WEBVTT 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:18.625 Hey, it's good to see you guys. We weren't here last week. You know, we spent the weekend in South Florida with our daughter who is a freshman at FAU, and it was good to connect with her. But man, huge, huge thank you to David Sauls who preached last week. Oh my goodness. 00:00:19.185 --> 00:00:35.180 I'm telling you, it was a message that was so good about... It was called, you know, we are faithful stewards. And you're like, oh, it's gonna be that message. And then he just comes and he's like, hit you over the head in such good ways. I was so convicted in so many different ways. 00:00:35.180 --> 00:00:52.875 And it was such a good, good message. If you missed it and you wanna hear it, go check us out on YouTube or on a podcast, because I am serious. It was a powerful message. And and and anyway, so I just wanted to say a huge thank you. And we're continuing the series that we're in. 00:00:52.875 --> 00:01:21.895 We are Avalon, which is kind of sharing about who we are, what we are, where we're going, why we exist, and all those kinds of things. But, we're gonna do something a little different today, and I hope that's okay with you. The last... I I have on here a few weeks, but the reality is that the last about probably six weeks has involved a lot of disruption and uncertainty in our church family. Now, some of it was expected. 00:01:22.455 --> 00:01:58.890 You know, we we knew that when we were gonna go through this this hopefully once in my lifetime journey of going through, and creating new bylaws, and creating a statement of faith, we knew that was gonna be a lot. And we also knew that as during... While we were doing that, to be in this search for an associate pastor of youth and young adults was going to be a lot. But what we didn't know is all the other things that were going to hit at the same time. I mean, Lisa's departure was not just unexpected. 00:01:58.890 --> 00:02:34.510 It was deeply hard. I mean, when somebody has invested nine years of their life pouring into children and their families, It is hard, and we are so grateful for her, and we pray for her. But let's be real, the grief is real. And so is worry about what comes next in the preschool, and with with the, you know, the kids ministry. And and then, in the midst of all of these changes, we had a security issue that required, I can't even tell you the countless number of hours to to deal with, and the attention, and the follow-up. 00:02:34.910 --> 00:03:00.770 And then, on top of that, two weekends in a row, remember those horrible storms, we had lightning actually strike our building. It is a lie from the pit that lightning does not strike the same area twice, because it did. And it blew out so much stuff. I mean, it's tens of thousands of dollars of damage that we have. You know, we're working with insurance companies, and Dennis is doing an amazing job trying to repair what we have. 00:03:00.770 --> 00:03:13.675 And people are like, why isn't the Wi Fi working? I'm like, I don't want to talk about it. And you know, it's so much stuff. And so we have all of this going on. Right? 00:03:13.675 --> 00:03:33.060 And on top of that, the the weekly giving has not recovered the way we were hoping at the end of the summer. And so, we're making a lot of important decisions. Ministry, staffing, and all of this while money is tight. That is a lot in six weeks. Seriously. 00:03:33.905 --> 00:03:57.160 Most of it not planned, some of it planned. But what happens is, when we go through times like that in our home, or in our church, or in our personal life, it starts to leave us unsettled. And I sense, in a lot of people, there is an unsettled, uncertainty kind of feeling. And I get it, because I am feeling that way too. How can we not? 00:03:57.960 --> 00:04:13.235 Which is why I feel like we need to talk about it a little bit. See, we need to pray about it a little bit. Because we are God's family. We are a family. We are not all of God's family. 00:04:13.475 --> 00:04:33.045 We are one local body of God's family. And we are called by God to follow him wherever he leads. To trust him no matter what falls apart or what kind of lightning hits the building. Right? And we're called to join him in his work in the world. 00:04:33.045 --> 00:04:51.570 See, what's really what's really reassuring for me is that this is not my work, and it is not your work. This does not rely on us. This is his church. Amen? And this is what... 00:04:51.570 --> 00:05:20.020 This is his body. If... And we belong to him, and if we follow him, and we pursue him, and we abide in him, not only are we gonna be okay, I would rather go through all of the craziness that we've gone to and be in his will, than have smooth seeds and not be in his will at all. And the good news for me is nothing that has happened over the past six weeks has surprised God. It's not like he went, I didn't see the lightning strikes coming. 00:05:20.260 --> 00:05:26.820 Right? He saw it all. He sees it all. And who is he? He is the God of hope. 00:05:27.615 --> 00:05:51.800 He is the God of resurrection, and bringing new life out of things that we thought were dead. He is the God who brings beauty from ashes, and he promises to be with us. And we can trust him with every single step. And so I'm grateful for the people who God has placed alongside us through all of this. I mean, I really am. 00:05:52.520 --> 00:06:20.270 Yvonne, our executive director, she is such a great co laborer in ministry. And I could not have imagined going through the last six weeks without her. She really bore a lot of the weight. Our elder team, man, these are wise and committed people who have given so much time with horrendously not fun things like bylaws and statements of faith. And, they have put their feet to work. 00:06:20.270 --> 00:06:47.140 They have prayed. They have they have made our prayers like they have stepped out in faith in our prayers, and and I'm I'm thankful for them. But I'm also thankful to our families, because you guys have been so gracious to give the time and space in this season. I mean, has been a sprint. And I keep telling my wife, listen, when that boat happens on the twenty sixth, I'm promising you we're going back to a marathon pace, not a sprint pace. 00:06:47.220 --> 00:07:10.360 This 40 yard dash stuff is for the birds. I am ready to go for the 26 mile kind of pace. And I'm also thankful to you, Church. The additional time with all of the changes that you have volunteered, and you've really helped out in places that we were desperate for. You have met needs in ways that were unexpected. 00:07:10.760 --> 00:07:43.340 And then the amount of people who have read through these documents, I mean, the amount of people who actually read the bylaws is overwhelming to me. And the statement of faith, and providing feedback. And so I wanted to thank you, because I'm not kidding when I say these documents are way better because of your feedback, and your comments, and your questions. And you're going to receive, next Sunday, you'll receive the newest version of the updated documents. And then we're going to vote the next week on October 26. 00:07:43.340 --> 00:07:55.795 So the good news is there's at least some light at the end of the tunnel. And I don't think it's a train. I could be wrong. But, you know, I'm looking at the weather. It doesn't look like lightning's happening anytime in the next couple of days. 00:07:55.795 --> 00:08:18.155 Actually, that might not be true. I haven't looked. But anyway, so let me give you some good news. We've completed three interviews with a promising candidate for our Associate Pastor of Students and Young Adults. And so you're gonna get to, the students are gonna get to meet him and, kinda, we get to just, be with him and them on Wednesday, and the young adults on Friday. 00:08:18.155 --> 00:08:38.280 And if all goes well with all of that, we will also have a parent luncheon and introduce him to you guys soon. We've posted the positions for the kids director and the preschool director. And we've already received several resumes. And so that's good. If you know somebody who might be a really good fit for that, I want to encourage you to have them send us their resume. 00:08:38.280 --> 00:08:55.815 You can just send a resume to jobsavalanchurch dot org. And so just want to put that out there. But there are some really good things happening. I was telling my wife, I feel like I should feel really nervous. And I do sometimes. 00:08:56.215 --> 00:09:25.155 But at the same time, I remember when we left the church world to start a church. And in some ways, I feel like we're there again. That God is showing us that He is doing a new work. And all we have to do is make sure we keep our eyes on him, and that we do not try to lead him, but follow him. So we, you know, we we have the blessed strategy where we say begin in prayer. 00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:36.160 And the point of beginning in prayer is to say, God, where are you working? Because we want to go there. Where are you leading? Because we want to go there. We do not want to lead you. 00:09:36.160 --> 00:10:02.850 We want to be led by you. So we want to abide in you, so that we can hear your voice, see what you're doing, and follow you with all of our heart. And so, in seasons like this, where there's a lot of change, it is easy to focus on the uncertainty, but God is inviting us into something different. He's inviting us to find refuge in Him, to find rest in His presence. And so if you're okay with it, if you're not, that's okay too. 00:10:02.850 --> 00:10:33.590 But we're gonna do that a little bit today together. So this is gonna be a little bit different kind of message than I normally would preach. But, what we're gonna do is we're gonna look at Psalm 46. But rather than read Psalm 46, which is a beautiful prayer about God, I'm gonna paraphrase it a little bit, and we are going to pray this, at least several of the verses in this prayer, as a prayer to God. And so, we're gonna... 00:10:33.590 --> 00:10:54.720 Let's do this together. And I just want to invite you to just kind of sit back, relax a little bit, breathe out. Prepare your heart and say, Lord, would you speak to me? Would you speak to us? Would you show us who you are today? 00:10:56.400 --> 00:11:10.245 Psalm 46 begins with these words. God, you are our refuge. You are our strength. Do we believe that, Lord? We want to. 00:11:10.805 --> 00:11:42.935 That in the uncertainty, we can go find refuge in you. When we feel like we don't know what to do, where to go, we have we have nothing to offer. May we remember that you are our strength, and that it is in our weaknesses that you show your strength. Continues, you are always ready to help us in times of trouble, in times of uncertainty, times of grief, in times of anxiety, and sheer exhaustion. Verse two, so we will not fear. 00:11:43.655 --> 00:12:17.270 We will not fear when the earthquakes come. And they come. And we will not fear when the mountains crumble into the sea. Lord, help us not to fear even when it feels like the world is falling apart all around us. In fact, in verse six, it says, though the world around us is in chaos. 00:12:17.270 --> 00:12:32.925 Anybody else feel that way? Lord, we feel that way. When the world around us is in chaos, your voice thunders above it all. Because we all know this, Lord, that the chaos is real. But the chaos does not have the final word. 00:12:33.485 --> 00:13:02.515 You do, Lord. You do. And verse eight says, you invite us, Lord, to come and see your glorious works. And that sounds so cool that you invite us to see what you're doing in the world, but the next part of that verse tells what the glorious works are, and it's actually surprising. I mean, it'll throw you for a loop because, Lord you say that you bring destruction. 00:13:02.755 --> 00:13:14.440 What? Destruction? Glorious works are destruction? Or in some translations, judgment upon the chaos of this world? Yes. 00:13:14.440 --> 00:13:27.160 Verse nine. You cause... What what is the destruction that God brings to the chaos in this world? This is what he says. You cause wars to end, and you break the instruments of violence. 00:13:28.155 --> 00:13:56.935 In other words, Lord, you destroy the things that bring destruction. You destroy the things that destroy. You release us from all things that keep us in bondage. Anything that keeps your kingdom from filling this earth, you have marked those things for destruction. And God, we need that. 00:13:56.935 --> 00:14:15.450 Amen? God, we need. We desperately need your kingdom to come and your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Boy, that sounds like the ministry of Jesus, doesn't it? Setting people free, healing what's broken, bringing your kingdom near. 00:14:15.610 --> 00:14:31.405 Lord, that is the work that we invite you to do. That is the work you have invited us to do. And so we respond. Verse 10, we will be still. Be still and know that He is God is what the Psalm says. 00:14:31.405 --> 00:15:01.085 So we will be still and we will abide in You and know that You are God And that you are worthy to be honored in our lives. That you are worthy to be honored in our neighborhood and around the world. That verse 11, you are the Lord Almighty. And you are right here with us, among us, in our presence. Isn't that good? 00:15:01.645 --> 00:15:17.010 Isn't that good? See, transition doesn't scare you, God. The unexpected doesn't frustrate you, God. For you are working shalom. You are working your peace. 00:15:17.490 --> 00:15:47.850 You are inviting us to come and to abide in you and to trust in you. Not just our church, but each one of us in this room are invited to come to him. To bring whatever you are carrying. What whatever wounds kind of take up all of the space in your soul. You are invited to come whatever you're worried about, whatever you're grieving, the questions you are wrestling with. 00:15:49.465 --> 00:16:13.410 So can we just take a minute? This is gonna be a little awkward, but that's okay. Can we just stop just for a minute and ask the Lord to speak and to comfort? Maybe to give you faith to be still and know that he is God. How about we take a couple of seconds, and it's gonna be quiet. 00:16:13.650 --> 00:16:38.070 It's gonna be weird. But just maybe between you and the Lord, take a few seconds and just lift up the the the weight that you're carrying just one more time, give it to him. God, maybe it's my marriage is struggling. Give it to him. God I have doubts. 00:16:39.910 --> 00:16:40.310 I have 00:16:40.310 --> 00:17:09.170 sickness. Just give it to him. Whatever it is that you have right now, take a minute. Give it to him. Maybe it's a prodigal son or daughter that you're just so worried about, or financial struggle or debt that is overwhelming. 00:17:09.810 --> 00:17:43.180 Just give it to him. Lord there's such heaviness in our lives that frankly most people don't even know we're carrying. And right now people are praying to you. Right now they're they're identifying the things that bring anxiety. Would you fill them with your shalom, with your peace? 00:17:46.425 --> 00:18:44.030 Would you fill them with faith? May we abide in you Lord. For our church family God, our kids ministry, and our preschool ministry, and our student ministry, and our young adult ministry. Lord you, you've placed us in Avalon Park in this amazing community that is full of thousands and thousands of students, and college students, and young adults who are starting their new life, and so many adults who are just in transition. Help us Lord as your church, as your people, as your family, help us to be your hands and your feet and your voice in these people's lives. 00:18:47.045 --> 00:19:52.035 To love people, to care for them and to pour into them, that they might find life in you. And church I would just ask for a few seconds, would you just pray by name for the kids, and the youth, and the adults that God brings to your mind. Pray for them by name. Maybe there's just some people who are lonely, or dealing with abuse, or who are grieving divorce, or the loss of family or friends. People who have recently moved or about to move and life's gonna change. 00:19:59.520 --> 00:20:42.695 Lord we lift up these people to you. May we be the instruments of grace, your grace in their lives. Because Father you are our refuge and you are our strength and we, we are your children. And we pray that you care for those who are hurting and that you give us wisdom for the decisions ahead, and that you provide for our needs, and you help us recognize what you've already entrusted to us, and that it's all yours. And we pray that you fill us with your Holy Spirit and help us to keep our eyes on Jesus and form us in your image. 00:20:42.695 --> 00:21:04.975 And and I pray that our neighbors experience you through us. They experience your love through our love, your healing, your peace through us. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen. Thank you. 00:21:07.135 --> 00:21:40.025 When Jesus said to abide in me, I think sometimes we just don't know how and we don't know how to slow down for just a minute. And I'll be honest, it's way it's way easier to just preach a message than it is to stop. But today is a day of stopping. I want to we have some really cool things that we're about to do. But before we jump into that, I wanted to piggyback on something that David said last week. 00:21:40.825 --> 00:22:12.555 Because when we stop and we abide in the Lord, very often, you know, we get filled up and that's good. And because too often we're pouring out when we haven't been filled up. And if if you know what happens if you spend money that you don't have in the account, what happens? You go into debt. And now, if you go into enough debt, then you either have to claim bankruptcy, or basically your whole life becomes trying to get out of debt because you're just so unhealthy. 00:22:12.940 --> 00:22:30.705 And I find that in ministry so often a lot of us do that. Where we're pouring out, we're pouring out, we're pouring out, but we never stop and get filled up. And so we're not pouring out from this overflow, we're pouring out from nothing. We're going into debt. We're going into, we're just going into unhealth. 00:22:30.705 --> 00:23:03.195 And so, and and so I I always wanna hesitate from that. But as we get filled up, as we abide in Jesus, if we don't exercise the gifts that we're given, then what happens is we just get fat. Because if all we do is get filled up and we don't exercise, we become just as unhealthy. And so good question is, as as we abide to say, you know, Lord, how can I participate in what you're doing? God, what have you called me to do? 00:23:03.195 --> 00:23:34.265 And I wanted to bring up the verse that David, he he he kinda spent a little bit of time with last week. It was in first Peter four ten. And it says, and serve serve each other according to the gift each person has received as a good manager of God's diverse gifts. Because he said, he made it so clear last week, we're not owners. My stuff, including my my talents, my gifting, my passions, my money, my my kids, my family, my entertainment, it's not mine. 00:23:34.425 --> 00:23:57.135 I am a manager of the gifts that God has given me. And then in verse 11 it says, whoever speaks and whoever serves, you should do that from the strength that God furnishes. God fills, you empty. God fills, you empty yourself. And and when we do this, it says that every... 00:23:57.135 --> 00:24:13.050 That God is honored through Jesus Christ. God gives gifts to his children. And and this is what's really cool. Every single person in this room, you have a gift that God has given you, a gift to offer. We are called to follow Jesus. 00:24:13.050 --> 00:24:45.820 We are called to become family. We are called to bless our neighbors, and all of us are invited to participate in that. We abide, we exercise. God's kingdom is then made present through his people who are living as his hands and feet using the gifts that they have been given. So if you love having people in your home, I'm not saying you should go try to to, you know, find a different area of ministry. 00:24:46.460 --> 00:24:56.895 If God has given you a passion to have people in your home, can I just encourage you, that's your ministry? Go have people in your home. Invite your neighbors over. Invite your small group over. Invite your family over. 00:24:56.895 --> 00:25:03.775 Invite people over. Serve them. Love them. Get to know them. For some of you, you love teaching. 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:31.975 The nursery might not be the area for you. It's not for me. But you know what is? Maybe leading a discussion in a small church meeting or helping in the kids ministry like like John Wilcox does in the fifth grade class, where he is there pretty much like seventy two weeks a year with those kids. And by the way, there's not seventy two weeks in a year, just making sure you know I know that. 00:25:34.420 --> 00:26:21.755 But being in the youth ministry and being a part of the teaching team there, there's just if you love to teach, teach. If you are the kind of person who noticed when people are hurting, love on them, reach out to them, listen, be present. Be like a chaplain where you're visiting, like with our prayer team when they go to the hospitals, or like with many of our small churches when people are in the hospitals. I can't tell you how many times, I would say almost all, that I show up to go on a hospital visit, and there's already four people in the room from their small church, and there have been constantly. And I can't tell you how many times I am in a hospital room when a nurse comes in and says, I really need you all to go because these people need to sleep. 00:26:22.395 --> 00:26:36.120 That's awesome. If that's you, if that's the kind of person you are and that's what... That's your ministry, it's okay. Maybe you have resources or skills that could help somebody. Put them to work if you have the spiritual gift of giving. 00:26:36.360 --> 00:26:51.065 Be a part of of giving and and do... Accomplishing what God wants to do through his people. Share. Ask yourself this, what do you love? What needs break your heart? 00:26:51.625 --> 00:27:01.300 And who has God placed in your life? Start there. And then be still and pray. What do you love? What needs break your heart? 00:27:01.300 --> 00:27:33.430 And who has God placed in your life? Discern where God is moving and offer what you have and join him. Because that's how the kingdom of God is made visible. I am so pleased to invite Doug Gohn up to the stage right now, because I I want you to hear his story about what that looks like for him. And so, while he's coming up, for years, Doug and Wendy have been investing in couples, helping them prepare for marriage, walking them through difficult seasons in a class called Savage Marriage. 00:27:33.750 --> 00:28:17.375 And it is just, this couple has become some of our closest friends as we get to watch them help others. You can come on up. Renew intimacy with God and with each other. And Doug has even performed several weddings now, and, for people, and it has been awesome. And I just wanted to ask him a little bit about sharing about this this ministry then, because today what we're gonna do before we leave today, we're going to ordain Doug so that he is officially able to pastor couples and pour into couples and marry couples without having a dumb notary sign everything. 00:28:17.455 --> 00:28:39.755 And, no, we're gonna ordain him today as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the way he is pouring into couples through savage marriage, through weddings and premarital counseling. And I'm just so, so excited for us to do that. But before we do that, I wanted you to hear... Woah, I'm gonna fall. I wanted you to hear what motivates him to serve in this way. 00:28:39.755 --> 00:28:53.730 So I have some questions that I I prepared for him. And so, Doug, you know, you're a pilot. You are a busy guy. You and your wife are doing a ton of stuff. You got family who recently got married, and who is like doing a lot of things. 00:28:53.730 --> 00:29:06.785 And so you got all of that going on. You serve on the finance team here at the church. So you're a busy guy. What moved you and Wendy to begin investing so heavily into couples and marriages? 00:29:06.785 --> 00:29:10.705 Well, let me start by saying I've never met a dumb notary. 00:29:14.065 --> 00:29:18.785 Hey, I'm gonna be mugged later. I can say stupid things. 00:29:19.905 --> 00:29:44.625 So no, to answer that question, many of you know our story. Wendy's back there. And you know that God performed a rescue in our life, a tremendous rescue. I mean, for the bulk of my life, I was in bondage to, you know, immorality, and our marriage was in a living hell. And God rescued us from that. 00:29:45.250 --> 00:30:19.400 And that rescue story, when he did that, he gave us a song to sing. And he sings a song over every one of us that we've been rescued from bondage as well. And when he did that, he personally said to us, just go sing the song. I'm reminded of that story in Mark where Jesus, he crosses the Sea Of Galilee, he and the disciples, and they get to the other side. And there's this fellow there that is he has an unclean spirit, is the way the word puts it. 00:30:19.640 --> 00:30:39.825 And when Jesus approaches him, he comes and he kneels down to him, the demons say, let us alone. And Jesus says, well, what's your name? And they say, well, our name is Legion because we are many. Everybody knows this story. And everybody knows that Jesus cast out the demons. 00:30:39.825 --> 00:30:51.080 The demons went into the pigs. The pigs went down the hill. The herds just went away. They were all afraid and everything. And the townspeople came out, there was this sense of awesomeness and fear. 00:30:51.160 --> 00:31:03.815 They're looking at this guy who was in bondage. But now he's in his right mind. He's clothed. He was naked before, now he's clothed. And he's having this conversation with Jesus. 00:31:05.975 --> 00:31:21.040 Anyhow, everybody gets real nervous about all this. So they actually ask Jesus, could go back where you came from? And so Jesus, being the gentleman that he is, he says, sure. And so he walks down, and this guy is like right on his heels. He wants to follow. 00:31:21.520 --> 00:31:51.730 I mean, you don't have that kind of experience and not want to follow the person that just freed you from that bondage. So but in the passage, Jesus turns to him and he says, no, no, no, no. I don't want you to come with me. What I want you to do is I want you to go back to your people and tell them how I rescued you, how the Lord rescued you, and had mercy upon you. And that's just so impactful to me, to Wendy, and to us as a couple. 00:31:51.890 --> 00:32:17.750 Because every time we get a chance to tell our story, we're singing that song of freedom. And to do it in the place of a marriage or marriage, basically Bible study and those types of things, or a wedding or something like that, that's just completely awesome. It's just humbling. We do it because we love the person who rescued us. 00:32:18.465 --> 00:32:20.625 Ten years ago, could you have imagined doing this? 00:32:20.625 --> 00:32:43.960 No. No. If someone would have said I can honestly say that if someone would have said to us, hey, this is the way things would look now ten years ago, well, there's many things that would come to mind because we just were not in a healthy spot at all. But I do know that there was something in the back of our heads that would have said, you know what? I don't know how, but I believe you can do it. 00:32:44.760 --> 00:32:45.800 And we just want to follow. 00:32:46.735 --> 00:33:04.580 So tell us a little bit. Give us a story. Tell us about a time maybe you saw God renew marriage or bring healing. And obviously not divulging privacy or anything like that. But what does that mean to you guys? 00:33:05.620 --> 00:33:10.660 Because that's the win. That's when you just go, oh, I want to do this for the rest of my life. 00:33:11.380 --> 00:33:46.655 Yeah, it is very exciting to see God transform not just our marriage, other people's marriages. Now, obviously, someone went before us. There was a brave couple that went before us, Phil and Priscilla. You've heard me mention that couple before. And watching them take the steps of courage, not knowing what tomorrow was going to bring, and watching God transform their lives, their minds, their lives, their marriage, their families, that gave us the courage and the ability to say, you know what? 00:33:46.655 --> 00:34:05.700 It could happen for us too. And so we took those steps. And then when we took those steps, other people were encouraged to take those steps. And as they did, we've seen many families be transformed, be saved. Some of them are sitting out here today. 00:34:05.700 --> 00:34:16.835 I'm looking around, and I see several of you guys. And you know the impact that God had in your life when you finally came to that point where you said, you know what? I don't want 00:34:16.835 --> 00:34:19.075 to live the way I've been living. I want to 00:34:19.075 --> 00:34:40.290 live a life where I'm open, broken, and free, where I'm headed towards the good life that Jesus promised me and walk that low road of humility. We've seen that happen over and over, and it proves to us over and over that hope springs eternal and that God is true. Amen. 00:34:40.655 --> 00:34:53.320 All right, so last question. Because I remember the first time you asked me. You're like, hey, somebody asked me to do a wedding. Don't know. Am I allowed to? 00:34:53.320 --> 00:35:14.685 What do I do? I remember that I mean, it was like a couple years ago now. And then but I also remember when I first met you and Wendy, it was before Savage Marriage. You guys actually had just come through the awakening moment for you. And so I feel like I've had a really cool, like, front row seat to watching what God has done in you guys. 00:35:14.685 --> 00:35:37.110 And so what I want to ask though is, when, Savage Marriage starting that, or doing that first wedding, those are nerve wracking things. Like that's hard. How did you take the first step? I mean, what helped you begin a process? Because people are afraid to come and be a part of like a student ministry, even though they love it. 00:35:37.110 --> 00:35:44.475 Because they're like, I don't know what this is going to require. I don't think I'm worthy. Didn't think you were worthy. 00:35:45.115 --> 00:35:59.700 No, we just showed up. We just showed up. And the one that was worthy was already in our hearts. And and and he he did all that work. Jesus did all that work and so, yeah, I do remember that. 00:35:59.700 --> 00:36:10.905 I I remember very well calling you and saying, in the world? What do I do? How do I actually, how do I say no? And you actually encouraged, no, don't say no, say yes. 00:36:11.225 --> 00:36:18.665 We'll get a notary to sign it. Yeah, exactly. A really cool notary who knows a lot. For you notaries, thank you for what you do. 00:36:22.750 --> 00:36:58.550 But yeah, it took a little bit to get comfortable with that. You helped tremendously by actually you had a sermon that was already prepared that I could go through and I could actually change around and move some parts and all that kind of thing, so you had a tremendous part in all that. But I remember showing up there and standing up there and watching this couple come down there, and they get down there and they turn around or they do their thing or whatever, and I start speaking. And as soon as I start speaking, I make my first mistake. And I'm like, oh, oh, And I just stopped. 00:36:58.550 --> 00:37:12.475 And I just said, well, I just made my first mistake, but it's going to be the last one. And then I go back and I just repeated it all. They all chuckle, and everything went fine. It was a fabulous wedding. And so have been the others that we have done. 00:37:12.475 --> 00:37:53.600 But totally humbling to come from where we came from, to see God use us in that way. I just I can't explain how that just the overwhelming feeling of emotion that God is actually able to use me, to use us, to use all of us, that is just I can't even begin to explain everything that was happening at that moment. But it was a lot of fun. 00:37:53.600 --> 00:38:15.565 Yeah, for sure. Well, I hope you hear in Doug's story. It's what we've been even doing all day, where he and Wendy abide in Christ. God changes them from the inside out. And I tell you, it's been a joy for my wife and I to just walk with them because God has impacted their life and they have impacted our lives. 00:38:15.930 --> 00:38:49.760 And they are singing this song that God has put in their hearts and it is a beautiful song. I even asked Wendy today, I said, hey, when we ordained Doug, I mean, you're being ordained too, right? She's like, oh no, not my calling. And but I I still, I want to invite Wendy and I want to invite our elders, any of our elders in the room, even in, I would really, if you have been an elder in the past, I want to invite you to even come up and join us. You won't have to speak, but we would love for you because this this is just an opportunity for us to... 00:38:49.760 --> 00:39:12.340 And staff, feel free to to to to come up. But this is an opportunity that we have that we can officially ordain. But let me explain something, because we don't do this very often. Ordaining, ordination, is just the church recognizing what God is already doing. What's funny is that Doug's not going to be doing anything that he's not already been doing because of this. 00:39:12.340 --> 00:39:44.520 What we're saying is that as a church, we recognize that God has set him apart to counsel couples. And I'm telling you, his premarital stuff that he's doing is way better than me. So when you're asking me to do premarital counseling and I tell you to go to Doug, just so you know, I'm not kidding. Because the song that he and Wendy are singing is a lot louder and different and more beautiful in this way than my song. But I have my own song that I sing. 00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:58.675 And so it's just such a privilege. But that's what we're doing. That's what this little ceremony is. It's us recognizing as a body. Not the elders, we're just up here on stage kind of representing all of us. 00:39:58.675 --> 00:40:33.145 But this is the church saying, we recognize. And so many of you have been influenced by their song. And so, we're all going to be doing this together. And so what this ordination is basically saying is that for Doug, that we are recognizing the song that he is singing. And so, when it comes to weddings and pre counseling and pastoral care, he will he will have the authority of doing that under the, accountability and leadership of Avalon Church. 00:40:33.465 --> 00:40:43.570 And that is you. You are the church. This isn't just a commitment Doug is making. This is a commitment that the church makes. And so here's what I want to ask you to do. 00:40:43.810 --> 00:40:57.545 Would you mind standing? Because you can't make a commitment together when you're sitting down. It just feels wrong. Right? And so, what I'm going do is I'm going to ask Doug to make a commitment and I'm going to ask you to make a commitment to Doug. 00:40:58.025 --> 00:41:12.610 And so Doug, I want to ask, do you commit to pursue Jesus? Do you commit to serve people with humility, love, and integrity and carry out this ministry in the name of Jesus? 00:41:13.730 --> 00:41:18.530 To be on the load road is the only place to be. So the load road of humility, absolutely yes. 00:41:18.765 --> 00:41:34.980 Amen. And Avalon Church, do you commit to pray for Doug and to encourage him and support him as he serves with us and among us? If so, will you say, We will. We will. Let's pray together. 00:41:35.460 --> 00:42:00.235 Lord, I wanna thank you for Doug. I wanna thank you for Wendy, and I wanna thank you for the ministry that they have at Avalon Church, and that the ministry that they have way beyond our church. God, you have blessed so many lives through them. You have filled them up with this song and they are singing it. And I pray, God, that you bring fruit from their ministry. 00:42:00.635 --> 00:42:31.790 And that you bring healing in people's lives, and you bring just a humbling in marriages, and a self sacrifice in marriages, not because of them, but because of you, and because of their faithfulness to you. God, would you bring your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven through them and through their ministry like you have? We just pray that you be glorified as they participate with you. In your name we pray. Amen. 00:42:31.790 --> 00:42:51.945 You can be seated for just a minute. Before you all leave, I wanted to say that, first, this is really exciting. It's a certificate that you now can put on your wall because it's gonna be, you know, the greatest thing. But even more special. Anytime we ordain somebody, we like to give them a widow's mite from Israel. 00:42:52.265 --> 00:43:37.345 Because we all know the story of the widow's mite, where somebody had very, very little, and she put, you know, 1p in the offering and Jesus said she gave all she had and that was worth more than the, you know, boatload of money that others have given. And so just as a reminder to you and what this means by saying yes to Jesus, I wanted to give you that widow's might. And so, church, can we just celebrate for a minute and just say, tell Doug how much we love him? Doug, it is a joy to recognize you as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Alright, so, I told the worship team we're not gonna close in a song today, just because I knew it would go longer. 00:43:37.345 --> 00:43:53.230 But here's what I wanna ask you to do. I'm gonna close this in our normal benediction. But before we do, wanna remind you, at the end of every service, we like to spend two minutes before you run and get out of here, for you to connect with somebody around you, get to know somebody around you. Because we are family. Family. 00:43:53.310 --> 00:44:16.135 And if we don't connect, we'll never feel like family. And so as we go, let's stand one more time. I'm gonna share this benediction and wanna ask you to just say hi to somebody for a couple of minutes. So for this series, this has been our benediction. Go as people who are following Jesus, who are becoming family, and who are blessing our neighbors. 00:44:18.217 --> 00:44:25.416 May his kingdom come through your life on earth as it is in heaven. Amen. Have a beautiful day, beautiful week.