gonna have cookies, cocoa, and carols.
[00:09:43] Don't forget to bring your favorite cookies to share with everyone.
[00:09:46] We'll see you tonight at 5 p.m.
[00:09:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Sunday, December 7th is going to be our annual Christmas Pastors Love Offering.
[00:09:52] We want to invite you to join with us and show our pastors how much we love them and we appreciate all they pour into our lives.
[00:09:58] You can either give on that day or you can go online now and click the Pastors Love Offering tab on the giving page.
[00:10:03] Let's show them how much we love them and appreciate.
[00:10:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Hi, y'all.
[00:10:07] I want to invite you to the Christmas Candlelight Communion.
[00:10:10] It's happening on December 23rd this year, not on Christmas Eve, but on the 23rd, Christmas Eve Eve.
[00:10:19] And there will be music.
[00:10:20] There will be the reading of the Christmas story.
[00:10:23] There will be communion.
[00:10:24] There'll be the lighting of the candles.
[00:10:26] It's going to be awesome.
[00:10:28] It's a family service, and we can't wait to see you there.
[00:10:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Thanks for being here today.
[00:10:32] If you have any questions, go to our website, lakecitychurch.org.
[00:10:36] Check out all of our social medias.
[00:10:38] Remember, we love you, God loves you.
[00:10:40] Make it a great day.
[00:10:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Good morning.
[00:10:44] Good morning, good morning, good morning.
[00:10:46] I think we've learned today that people might be a little tired or something.
[00:10:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I'm not sure.
[00:10:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
We had some people that looked like they would use the term X-mas in the last service.
[00:10:56] I was like, guys, let's put a smile on.
[00:10:58] It was a little different.
[00:11:00] Would you stand up to your feet?
[00:11:01] We're going to continue to worship.
[00:11:03] Guys, it is a joy and a pleasure just to say Merry Christmas to you officially from Lake City Church.
[00:11:10] Amen.
[00:11:12] It's going to be an amazing season over your life, over your family.
[00:11:16] It's the season of generosity.
[00:11:18] It's the season of giving.
[00:11:20] It's what it's all about.
[00:11:22] I know that we're going to celebrate the way Christ came into the world, and it's a humble, humble way that he came to give, to give, to give, to give.
[00:11:31] and so as we give today at Lake City Church if it's your first day giving with us we do this as a family together we think that if we join together God will use it all the more if we do it in agreement with each other amen so behind me you'll see the four ways that you can give on the screen if you're watching online it's good to have you yes you count it's good to see you you can join with us and give
[00:11:56] But I want to just remind you today that as you start the Christmas season, ask God how you can walk humbly.
[00:12:03] Ask God how you can give.
[00:12:05] Ask God how you can serve.
[00:12:06] Ask God what He would have you give to Him as a gift this season.
[00:12:11] Amen?
[00:12:12] Amen.
[00:12:13] Would you pray for us, Brayden?
[00:12:15] Would you bless us?
[00:12:16] Absolutely.
[00:12:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Hey, y'all look awesome this morning.
[00:12:17] If y'all will bow your heads.
[00:12:19] God, thank you for today.
[00:12:21] God, thank you for your joy.
[00:12:23] Thank you for letting it be our strength.
[00:12:25] So through this whole season, God, I ask that you just keep on giving us that joy and that we can just spread it.
[00:12:32] We didn't sign an NDA to share your name, Jesus.
[00:12:35] So thank you, Lord, and I pray that we have that childlike awe of you.
[00:12:39] Today, tomorrow, and the next day.
[00:12:41] And Lord, that this next song, Lord, we sing it and raise our hands up to you, Christ, and we just worship you.
[00:12:49] We pray over this money.
[00:12:50] It's your money, Christ.
[00:12:51] We give you our hearts and we thank you for that.
[00:12:53] It's in your name, your will.
[00:12:54] We say your name, Jesus.
[00:12:56] Amen.
[00:12:57] Amen.
[00:12:57] God bless you as you give.
[00:12:59] Let's worship.
[00:13:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
In the darkness we were waiting Without hope and without light Till from heaven you came running There was mercy in your eyes To fulfill the law and prophets To a virgin came the Word From a throne of endless glory To a cradle in the dirt
[00:14:11] To reveal the kingdom coming and to reconcile
[00:14:29] Redeem the whole creation You did not disguise the cross For even in Your suffering You saw to the other side Knowing this was our salvation Jesus for our Savior died
[00:15:01] Jesus said, praise the Spirit
[00:15:31] All of heaven held its breath, till the stone was moved for good, for the Lamb had conquered death.
[00:15:44] And the dead rose from their tombs, and the angels stood in awe.
[00:15:54] To the Father, the Father is born And the Church of Christ was born And the Spirit proclaimed And now this gospel truth of old Shall not heal, shall not fade And by His blood and in His name And in His freedom I am free For the love of Jesus Christ Who has raised
[00:16:53] Praise forever!
[00:17:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Amen.
[00:17:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
We're going to be seated this morning.
[00:18:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
and Ready to Go.
[00:18:24] I love it.
[00:18:26] I'm so glad you're here.
[00:18:27] Did you all have a great Thanksgiving?
[00:18:29] Did you all eat turkey?
[00:18:31] Did you eat chicken?
[00:18:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Did you eat ham?
[00:18:38] What else did you all eat?
[00:18:43] Mac and Cheese.
[00:18:44] I heard that.
[00:18:45] I heard that.
[00:18:46] Yeah.
[00:18:46] Mac and Cheese.
[00:18:47] Thanksgiving with Mac and Cheese.
[00:18:48] I don't know.
[00:18:49] That just doesn't get it from me.
[00:18:50] But I'm so glad you guys are here.
[00:18:52] Maybe you're watching online or in the overflow areas.
[00:18:55] Thank you so much for being here today.
[00:18:56] I also am looking forward to this evening at 5 o'clock.
[00:19:03] You all know what's going to happen, right?
[00:19:05] At 5 o'clock we're lighting the tree out front and we have hot chocolate and we have Christmas carols and homemade cookies.
[00:19:14] Somebody told me they were making Grinch cookies.
[00:19:17] I don't know what that is, but they said they're delicious.
[00:19:20] 1.1.1
[00:19:40] Well, are you ready to dive into the Word?
[00:19:44] Come on, let's do it.
[00:19:45] Let's pray together.
[00:19:45] Father, we say thank you for all of your blessings.
[00:19:49] Lord, thank you for the time that we had over Thanksgiving with our family, our friends, our loved ones.
[00:19:54] God, thank you for just the fact that you have given us breath in our lungs today, and we give you praise and honor and glory.
[00:20:02] and Lord in the next few minutes my prayer is that you would just help us as we open our hearts and open our minds to you that your word would just fill us Holy Spirit would you speak to us in a very special way speak to each one of us exactly where we are and God everything you reveal to us we say yes we will be obedient and we pray all this in the mighty and the powerful name of Jesus and everybody said amen hallelujah
[00:20:30] Thank you for those yo's.
[00:20:32] Today we begin our Christmas series and it's called Come to Worship Him.
[00:20:38] Come to worship Him.
[00:20:40] Reading from Matthew 2, verse number 1, it says, After Jesus was born in Bethlehem and 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?
[00:20:58] We saw his star in the east, and we have come to worship Him.
[00:21:05] If I were to ask you, why are you here today?
[00:21:08] I would hope that you would give the same answer that the Magi gave so many years ago, I have come to worship Him.
[00:21:17] That would be a great answer.
[00:21:20] There could be no more appropriate focus for Christmas than to say, we have come to worship Him.
[00:21:26] And yet, for many people, Christmas is about everything but worshiping Him.
[00:21:35] I wonder how many of you brave souls went shopping on Black Friday?
[00:21:42] Can I see your hand?
[00:21:43] Oh, a few of you guys are diehards.
[00:21:45] You guys are brave.
[00:21:47] And the rest of you probably said, I'm not going out there.
[00:21:50] I'm not getting involved in that rush and you would be like me.
[00:21:56] But any rate, some of you, I do know that some of you came and you bought Christmas trees from our tree lot and I just want to say thank you for doing that because
[00:22:06] Every dollar, every dime that comes from the sale of those trees goes to fight human trafficking and to send students to camp, a camp that will change their life for eternity.
[00:22:18] So thank you, thank you.
[00:22:20] But if you went to the average department store on Black Friday, you probably saw hundreds of bows and wreaths.
[00:22:28] You probably saw hundreds of Santa Claus pictures and snow scenes.
[00:22:32] But how many pictures of Jesus did you see?
[00:22:35] Declarations that we have come to worship Him, did you see?
[00:22:41] Probably very few, maybe none.
[00:22:44] And I think it's just sad that some people in a Christian country still don't really understand the true meaning of Christmas.
[00:22:55] The scripture that we just read tells us that the Magi, whom we know as the wise men, they saw Christ's star in the east.
[00:23:05] Bible scholars tell us that these wise men, they were astrologers from the Persian Empire.
[00:23:13] They studied the stars, they studied other sources to gain knowledge about the future.
[00:23:20] It's also believed that they had read the Old Testament book of Daniel that predicted the coming of the Messiah, which as you know is the main reason for Christmas.
[00:23:32] One thing is very clear.
[00:23:34] His star that they saw in the east was supernaturally placed in the heavens for the purpose of guiding the wise men to Jesus.
[00:23:44] And their response was, we have come to worship Him.
[00:23:49] Did you know that God still uses stars to lead people to Jesus?
[00:23:55] Maybe not literal stars, but it might be a person, it might be an event, it might be an encounter of some kind.
[00:24:02] But for those who are spiritually hungry, alert, and aware, God can turn anything into a star that will lead people to Jesus.
[00:24:11] And I don't know about you, but during this season there are some people that I have in my life, some loved ones, some friends that I'm praying that God would send someone, some event, some encounter that will be like a star that would lead them to Jesus in this Christmas season.
[00:24:27] And for all of those who have seen His star, the appropriate response is to say, I have come, we have come to worship Him.
[00:24:36] When the wise men finally found the Christ child, Matthew 2.11 says they opened their treasures, and they presented him with gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh.
[00:24:50] Notice that these men didn't come to get something from God, they came to give something to God, and that was their worship.
[00:24:59] In our Western culture, especially around Christmas time, far too often our Christianity has been reduced to a skewed belief that God exists for us.
[00:25:13] And that somehow God is like a big Santa Claus and He is obligated to give us whatever we want.
[00:25:21] But the truth is that God doesn't exist for us.
[00:25:25] We exist for Him.
[00:25:27] And we were created to glorify Him.
[00:25:30] We were created to worship Him.
[00:25:32] We were created to make Him known.
[00:25:34] As individuals and as a church, God wants our worship.
[00:25:43] If you're new or newer to Lake City Church, you've probably noticed that we are a worshiping church.
[00:25:49] We love to open our mind and our hearts and our mouths to worship Him.
[00:25:53] But maybe you're just coming into this kind of worship and it seems a little bit different to you.
[00:26:01] Maybe it even seems a little uncomfortable.
[00:26:04] It's okay.
[00:26:05] We've all been there.
[00:26:06] I would just encourage you, open your heart.
[00:26:09] Open your heart to the Lord and open your heart to the thought of worshiping Him.
[00:26:14] See, worship isn't just something we do, it's who we are.
[00:26:17] We are worshipers created for the sole purpose of worshiping Him.
[00:26:24] Revelation 4.11 explains it like this.
[00:26:28] It says, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are created.
[00:26:41] We were created to worship Him.
[00:26:43] We were created to bring Him pleasure.
[00:26:48] The $64,000 question, as my mother used to say, she was from Brooklyn, I guess that's a Brooklyn thing.
[00:26:54] The $64,000 question is, what can we do that would bring pleasure to God?
[00:27:01] Obviously, it begins with a heart that loves Him, that honors Him, that respects Him.
[00:27:08] But God, this is really remarkable to me, that God responds to certain physical expressions.
[00:27:18] For instance, God responds when we lift our hands to Him.
[00:27:24] So, I want you to do me a favor and we'll see what kind of participation we get.
[00:27:29] We actually even got up to 100% at the second service.
[00:27:34] But I would like for everyone in the room, would you please lift up your hands?
[00:27:39] Just lift them up.
[00:27:39] We're about 95, 96, 97, 98.
[00:27:44] Ding, ding, ding, ding!
[00:27:45] 100%!
[00:27:46] Way to go, y'all!
[00:27:46] Give yourself a hand!
[00:27:48] Woo-hoo!
[00:27:51] Now, if you didn't grow up in church, or you didn't grow up in the kind of church that lifted their hands, that may have been a little bit awkward for you, maybe even a little bit weird feeling to you.
[00:28:02] But what's interesting to me is that people can go to a sporting event, and they can raise their hands all day long, like, woo-hoo!
[00:28:10] You know and then they they come to church and they get all shy in worship and they're afraid to lift a hand or if they do it's like like this undercover raising of hands
[00:28:28] So, the question probably should be why does Scripture teach us to lift our hands to God and what does it accomplish?
[00:28:37] Well, it's in your notes.
[00:28:38] You might want to fill in the blank.
[00:28:39] Number one, lifting our hands is an act of worship.
[00:28:44] King David talked about lifting his hands to God.
[00:28:47] In Psalm 63 verse number 1 he said, O God, You are my God.
[00:28:54] Earnestly I seek You.
[00:28:55] My soul thirsts for You.
[00:28:57] My body longs for You in a dry and a weary land where there is no water.
[00:29:03] I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and Your glory.
[00:29:08] because your love is better than life my lips will glorify you I will praise you as long as I live and watch this and in your name I will lift up my hands David lifted his hands to God as an act of worship
[00:29:25] David couldn't keep his hands down because of his overwhelming revelation of God's glory.
[00:29:33] And here's the thing, when you get a glimpse of God's power, when you get a glimpse of God's glory in your life, you too will have a hard time keeping your hands in your pocket.
[00:29:42] I tell you, it will just be so natural to lift your hands to God.
[00:29:46] It'll be just as natural as lifting your hands when your favorite football team scores a touchdown.
[00:29:52] It is an act of worship.
[00:29:55] And just to be clear, this physical act is not some kind of meaningless ritual.
[00:30:00] It is an expressive act that connects your human spirit to your Creator.
[00:30:05] And when you lift your hands to God, it symbolizes your surrender.
[00:30:10] It symbolizes your praise.
[00:30:13] It symbolizes your desire for a deeper relationship with God.
[00:30:18] Each time you raise your hands, you're saying, I am open to his presence.
[00:30:24] Each time you raise your hands, it says, I'm open to receive his blessings.
[00:30:28] I don't know about you, I need those blessings.
[00:30:30] Come on, Lord, I'm ready.
[00:30:32] Each time you raise your hand, it says, I humble myself before him.
[00:30:36] It says, I come to worship him.
[00:30:41] Psalm 134 verse number 2 admonishes us to lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.
[00:30:50] Personally, I don't know how you could experience the love and the grace and the mercy of God without raising your hands and praising the Lord.
[00:30:59] And many of you were doing that a few minutes ago as we were singing those Christmas songs and those songs about the birth of God and the greatness of our God.
[00:31:07] You were lifting your hands.
[00:31:11] There's an intriguing verse about lifting our hands to God.
[00:31:16] It's found in 1 Timothy 2, verse number 8, where Paul writes about public worship in the church and he says this.
[00:31:24] He says, quote,
[00:31:25] I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer without anger or disputing.
[00:31:33] In this passage, Paul is specifically referring to men in the male gender, not men as in mankind, but men as in the male gender.
[00:31:44] And what we need to understand is at that time it was traditional practice for Jewish men to pray with their arms lifted up and their hands open like this.
[00:31:55] As if to receive something from God.
[00:31:59] Here, Paul is specifically calling out Christian men.
[00:32:04] All you men in the room, turn your hearing aid up.
[00:32:07] Paul is specifically calling out Christian men to step up and to be an example to their families, to be an example to others who are around us worshiping, to be an example of worship.
[00:32:22] And to put it in colloquial language, he's saying, I want men to set a standard, the standard for worship.
[00:32:29] I want men to be spiritual leaders.
[00:32:32] I want men to lead the way in humbling themselves and seeking after God.
[00:32:37] And so dads, every dad in the crowd today, let Paul say this to you.
[00:32:43] If you want your children to worship God, if you want your children to seek after God, they need to see you worshiping God.
[00:32:50] They need to see you seeking after God.
[00:32:53] And to all of us, lifting of our hands is an act of worship that brings pleasure to God.
[00:33:01] Number two, the second reason we lift our hands to God is that our Heavenly Father loves it.
[00:33:08] For me, that's reason enough.
[00:33:10] How about you?
[00:33:10] He loves it!
[00:33:13] Diana and I, you know, our kids are all grown now, and now our kids are having kids, and so we've got kids and grandkids and great-grandkids.
[00:33:22] Oh, Lord, what happened?
[00:33:23] Where did the time go?
[00:33:24] The one thing, there's a lot of things I miss, but the one thing I miss most about having little kids in the home is I miss our toddlers looking up to me with their hands reaching out saying, Daddy.
[00:33:39] And it always moved my heart.
[00:33:41] It moved me to action.
[00:33:43] They could ask me for anything, just about anything, and I would give it to them.
[00:33:48] Can you imagine our Heavenly Father when we lift our hands to Him and we say, Daddy?
[00:33:55] Have you read in Scripture the way it talks about Abba, Father?
[00:33:59] That word Abba really is the word Daddy to us.
[00:34:04] And when we come before our Heavenly Father and we say, Daddy God, He absolutely loves it.
[00:34:11] His heart melts toward us.
[00:34:14] So much so that James 4.8 says, "'Draw near to God.'"
[00:34:19] and He will draw near to you.
[00:34:21] When we lift up our hands to Him, it's like we're saying, Daddy God, I'm reaching out to you, but this is far as I can reach.
[00:34:31] And God says, that's okay, I'm coming near to you.
[00:34:34] And He bends down and He lifts us up in His arms.
[00:34:39] I love that.
[00:34:41] Look, our good, good Father loves it when we lift our hands to Him.
[00:34:48] Number three, the third reason we lift our hands to God is that it's an offering of praise.
[00:34:56] We used to pass these things around.
[00:34:59] We called them offering baskets.
[00:35:01] Later they became offering buckets.
[00:35:04] Thanks to the Colonel, Colonel Sanders, it became the offering bucket.
[00:35:11] And does anybody remember the good old days when we used to pass around buckets?
[00:35:16] And then COVID came and we haven't passed the bucket since COVID.
[00:35:19] People at that time, they would put their money in the bucket as an offering and that's good, right?
[00:35:26] Oh yeah, amen, that's good, that's very good.
[00:35:28] Now, people mostly give it online.
[00:35:30] We still have a few offering boxes on the back wall, I think maybe out in the lobby, but for most people, most of the time people give online, which is all good, and if you have a million dollar check, just put it in, you can put it wherever you want it.
[00:35:46] We'll cash it, I promise you.
[00:35:47] But lifting our hands to God can also be an offering to God.
[00:35:53] It's an offering of praise.
[00:35:56] Now, you may come in one Sunday morning and think to yourself, I'm so tired.
[00:36:04] I'm feeling kind of down today.
[00:36:06] I don't feel like praising God.
[00:36:10] I don't feel like lifting my hands.
[00:36:12] But you do it anyway.
[00:36:14] And you know what?
[00:36:15] That's when you give your biggest offering.
[00:36:19] That's when you give your biggest offering of praise.
[00:36:23] At a low point in David's life, he gave that kind of offering.
[00:36:28] It was a big offering.
[00:36:30] He said in Psalm 141, verse number 1, he says, Oh Lord, I am calling to you.
[00:36:36] Please hurry.
[00:36:37] Have you ever prayed one of those emergency prayers?
[00:36:41] It's like, Oh Lord, help!
[00:36:46] God hears those prayers.
[00:36:48] David was at a low point.
[00:36:50] He says, God, I'm calling to you.
[00:36:52] Please hurry.
[00:36:52] Listen when I cry to you for help.
[00:36:54] Accept my prayers as incense offered to you.
[00:36:57] And then he says this, and my upraised hands as an evening offering.
[00:37:03] In a few minutes, we're going to sing a beautiful song of worship and surrender to the Lord.
[00:37:10] Some of you, maybe this will be the very first time you've ever done it.
[00:37:14] Maybe this is the first time for some of you in a long, long time that you're gonna give an offering of praise with lifted hands to God.
[00:37:22] But I wanna encourage you to step out of your comfort zone
[00:37:25] I want to encourage you, whether you feel like it or if you don't, I'm going to encourage you to just lift up that offering of praise to God.
[00:37:34] He loves it.
[00:37:35] Just lift up your hands and say, God, I'm offering my heart to you.
[00:37:40] Say, God, I'm offering my praise to you.
[00:37:43] You might be amazed at how God shows up in your situation.
[00:37:49] Number four, the fourth reason Scripture teaches us to lift our hands to God is that sometimes in doing so, we're declaring spiritual battle.
[00:37:59] And we're declaring our need for God to help us to fight that battle.
[00:38:05] Maybe you're in a place of real spiritual battle today.
[00:38:09] Maybe you're in a dark place, a challenging place, a desperate place.
[00:38:15] Maybe it's a place where if things don't change, you're really not sure what you're going to do.
[00:38:20] And by lifting your hands, you're saying, I'm declaring battle, and I'm declaring the fact that I need God to come fight this battle for me.
[00:38:29] That's exactly the position that Moses was in.
[00:38:34] Israel was being attacked by the Amalekites.
[00:38:38] And so Moses, in Exodus chapter 16, he declares a spiritual battle.
[00:38:44] And he says, I will lift my hands to God and pray to Him.
[00:38:47] And then in verse number 10, it tells us that as long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning.
[00:38:56] It goes on to say that when he took his hands down, the Amalekites were winning.
[00:39:01] And so in verse 12, it says, When Moses' hands grew tired, Aaron and Hur held his hands up.
[00:39:09] Here's the truth, guys.
[00:39:10] At times, all of us, we need someone to help us hold our hands up.
[00:39:14] That's why we worship together.
[00:39:16] That's why we get together in a worship service like this.
[00:39:20] We need one another.
[00:39:22] When you can't hold your own hands up, we want to be here to help you hold your hands up.
[00:39:30] So if you are in some kind of difficulty right now, it's time to declare a spiritual battle and to cry out, God, I need you to fight for me.
[00:39:41] I need you to fight for me.
[00:39:43] A while back, a man came to our church with a God-sized need.
[00:39:49] He was absolutely desperate.
[00:39:52] He had never lifted his hands to God before, ever.
[00:39:57] But he did that day.
[00:40:00] And God showed up for him.
[00:40:03] He told me later that it was like the weight of the world just lifted off my shoulders.
[00:40:08] And you know what it did?
[00:40:10] Because God responded to his simple act of lifting his hands to the Lord, and God intervened for him.
[00:40:20] I want to close with this thought.
[00:40:23] Throughout history, uplifted hands have been a symbol of two things.
[00:40:27] Surrender and victory.
[00:40:31] When we come into the presence of God, our uplifted hands mean both things simultaneously.
[00:40:37] We surrender to God and we find victory in our God.
[00:40:43] Long ago, the wise men, they declared, we have come to worship Him.
[00:40:51] My prayer for you and for your family this Christmas is that you too will come to worship Him.
[00:41:01] Amen.
[00:41:01] Let's pray together.
[00:41:02] Father, thank you for your word.
[00:41:05] Thank you for the challenge of your word.
[00:41:07] Lord, help us to walk in your word today.
[00:41:10] I thank you in Jesus' name.
[00:41:13] Would you go ahead and stand together with me?
[00:41:19] As we just stand in the presence of the Lord,
[00:41:25] In just a moment I want to pray a prayer for those who are, you're going through something difficult right now.
[00:41:32] And maybe you find yourself in some kind of a battle and you need God to fight for you.
[00:41:38] Maybe you feel like you're
[00:41:41] You're like David at a low point, and you're just crying out, God, hurry.
[00:41:46] It's kind of a desperate prayer.
[00:41:49] And you need God to fight for you, to fight the battle for you.
[00:41:52] I want to pray for you.
[00:41:54] For everyone who's going through a difficult time right now, as we enter this Christmas season, there's so many things that kind of come together and just build up over this season.
[00:42:06] I believe God wants to bring some answers to you, some breakthroughs,
[00:42:10] So if you have something going on in your life and you need God to help you with it, would you just lift up your hand?
[00:42:17] Just lift it up.
[00:42:18] I want to pray for everybody who says, I'm going through something, some kind of a difficulty, I'm fighting a battle, and I need God to fight it.
[00:42:26] Anybody else want to get in on this prayer?
[00:42:28] Lift up your hand, because I believe that God is going to do something for you.
[00:42:32] By lifting up your hand, you're saying, God, I surrender to you, but I also declare victory in you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:42:40] So, Father, You see the hands.
[00:42:42] You know what's going on in each one of our lives.
[00:42:46] God, whether it's physical or financial or relational, whatever it is, God, I just ask that in these moments, as we lift our hands to You, it's a cry to You that says, God, only You can win this battle.
[00:43:01] God, we ask You to fight this battle.
[00:43:04] Lord, I pray that even as Moses experienced victory as he called on you, I pray for everyone with a hand in the air today that they would experience victory.
[00:43:16] We pray this in the powerful, the mighty, the victorious name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:43:22] God, we say thank you for doing marvelous things, physically, financially, relationally, God, all kinds of areas of our lives.
[00:43:32] God, you're gonna do it.
[00:43:34] and we give you the glory.
[00:43:35] We give you the honor in Jesus' name.
[00:43:39] You can take your hand down and while we still stand in this attitude of prayer with our heads bowed and our eyes closed, I want to pray one more prayer.
[00:43:48] Maybe you've come here today and you're not really sure about your relationship with God.
[00:43:55] The question I always ask is this, if you were to die today, do you know beyond any shadow of a doubt that you're ready to stand before God?
[00:44:05] If you're not sure, in just a moment I'm going to pray a simple prayer and I'd love to pray for you along with others because you can be sure that Jesus Christ is your Savior and your Lord.
[00:44:17] Maybe you prayed a prayer years ago and you've kind of strayed away from it.
[00:44:20] Maybe you've never prayed a prayer asking Jesus to be your Savior.
[00:44:25] and Your Lord.
[00:44:26] Today is the day, and I'd love to pray for you.
[00:44:29] While heads are bowed, Christians pray really hard right now.
[00:44:33] If you say, I'm not sure about my salvation, but I'd love to be sure, and I'd like to be included in this prayer, would you just lift up your hand right now?
[00:44:41] Lift it up and say, please pray for me.
[00:44:43] God bless you.
[00:44:44] God bless you.
[00:44:45] Others, just lift it up and say, I want to be included in this prayer.
[00:44:48] God bless you.
[00:44:49] Anybody else?
[00:44:51] Lift it up and say, please pray for me.
[00:44:52] I want to be absolutely certain of my relationship with Jesus.
[00:44:55] Thank you.
[00:44:56] Yes.
[00:44:58] Anybody else?
[00:45:01] Father, thank you for these that have responded.
[00:45:03] And Lord, today I pray that you would give them the assurance of their salvation.
[00:45:09] Just a second, I'm going to pray a simple prayer.
[00:45:12] I'm going to ask everyone in this room to repeat this prayer after me.
[00:45:16] If you raised your hand, just pray this prayer with the rest of us.
[00:45:21] Pray it from your heart.
[00:45:22] God will hear you and God will meet with you.
[00:45:25] Maybe you didn't raise your hand, but I want to invite you to pray this prayer.
[00:45:31] Maybe you felt a tugging on the inside, but you didn't raise your hand.
[00:45:35] I invite you to pray this prayer with the rest of us.
[00:45:40] And let's pray this prayer together.
[00:45:42] Say, God, I know that you love me because you sent your son Jesus and he died on the cross for my sins.
[00:45:54] Today I repent of my sins and I ask you to be my Savior and my Lord.
[00:46:00] And from today on,
[00:46:05] I'm going to live for you.
[00:46:06] In Jesus' name.
[00:46:10] Amen.
[00:46:10] Amen.
[00:46:11] Come on, y'all.
[00:46:11] Let's give God praise.
[00:46:13] Lord, we just say thank you.
[00:46:15] Thank you, Lord Jesus.
[00:46:16] Thank you, Lord Jesus.
[00:46:18] If you prayed that prayer, first of all, I'm really proud of you.
[00:46:21] God bless you.
[00:46:23] You know, the Bible says that old things have passed away.
[00:46:25] Behold, all things have become new.
[00:46:27] and so God has something exciting, something brand new for you and your new future as a Christ follower.
[00:46:35] I'm going to be praying for you.
[00:46:37] I also want to ask you to do one more thing.
[00:46:39] In just a moment this service will be over and as you go out into the lobby I'm going to ask you to go
[00:46:45] God bless you so much.
[00:47:14] Maybe you're here today for the first time.
[00:47:16] I want to say thank you for coming.
[00:47:18] Welcome.
[00:47:19] Hope you'll come back.
[00:47:21] One of the things we do every Sunday morning is we share together in the Lord's Supper, Holy Communion.
[00:47:27] So in the next few moments, we're actually celebrating the fact that God the Father loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus.
[00:47:35] Jesus loved us so much that He gave His body and His blood as the sacrifice for our sins.
[00:47:42] and when you came in you received these little packets and those packets have these little crackers and the little cup of juice and the cracker reminds us of the body of Jesus that was bruised and broken for us and that the juice reminds us of the blood of Jesus that was shed for us when Christ hung on the cross and so father in the next few moments as we prepare our hearts
[00:48:08] to receive these emblems of your broken body and your shed blood.
[00:48:13] God, may you help us to understand by revelation once again how much you love us and how much you have forgiven us.
[00:48:22] And I pray that everyone in this room today who receives these emblems would be reminded that by faith, by your sacrifice, our sins have been forgiven.
[00:48:33] And Lord, I say thank you for doing that.
[00:48:36] And now
[00:48:37] We resurrender our hearts and our lives to you.
[00:48:42] We say thank you in Jesus' name.
[00:48:46] Amen.
[00:49:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
In Jesus' name we pray.
[00:49:17] Amen.
[00:49:38] We are your temple, make us holy like you are You see a holy nation, a flock to consecrate
[00:50:08] Let us pray.
[00:50:10] So help us God to please you where only you can see.
[00:50:43] You set us apart God, for Your glory Make us holy like You are Come, Lord, Your people With Your presence
[00:51:12] Make us a place where you delight to dwell May we need your hands' correction
[00:53:07] God, we need resurrender So we resurrender You're calling, we're coming We're not walking, we're running God, we need resurrender So we resurrender
[00:53:41] God, we need resurrender Your calling We're coming We're not walking We're running God, we need resurrender
[00:55:22] We're not walking, we're running God, we need resurrender So we resurrender Your calling, we're coming We're not walking, we're running God, we need resurrender So we resurrender
[00:55:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Well, Lord, we thank you for today.
[00:55:59] And we thank you for your goodness, your faithfulness.
[00:56:02] Lord, we thank you that you've made us to worship you.
[00:56:06] God, and as we leave today, with prepared hearts and prepared minds, God,
[00:56:14] We're filled with joy and we can have that joy because there's victory in Jesus.
[00:56:20] And Lord, we love you.
[00:56:21] We thank you.
[00:56:22] Be with us as we leave.
[00:56:22] Guide us, shape us into the men and women you want us to be in Jesus' name.
[00:56:27] Amen.
[00:56:27] Lake City Church, we love you.
[00:56:31] God loves you.
[00:56:32] May you have a great week.
The Gospel of the Lord.
[00:02:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
All fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy Repeat the sounding joy Repeat, repeat the sounding joy We will sing, sing, sing
[00:03:04] He rules the world with truth and grace And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness And wonders of His love And wonders of His love And wonders, wonders of His love
[00:04:14] of Christ Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[00:05:21] Christ did say was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay in fields where they lay keeping their sheep on a cold winter's night there was
[00:06:19] We are so strong
[00:07:30] The King is born, The King is born Noel, Noel, Noel Born is the King
[00:08:38] Man, that's an awesome song to sing during this Christmas season.
[00:08:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Amen?
[00:08:56] Well, before we see you this morning, turn around, high-five your neighbor, and welcome to Lake City.
[00:09:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Lake City Church, what is going on?
[00:09:23] Good morning and welcome.
[00:09:24] We are so glad you are here today.
[00:09:25] If you are a first-time guest and the inside flap of your worship guide is a guest card, fill that out.
[00:09:31] Bring it to the Welcome Center.
[00:09:32] We got a gift for you.
[00:09:33] Or go online.
[00:09:34] We got a card you could fill out as well.
[00:09:36] So glad you're here.
[00:09:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
What's up, guys?
[00:09:38] Tonight is our Christmas tree lighting at 5 p.m. We're gonna have cookies, cocoa, and carols.
[00:09:43] Don't forget to bring your favorite cookies to share with everyone.
[00:09:46] We'll see you tonight at 5 p.m.
[00:09:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Sunday, December 7th is going to be our annual Christmas Pastors Love Offering.
[00:09:52] We want to invite you to join with us and show our pastors how much we love them and we appreciate all they pour into our lives.
[00:09:58] You can either give on that day or you can go online now and click the Pastors Love Offering tab on the giving page.
[00:10:03] Let's show them how much we love them and appreciate.
[00:10:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Hi, y'all.
[00:10:07] I want to invite you to the Christmas Candlelight Communion.
[00:10:10] It's happening on December 23rd this year, not on Christmas Eve, but on the 23rd, Christmas Eve Eve.
[00:10:19] And there will be music.
[00:10:20] There will be the reading of the Christmas story.
[00:10:23] There will be communion.
[00:10:24] There'll be the lighting of the candles.
[00:10:26] It's going to be awesome.
[00:10:28] It's a family service, and we can't wait to see you there.
[00:10:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Thanks for being here today.
[00:10:32] If you have any questions, go to our website, lakecitychurch.org.
[00:10:36] Check out all of our social medias.
[00:10:38] Remember, we love you, God loves you.
[00:10:40] Make it a great day.
[00:10:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Good morning.
[00:10:44] Good morning, good morning, good morning.
[00:10:46] I think we've learned today that people might be a little tired or something.
[00:10:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I'm not sure.
[00:10:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
We had some people that looked like they would use the term X-mas in the last service.
[00:10:56] I was like, guys, let's put a smile on.
[00:10:58] It was a little different.
[00:11:00] Would you stand up to your feet?
[00:11:01] We're going to continue to worship.
[00:11:03] Guys, it is a joy and a pleasure just to say Merry Christmas to you officially from Lake City Church.
[00:11:10] Amen.
[00:11:12] It's going to be an amazing season over your life, over your family.
[00:11:16] It's the season of generosity.
[00:11:18] It's the season of giving.
[00:11:20] It's what it's all about.
[00:11:22] I know that we're going to celebrate the way Christ came into the world, and it's a humble, humble way that he came to give, to give, to give, to give.
[00:11:31] and so as we give today at Lake City Church if it's your first day giving with us we do this as a family together we think that if we join together God will use it all the more if we do it in agreement with each other amen so behind me you'll see the four ways that you can give on the screen if you're watching online it's good to have you yes you count it's good to see you you can join with us and give
[00:11:56] But I want to just remind you today that as you start the Christmas season, ask God how you can walk humbly.
[00:12:03] Ask God how you can give.
[00:12:05] Ask God how you can serve.
[00:12:06] Ask God what He would have you give to Him as a gift this season.
[00:12:11] Amen?
[00:12:12] Amen.
[00:12:13] Would you pray for us, Brayden?
[00:12:15] Would you bless us?
[00:12:16] Absolutely.
[00:12:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Hey, y'all look awesome this morning.
[00:12:17] If y'all will bow your heads.
[00:12:19] God, thank you for today.
[00:12:21] God, thank you for your joy.
[00:12:23] Thank you for letting it be our strength.
[00:12:25] So through this whole season, God, I ask that you just keep on giving us that joy and that we can just spread it.
[00:12:32] We didn't sign an NDA to share your name, Jesus.
[00:12:35] So thank you, Lord, and I pray that we have that childlike awe of you.
[00:12:39] Today, tomorrow, and the next day.
[00:12:41] And Lord, that this next song, Lord, we sing it and raise our hands up to you, Christ, and we just worship you.
[00:12:49] We pray over this money.
[00:12:50] It's your money, Christ.
[00:12:51] We give you our hearts and we thank you for that.
[00:12:53] It's in your name, your will.
[00:12:54] We say your name, Jesus.
[00:12:56] Amen.
[00:12:57] Amen.
[00:12:57] God bless you as you give.
[00:12:59] Let's worship.
[00:13:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
In the darkness we were waiting Without hope and without light Till from heaven you came running There was mercy in your eyes To fulfill the law and prophets To a virgin came the Word From a throne of endless glory To a cradle in the dirt
[00:14:11] To reveal the kingdom coming and to reconcile
[00:14:29] Redeem the whole creation You did not disguise the cross For even in Your suffering You saw to the other side Knowing this was our salvation Jesus for our Savior died
[00:15:01] Jesus said, praise the Spirit
[00:15:31] All of heaven held its breath, till the stone was moved for good, for the Lamb had conquered death.
[00:15:44] And the dead rose from their tombs, and the angels stood in awe.
[00:15:54] To the Father, the Father is born And the Church of Christ was born And the Spirit proclaimed And now this gospel truth of old Shall not heal, shall not fade And by His blood and in His name And in His freedom I am free For the love of Jesus Christ Who has raised
[00:16:53] Praise forever!
[00:17:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Amen.
[00:17:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
We're going to be seated this morning.
[00:18:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
and Ready to Go.
[00:18:24] I love it.
[00:18:26] I'm so glad you're here.
[00:18:27] Did you all have a great Thanksgiving?
[00:18:29] Did you all eat turkey?
[00:18:31] Did you eat chicken?
[00:18:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Did you eat ham?
[00:18:38] What else did you all eat?
[00:18:43] Mac and Cheese.
[00:18:44] I heard that.
[00:18:45] I heard that.
[00:18:46] Yeah.
[00:18:46] Mac and Cheese.
[00:18:47] Thanksgiving with Mac and Cheese.
[00:18:48] I don't know.
[00:18:49] That just doesn't get it from me.
[00:18:50] But I'm so glad you guys are here.
[00:18:52] Maybe you're watching online or in the overflow areas.
[00:18:55] Thank you so much for being here today.
[00:18:56] I also am looking forward to this evening at 5 o'clock.
[00:19:03] You all know what's going to happen, right?
[00:19:05] At 5 o'clock we're lighting the tree out front and we have hot chocolate and we have Christmas carols and homemade cookies.
[00:19:14] Somebody told me they were making Grinch cookies.
[00:19:17] I don't know what that is, but they said they're delicious.
[00:19:20] 1.1.1
[00:19:40] Well, are you ready to dive into the Word?
[00:19:44] Come on, let's do it.
[00:19:45] Let's pray together.
[00:19:45] Father, we say thank you for all of your blessings.
[00:19:49] Lord, thank you for the time that we had over Thanksgiving with our family, our friends, our loved ones.
[00:19:54] God, thank you for just the fact that you have given us breath in our lungs today, and we give you praise and honor and glory.
[00:20:02] and Lord in the next few minutes my prayer is that you would just help us as we open our hearts and open our minds to you that your word would just fill us Holy Spirit would you speak to us in a very special way speak to each one of us exactly where we are and God everything you reveal to us we say yes we will be obedient and we pray all this in the mighty and the powerful name of Jesus and everybody said amen hallelujah
[00:20:30] Thank you for those yo's.
[00:20:32] Today we begin our Christmas series and it's called Come to Worship Him.
[00:20:38] Come to worship Him.
[00:20:40] Reading from Matthew 2, verse number 1, it says, After Jesus was born in Bethlehem and 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?
[00:20:58] We saw his star in the east, and we have come to worship Him.
[00:21:05] If I were to ask you, why are you here today?
[00:21:08] I would hope that you would give the same answer that the Magi gave so many years ago, I have come to worship Him.
[00:21:17] That would be a great answer.
[00:21:20] There could be no more appropriate focus for Christmas than to say, we have come to worship Him.
[00:21:26] And yet, for many people, Christmas is about everything but worshiping Him.
[00:21:35] I wonder how many of you brave souls went shopping on Black Friday?
[00:21:42] Can I see your hand?
[00:21:43] Oh, a few of you guys are diehards.
[00:21:45] You guys are brave.
[00:21:47] And the rest of you probably said, I'm not going out there.
[00:21:50] I'm not getting involved in that rush and you would be like me.
[00:21:56] But any rate, some of you, I do know that some of you came and you bought Christmas trees from our tree lot and I just want to say thank you for doing that because
[00:22:06] Every dollar, every dime that comes from the sale of those trees goes to fight human trafficking and to send students to camp, a camp that will change their life for eternity.
[00:22:18] So thank you, thank you.
[00:22:20] But if you went to the average department store on Black Friday, you probably saw hundreds of bows and wreaths.
[00:22:28] You probably saw hundreds of Santa Claus pictures and snow scenes.
[00:22:32] But how many pictures of Jesus did you see?
[00:22:35] Declarations that we have come to worship Him, did you see?
[00:22:41] Probably very few, maybe none.
[00:22:44] And I think it's just sad that some people in a Christian country still don't really understand the true meaning of Christmas.
[00:22:55] The scripture that we just read tells us that the Magi, whom we know as the wise men, they saw Christ's star in the east.
[00:23:05] Bible scholars tell us that these wise men, they were astrologers from the Persian Empire.
[00:23:13] They studied the stars, they studied other sources to gain knowledge about the future.
[00:23:20] It's also believed that they had read the Old Testament book of Daniel that predicted the coming of the Messiah, which as you know is the main reason for Christmas.
[00:23:32] One thing is very clear.
[00:23:34] His star that they saw in the east was supernaturally placed in the heavens for the purpose of guiding the wise men to Jesus.
[00:23:44] And their response was, we have come to worship Him.
[00:23:49] Did you know that God still uses stars to lead people to Jesus?
[00:23:55] Maybe not literal stars, but it might be a person, it might be an event, it might be an encounter of some kind.
[00:24:02] But for those who are spiritually hungry, alert, and aware, God can turn anything into a star that will lead people to Jesus.
[00:24:11] And I don't know about you, but during this season there are some people that I have in my life, some loved ones, some friends that I'm praying that God would send someone, some event, some encounter that will be like a star that would lead them to Jesus in this Christmas season.
[00:24:27] And for all of those who have seen His star, the appropriate response is to say, I have come, we have come to worship Him.
[00:24:36] When the wise men finally found the Christ child, Matthew 2.11 says they opened their treasures, and they presented him with gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh.
[00:24:50] Notice that these men didn't come to get something from God, they came to give something to God, and that was their worship.
[00:24:59] In our Western culture, especially around Christmas time, far too often our Christianity has been reduced to a skewed belief that God exists for us.
[00:25:13] And that somehow God is like a big Santa Claus and He is obligated to give us whatever we want.
[00:25:21] But the truth is that God doesn't exist for us.
[00:25:25] We exist for Him.
[00:25:27] And we were created to glorify Him.
[00:25:30] We were created to worship Him.
[00:25:32] We were created to make Him known.
[00:25:34] As individuals and as a church, God wants our worship.
[00:25:43] If you're new or newer to Lake City Church, you've probably noticed that we are a worshiping church.
[00:25:49] We love to open our mind and our hearts and our mouths to worship Him.
[00:25:53] But maybe you're just coming into this kind of worship and it seems a little bit different to you.
[00:26:01] Maybe it even seems a little uncomfortable.
[00:26:04] It's okay.
[00:26:05] We've all been there.
[00:26:06] I would just encourage you, open your heart.
[00:26:09] Open your heart to the Lord and open your heart to the thought of worshiping Him.
[00:26:14] See, worship isn't just something we do, it's who we are.
[00:26:17] We are worshipers created for the sole purpose of worshiping Him.
[00:26:24] Revelation 4.11 explains it like this.
[00:26:28] It says, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are created.
[00:26:41] We were created to worship Him.
[00:26:43] We were created to bring Him pleasure.
[00:26:48] The $64,000 question, as my mother used to say, she was from Brooklyn, I guess that's a Brooklyn thing.
[00:26:54] The $64,000 question is, what can we do that would bring pleasure to God?
[00:27:01] Obviously, it begins with a heart that loves Him, that honors Him, that respects Him.
[00:27:08] But God, this is really remarkable to me, that God responds to certain physical expressions.
[00:27:18] For instance, God responds when we lift our hands to Him.
[00:27:24] So, I want you to do me a favor and we'll see what kind of participation we get.
[00:27:29] We actually even got up to 100% at the second service.
[00:27:34] But I would like for everyone in the room, would you please lift up your hands?
[00:27:39] Just lift them up.
[00:27:39] We're about 95, 96, 97, 98.
[00:27:44] Ding, ding, ding, ding!
[00:27:45] 100%!
[00:27:46] Way to go, y'all!
[00:27:46] Give yourself a hand!
[00:27:48] Woo-hoo!
[00:27:51] Now, if you didn't grow up in church, or you didn't grow up in the kind of church that lifted their hands, that may have been a little bit awkward for you, maybe even a little bit weird feeling to you.
[00:28:02] But what's interesting to me is that people can go to a sporting event, and they can raise their hands all day long, like, woo-hoo!
[00:28:10] You know and then they they come to church and they get all shy in worship and they're afraid to lift a hand or if they do it's like like this undercover raising of hands
[00:28:28] So, the question probably should be why does Scripture teach us to lift our hands to God and what does it accomplish?
[00:28:37] Well, it's in your notes.
[00:28:38] You might want to fill in the blank.
[00:28:39] Number one, lifting our hands is an act of worship.
[00:28:44] King David talked about lifting his hands to God.
[00:28:47] In Psalm 63 verse number 1 he said, O God, You are my God.
[00:28:54] Earnestly I seek You.
[00:28:55] My soul thirsts for You.
[00:28:57] My body longs for You in a dry and a weary land where there is no water.
[00:29:03] I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and Your glory.
[00:29:08] because your love is better than life my lips will glorify you I will praise you as long as I live and watch this and in your name I will lift up my hands David lifted his hands to God as an act of worship
[00:29:25] David couldn't keep his hands down because of his overwhelming revelation of God's glory.
[00:29:33] And here's the thing, when you get a glimpse of God's power, when you get a glimpse of God's glory in your life, you too will have a hard time keeping your hands in your pocket.
[00:29:42] I tell you, it will just be so natural to lift your hands to God.
[00:29:46] It'll be just as natural as lifting your hands when your favorite football team scores a touchdown.
[00:29:52] It is an act of worship.
[00:29:55] And just to be clear, this physical act is not some kind of meaningless ritual.
[00:30:00] It is an expressive act that connects your human spirit to your Creator.
[00:30:05] And when you lift your hands to God, it symbolizes your surrender.
[00:30:10] It symbolizes your praise.
[00:30:13] It symbolizes your desire for a deeper relationship with God.
[00:30:18] Each time you raise your hands, you're saying, I am open to his presence.
[00:30:24] Each time you raise your hands, it says, I'm open to receive his blessings.
[00:30:28] I don't know about you, I need those blessings.
[00:30:30] Come on, Lord, I'm ready.
[00:30:32] Each time you raise your hand, it says, I humble myself before him.
[00:30:36] It says, I come to worship him.
[00:30:41] Psalm 134 verse number 2 admonishes us to lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.
[00:30:50] Personally, I don't know how you could experience the love and the grace and the mercy of God without raising your hands and praising the Lord.
[00:30:59] And many of you were doing that a few minutes ago as we were singing those Christmas songs and those songs about the birth of God and the greatness of our God.
[00:31:07] You were lifting your hands.
[00:31:11] There's an intriguing verse about lifting our hands to God.
[00:31:16] It's found in 1 Timothy 2, verse number 8, where Paul writes about public worship in the church and he says this.
[00:31:24] He says, quote,
[00:31:25] I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer without anger or disputing.
[00:31:33] In this passage, Paul is specifically referring to men in the male gender, not men as in mankind, but men as in the male gender.
[00:31:44] And what we need to understand is at that time it was traditional practice for Jewish men to pray with their arms lifted up and their hands open like this.
[00:31:55] As if to receive something from God.
[00:31:59] Here, Paul is specifically calling out Christian men.
[00:32:04] All you men in the room, turn your hearing aid up.
[00:32:07] Paul is specifically calling out Christian men to step up and to be an example to their families, to be an example to others who are around us worshiping, to be an example of worship.
[00:32:22] And to put it in colloquial language, he's saying, I want men to set a standard, the standard for worship.
[00:32:29] I want men to be spiritual leaders.
[00:32:32] I want men to lead the way in humbling themselves and seeking after God.
[00:32:37] And so dads, every dad in the crowd today, let Paul say this to you.
[00:32:43] If you want your children to worship God, if you want your children to seek after God, they need to see you worshiping God.
[00:32:50] They need to see you seeking after God.
[00:32:53] And to all of us, lifting of our hands is an act of worship that brings pleasure to God.
[00:33:01] Number two, the second reason we lift our hands to God is that our Heavenly Father loves it.
[00:33:08] For me, that's reason enough.
[00:33:10] How about you?
[00:33:10] He loves it!
[00:33:13] Diana and I, you know, our kids are all grown now, and now our kids are having kids, and so we've got kids and grandkids and great-grandkids.
[00:33:22] Oh, Lord, what happened?
[00:33:23] Where did the time go?
[00:33:24] The one thing, there's a lot of things I miss, but the one thing I miss most about having little kids in the home is I miss our toddlers looking up to me with their hands reaching out saying, Daddy.
[00:33:39] And it always moved my heart.
[00:33:41] It moved me to action.
[00:33:43] They could ask me for anything, just about anything, and I would give it to them.
[00:33:48] Can you imagine our Heavenly Father when we lift our hands to Him and we say, Daddy?
[00:33:55] Have you read in Scripture the way it talks about Abba, Father?
[00:33:59] That word Abba really is the word Daddy to us.
[00:34:04] And when we come before our Heavenly Father and we say, Daddy God, He absolutely loves it.
[00:34:11] His heart melts toward us.
[00:34:14] So much so that James 4.8 says, "'Draw near to God.'"
[00:34:19] and He will draw near to you.
[00:34:21] When we lift up our hands to Him, it's like we're saying, Daddy God, I'm reaching out to you, but this is far as I can reach.
[00:34:31] And God says, that's okay, I'm coming near to you.
[00:34:34] And He bends down and He lifts us up in His arms.
[00:34:39] I love that.
[00:34:41] Look, our good, good Father loves it when we lift our hands to Him.
[00:34:48] Number three, the third reason we lift our hands to God is that it's an offering of praise.
[00:34:56] We used to pass these things around.
[00:34:59] We called them offering baskets.
[00:35:01] Later they became offering buckets.
[00:35:04] Thanks to the Colonel, Colonel Sanders, it became the offering bucket.
[00:35:11] And does anybody remember the good old days when we used to pass around buckets?
[00:35:16] And then COVID came and we haven't passed the bucket since COVID.
[00:35:19] People at that time, they would put their money in the bucket as an offering and that's good, right?
[00:35:26] Oh yeah, amen, that's good, that's very good.
[00:35:28] Now, people mostly give it online.
[00:35:30] We still have a few offering boxes on the back wall, I think maybe out in the lobby, but for most people, most of the time people give online, which is all good, and if you have a million dollar check, just put it in, you can put it wherever you want it.
[00:35:46] We'll cash it, I promise you.
[00:35:47] But lifting our hands to God can also be an offering to God.
[00:35:53] It's an offering of praise.
[00:35:56] Now, you may come in one Sunday morning and think to yourself, I'm so tired.
[00:36:04] I'm feeling kind of down today.
[00:36:06] I don't feel like praising God.
[00:36:10] I don't feel like lifting my hands.
[00:36:12] But you do it anyway.
[00:36:14] And you know what?
[00:36:15] That's when you give your biggest offering.
[00:36:19] That's when you give your biggest offering of praise.
[00:36:23] At a low point in David's life, he gave that kind of offering.
[00:36:28] It was a big offering.
[00:36:30] He said in Psalm 141, verse number 1, he says, Oh Lord, I am calling to you.
[00:36:36] Please hurry.
[00:36:37] Have you ever prayed one of those emergency prayers?
[00:36:41] It's like, Oh Lord, help!
[00:36:46] God hears those prayers.
[00:36:48] David was at a low point.
[00:36:50] He says, God, I'm calling to you.
[00:36:52] Please hurry.
[00:36:52] Listen when I cry to you for help.
[00:36:54] Accept my prayers as incense offered to you.
[00:36:57] And then he says this, and my upraised hands as an evening offering.
[00:37:03] In a few minutes, we're going to sing a beautiful song of worship and surrender to the Lord.
[00:37:10] Some of you, maybe this will be the very first time you've ever done it.
[00:37:14] Maybe this is the first time for some of you in a long, long time that you're gonna give an offering of praise with lifted hands to God.
[00:37:22] But I wanna encourage you to step out of your comfort zone
[00:37:25] I want to encourage you, whether you feel like it or if you don't, I'm going to encourage you to just lift up that offering of praise to God.
[00:37:34] He loves it.
[00:37:35] Just lift up your hands and say, God, I'm offering my heart to you.
[00:37:40] Say, God, I'm offering my praise to you.
[00:37:43] You might be amazed at how God shows up in your situation.
[00:37:49] Number four, the fourth reason Scripture teaches us to lift our hands to God is that sometimes in doing so, we're declaring spiritual battle.
[00:37:59] And we're declaring our need for God to help us to fight that battle.
[00:38:05] Maybe you're in a place of real spiritual battle today.
[00:38:09] Maybe you're in a dark place, a challenging place, a desperate place.
[00:38:15] Maybe it's a place where if things don't change, you're really not sure what you're going to do.
[00:38:20] And by lifting your hands, you're saying, I'm declaring battle, and I'm declaring the fact that I need God to come fight this battle for me.
[00:38:29] That's exactly the position that Moses was in.
[00:38:34] Israel was being attacked by the Amalekites.
[00:38:38] And so Moses, in Exodus chapter 16, he declares a spiritual battle.
[00:38:44] And he says, I will lift my hands to God and pray to Him.
[00:38:47] And then in verse number 10, it tells us that as long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning.
[00:38:56] It goes on to say that when he took his hands down, the Amalekites were winning.
[00:39:01] And so in verse 12, it says, When Moses' hands grew tired, Aaron and Hur held his hands up.
[00:39:09] Here's the truth, guys.
[00:39:10] At times, all of us, we need someone to help us hold our hands up.
[00:39:14] That's why we worship together.
[00:39:16] That's why we get together in a worship service like this.
[00:39:20] We need one another.
[00:39:22] When you can't hold your own hands up, we want to be here to help you hold your hands up.
[00:39:30] So if you are in some kind of difficulty right now, it's time to declare a spiritual battle and to cry out, God, I need you to fight for me.
[00:39:41] I need you to fight for me.
[00:39:43] A while back, a man came to our church with a God-sized need.
[00:39:49] He was absolutely desperate.
[00:39:52] He had never lifted his hands to God before, ever.
[00:39:57] But he did that day.
[00:40:00] And God showed up for him.
[00:40:03] He told me later that it was like the weight of the world just lifted off my shoulders.
[00:40:08] And you know what it did?
[00:40:10] Because God responded to his simple act of lifting his hands to the Lord, and God intervened for him.
[00:40:20] I want to close with this thought.
[00:40:23] Throughout history, uplifted hands have been a symbol of two things.
[00:40:27] Surrender and victory.
[00:40:31] When we come into the presence of God, our uplifted hands mean both things simultaneously.
[00:40:37] We surrender to God and we find victory in our God.
[00:40:43] Long ago, the wise men, they declared, we have come to worship Him.
[00:40:51] My prayer for you and for your family this Christmas is that you too will come to worship Him.
[00:41:01] Amen.
[00:41:01] Let's pray together.
[00:41:02] Father, thank you for your word.
[00:41:05] Thank you for the challenge of your word.
[00:41:07] Lord, help us to walk in your word today.
[00:41:10] I thank you in Jesus' name.
[00:41:13] Would you go ahead and stand together with me?
[00:41:19] As we just stand in the presence of the Lord,
[00:41:25] In just a moment I want to pray a prayer for those who are, you're going through something difficult right now.
[00:41:32] And maybe you find yourself in some kind of a battle and you need God to fight for you.
[00:41:38] Maybe you feel like you're
[00:41:41] You're like David at a low point, and you're just crying out, God, hurry.
[00:41:46] It's kind of a desperate prayer.
[00:41:49] And you need God to fight for you, to fight the battle for you.
[00:41:52] I want to pray for you.
[00:41:54] For everyone who's going through a difficult time right now, as we enter this Christmas season, there's so many things that kind of come together and just build up over this season.
[00:42:06] I believe God wants to bring some answers to you, some breakthroughs,
[00:42:10] So if you have something going on in your life and you need God to help you with it, would you just lift up your hand?
[00:42:17] Just lift it up.
[00:42:18] I want to pray for everybody who says, I'm going through something, some kind of a difficulty, I'm fighting a battle, and I need God to fight it.
[00:42:26] Anybody else want to get in on this prayer?
[00:42:28] Lift up your hand, because I believe that God is going to do something for you.
[00:42:32] By lifting up your hand, you're saying, God, I surrender to you, but I also declare victory in you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:42:40] So, Father, You see the hands.
[00:42:42] You know what's going on in each one of our lives.
[00:42:46] God, whether it's physical or financial or relational, whatever it is, God, I just ask that in these moments, as we lift our hands to You, it's a cry to You that says, God, only You can win this battle.
[00:43:01] God, we ask You to fight this battle.
[00:43:04] Lord, I pray that even as Moses experienced victory as he called on you, I pray for everyone with a hand in the air today that they would experience victory.
[00:43:16] We pray this in the powerful, the mighty, the victorious name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:43:22] God, we say thank you for doing marvelous things, physically, financially, relationally, God, all kinds of areas of our lives.
[00:43:32] God, you're gonna do it.
[00:43:34] and we give you the glory.
[00:43:35] We give you the honor in Jesus' name.
[00:43:39] You can take your hand down and while we still stand in this attitude of prayer with our heads bowed and our eyes closed, I want to pray one more prayer.
[00:43:48] Maybe you've come here today and you're not really sure about your relationship with God.
[00:43:55] The question I always ask is this, if you were to die today, do you know beyond any shadow of a doubt that you're ready to stand before God?
[00:44:05] If you're not sure, in just a moment I'm going to pray a simple prayer and I'd love to pray for you along with others because you can be sure that Jesus Christ is your Savior and your Lord.
[00:44:17] Maybe you prayed a prayer years ago and you've kind of strayed away from it.
[00:44:20] Maybe you've never prayed a prayer asking Jesus to be your Savior.
[00:44:25] and Your Lord.
[00:44:26] Today is the day, and I'd love to pray for you.
[00:44:29] While heads are bowed, Christians pray really hard right now.
[00:44:33] If you say, I'm not sure about my salvation, but I'd love to be sure, and I'd like to be included in this prayer, would you just lift up your hand right now?
[00:44:41] Lift it up and say, please pray for me.
[00:44:43] God bless you.
[00:44:44] God bless you.
[00:44:45] Others, just lift it up and say, I want to be included in this prayer.
[00:44:48] God bless you.
[00:44:49] Anybody else?
[00:44:51] Lift it up and say, please pray for me.
[00:44:52] I want to be absolutely certain of my relationship with Jesus.
[00:44:55] Thank you.
[00:44:56] Yes.
[00:44:58] Anybody else?
[00:45:01] Father, thank you for these that have responded.
[00:45:03] And Lord, today I pray that you would give them the assurance of their salvation.
[00:45:09] Just a second, I'm going to pray a simple prayer.
[00:45:12] I'm going to ask everyone in this room to repeat this prayer after me.
[00:45:16] If you raised your hand, just pray this prayer with the rest of us.
[00:45:21] Pray it from your heart.
[00:45:22] God will hear you and God will meet with you.
[00:45:25] Maybe you didn't raise your hand, but I want to invite you to pray this prayer.
[00:45:31] Maybe you felt a tugging on the inside, but you didn't raise your hand.
[00:45:35] I invite you to pray this prayer with the rest of us.
[00:45:40] And let's pray this prayer together.
[00:45:42] Say, God, I know that you love me because you sent your son Jesus and he died on the cross for my sins.
[00:45:54] Today I repent of my sins and I ask you to be my Savior and my Lord.
[00:46:00] And from today on,
[00:46:05] I'm going to live for you.
[00:46:06] In Jesus' name.
[00:46:10] Amen.
[00:46:10] Amen.
[00:46:11] Come on, y'all.
[00:46:11] Let's give God praise.
[00:46:13] Lord, we just say thank you.
[00:46:15] Thank you, Lord Jesus.
[00:46:16] Thank you, Lord Jesus.
[00:46:18] If you prayed that prayer, first of all, I'm really proud of you.
[00:46:21] God bless you.
[00:46:23] You know, the Bible says that old things have passed away.
[00:46:25] Behold, all things have become new.
[00:46:27] and so God has something exciting, something brand new for you and your new future as a Christ follower.
[00:46:35] I'm going to be praying for you.
[00:46:37] I also want to ask you to do one more thing.
[00:46:39] In just a moment this service will be over and as you go out into the lobby I'm going to ask you to go
[00:46:45] God bless you so much.
[00:47:14] Maybe you're here today for the first time.
[00:47:16] I want to say thank you for coming.
[00:47:18] Welcome.
[00:47:19] Hope you'll come back.
[00:47:21] One of the things we do every Sunday morning is we share together in the Lord's Supper, Holy Communion.
[00:47:27] So in the next few moments, we're actually celebrating the fact that God the Father loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus.
[00:47:35] Jesus loved us so much that He gave His body and His blood as the sacrifice for our sins.
[00:47:42] and when you came in you received these little packets and those packets have these little crackers and the little cup of juice and the cracker reminds us of the body of Jesus that was bruised and broken for us and that the juice reminds us of the blood of Jesus that was shed for us when Christ hung on the cross and so father in the next few moments as we prepare our hearts
[00:48:08] to receive these emblems of your broken body and your shed blood.
[00:48:13] God, may you help us to understand by revelation once again how much you love us and how much you have forgiven us.
[00:48:22] And I pray that everyone in this room today who receives these emblems would be reminded that by faith, by your sacrifice, our sins have been forgiven.
[00:48:33] And Lord, I say thank you for doing that.
[00:48:36] And now
[00:48:37] We resurrender our hearts and our lives to you.
[00:48:42] We say thank you in Jesus' name.
[00:48:46] Amen.
[00:49:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
In Jesus' name we pray.
[00:49:17] Amen.
[00:49:38] We are your temple, make us holy like you are You see a holy nation, a flock to consecrate
[00:50:08] Let us pray.
[00:50:10] So help us God to please you where only you can see.
[00:50:43] You set us apart God, for Your glory Make us holy like You are Come, Lord, Your people With Your presence
[00:51:12] Make us a place where you delight to dwell May we need your hands' correction
[00:53:07] God, we need resurrender So we resurrender You're calling, we're coming We're not walking, we're running God, we need resurrender So we resurrender
[00:53:41] God, we need resurrender Your calling We're coming We're not walking We're running God, we need resurrender
[00:55:22] We're not walking, we're running God, we need resurrender So we resurrender Your calling, we're coming We're not walking, we're running God, we need resurrender So we resurrender
[00:55:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Well, Lord, we thank you for today.
[00:55:59] And we thank you for your goodness, your faithfulness.
[00:56:02] Lord, we thank you that you've made us to worship you.
[00:56:06] God, and as we leave today, with prepared hearts and prepared minds, God,
[00:56:14] We're filled with joy and we can have that joy because there's victory in Jesus.
[00:56:20] And Lord, we love you.
[00:56:21] We thank you.
[00:56:22] Be with us as we leave.
[00:56:22] Guide us, shape us into the men and women you want us to be in Jesus' name.
[00:56:27] Amen.
[00:56:27] Lake City Church, we love you.
[00:56:31] God loves you.
[00:56:32] May you have a great week.
