WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:22.260 Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:00:22.780 --> 00:00:25.880 This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons. 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:30.420 We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear 00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:31.260 the latest message. 00:00:31.680 --> 00:00:32.460 Thanks for listening. 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:47.120 Good morning. 00:00:48.180 --> 00:00:51.360 All right, so I want to challenge you this morning, all right? 00:00:51.800 --> 00:00:54.180 Normally, I say open your Bibles to this one place. 00:00:54.180 --> 00:00:55.980 We're going to get some overachievers, all right, today. 00:00:56.360 --> 00:00:58.520 Open your Bible to Acts chapter 2, right? 00:00:59.020 --> 00:01:00.080 Hold your spot there. 00:01:00.940 --> 00:01:04.280 Acts chapter 4, hold your spot there. 00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:06.600 Psalm 19, all right? 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:10.060 So, New Testament, New Testament, Old Testament, three different spots. 00:01:10.420 --> 00:01:15.000 Those of you who are in 2020 and you're doing all of this on your phone, good luck as you 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:16.660 jump back and forth through there. 00:01:16.720 --> 00:01:20.720 But Acts 2, Acts 4, and Psalm 19 is where we're going to be this morning. 00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:26.560 As you're finding your spot there in your Bible this morning, I do want to kind of reemphasize 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:30.540 something that was mentioned in our announcements this morning. 00:01:30.880 --> 00:01:33.600 We're excited about the fall season, all right? 00:01:33.820 --> 00:01:39.660 Not only do we hope a break from the 100-degree heat with humidity, but in the new schedule. 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:43.660 And that's something that we've gotten used to here at Willow Ridge is September comes, 00:01:43.700 --> 00:01:45.240 and it's a new season of small groups. 00:01:45.500 --> 00:01:49.920 It's a new season of discovering Willow classes, just all of the different things of what that 00:01:49.920 --> 00:01:50.560 could look like. 00:01:50.900 --> 00:01:53.440 And so, we're pressing forward with that. 00:01:53.720 --> 00:01:58.640 So, as you leave today, you'll notice on a table that looks like this one out front, there's 00:01:58.640 --> 00:01:59.240 a little sign-up. 00:01:59.340 --> 00:02:04.200 If you're not a part of a small group, we want to encourage you to be a part of one. 00:02:04.340 --> 00:02:08.360 And Pastor Dave would love to talk to you and get you connected into one of those groups. 00:02:08.580 --> 00:02:10.480 And so, you can sign up one through that. 00:02:10.480 --> 00:02:14.600 If you've been visiting for a while, and I know we've got some of you who, during this 00:02:14.600 --> 00:02:18.100 season of time, have started visiting with us, and you want to know what it means to be 00:02:18.100 --> 00:02:21.960 a member of Willow Ridge Church, we would love to have that conversation with you. 00:02:22.180 --> 00:02:26.360 You can also sign up for that at that exact same location, and Pastor Dave will be in touch 00:02:26.360 --> 00:02:26.680 with you. 00:02:26.940 --> 00:02:30.820 But something new that we're going to be doing going into the fall is we're going to start 00:02:30.820 --> 00:02:34.660 teaching some classes on different nights of the week here at Willow Ridge. 00:02:34.660 --> 00:02:40.260 And Mike Morgan and Tim Rice, who have been on the global missions team with me, what feels 00:02:40.260 --> 00:02:44.040 now for an eternity as we've been going through this process together, they're going to be 00:02:44.040 --> 00:02:45.600 teaching a class on missions. 00:02:46.120 --> 00:02:49.660 And so, I'm excited about the class that they're going to be teaching, and they've got the opportunity 00:02:49.660 --> 00:02:55.040 for you, whether you want to be here face-to-face with them, to go through that class, but also 00:02:55.040 --> 00:02:57.640 they're going to be doing it online at the same time. 00:02:57.800 --> 00:03:01.400 And what's really neat about the way that we're going to be doing things, like right now, 00:03:01.400 --> 00:03:05.100 if you're watching with us online, like it's really hard for you to ask me a question right 00:03:05.100 --> 00:03:05.300 now. 00:03:05.400 --> 00:03:06.500 You can't. 00:03:06.720 --> 00:03:10.000 But in the teaching setting of what we're going to do, we're going to provide you that 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:15.720 opportunity that you can engage with those that are teaching and facilitating the discussions 00:03:15.720 --> 00:03:16.920 in these classes. 00:03:17.100 --> 00:03:21.500 And so, like I said, our first one will be a class on missions, and really looking forward 00:03:21.500 --> 00:03:28.840 as Mike and Tim are just filled with a bunch of not only knowledge, but experience of engaging 00:03:28.840 --> 00:03:31.120 in God's plan for the nations. 00:03:31.260 --> 00:03:35.460 And so, I want to encourage you, you can also sign up for that class on that same piece of 00:03:35.460 --> 00:03:36.560 paper out in the lobby. 00:03:36.700 --> 00:03:37.660 So, please stop by. 00:03:37.980 --> 00:03:43.140 And if you're doing all of this virtually, you can email Pastor Dave, and he will get 00:03:43.140 --> 00:03:43.960 you connected. 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:50.040 Well, over the course of the next several weeks, we're going to look at a concept or a theme 00:03:50.040 --> 00:03:53.720 of what does it mean to be a part of the family of God. 00:03:54.180 --> 00:03:59.260 But not only the family of God, but the family of God at Willow Ridge Church, specifically 00:03:59.260 --> 00:04:06.080 as we look at the vision and mission, but playing it out in the traits of the family. 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:10.760 And what we're going to look at over the next several weeks is the beautiful understanding 00:04:10.760 --> 00:04:15.460 as I look out and to see the men and women and children that are here with us today is 00:04:15.460 --> 00:04:18.500 that there's a lot of differences in this room, right? 00:04:18.740 --> 00:04:20.120 And we celebrate that. 00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:23.860 Like, it is a good thing that we are not all identical. 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:25.880 We look different. 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:27.140 We talk different. 00:04:27.300 --> 00:04:32.080 We've come from different parts of the country, or maybe even some of us different parts of 00:04:32.080 --> 00:04:32.720 the world. 00:04:32.840 --> 00:04:38.980 We've got different levels of education, and there's beauty within the diversity of the 00:04:38.980 --> 00:04:44.900 body of Christ that God gives us, the people that we need in order with their gifts and 00:04:44.900 --> 00:04:49.200 talents to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we celebrate that. 00:04:49.700 --> 00:04:54.460 But within the family, there should also be those things that are similar. 00:04:55.140 --> 00:04:59.420 So if you look at that within your family, you've seen that that rings true. 00:04:59.920 --> 00:05:04.680 My dad, for instance, if my dad was here and he's visited before, and many of you had 00:05:04.680 --> 00:05:11.420 the opportunity to meet my dad, if you see me and you see my dad, you'll immediately notice 00:05:11.420 --> 00:05:13.760 there's some differences between the two of us. 00:05:13.760 --> 00:05:16.840 I really hope he's watching right now online, right? 00:05:16.980 --> 00:05:19.040 My dad is—he's a short guy. 00:05:19.520 --> 00:05:21.720 He's a real short guy. 00:05:21.980 --> 00:05:26.900 And so when me and my dad are standing there, I can just kind of rest my elbow on his shoulder, 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:27.220 right? 00:05:27.320 --> 00:05:31.600 And I pick at him and have fun, and there's a difference between the two of us. 00:05:31.840 --> 00:05:37.360 But when you really get to know me and my dad, you would find that there's some very similar 00:05:37.360 --> 00:05:39.060 traits that the two of us have. 00:05:39.060 --> 00:05:44.960 Different personality—I'm sorry, same personality, same sense of humor, the same way, honestly, 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:47.340 maybe sometimes we even conduct ourselves. 00:05:47.340 --> 00:05:50.700 And as you see, those family traits begin to come out. 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:55.340 And so what I want us to look at over the next several weeks are what are those common 00:05:55.340 --> 00:05:57.980 traits that are a part of the family of God? 00:05:58.280 --> 00:06:03.500 And we want to look at that and how that pertains to us at Willow Ridge Church, but also globally. 00:06:04.140 --> 00:06:09.300 Like, we don't think sometimes that all across the world and in different cultures and different 00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:15.260 languages that the work of God is working and moving, and churches are gathering in different 00:06:15.260 --> 00:06:21.300 ways and doing things differently and singing different songs and having different routines 00:06:21.300 --> 00:06:22.780 to their worship services. 00:06:23.100 --> 00:06:29.360 But at the very core and the foundation, whether it's in India or South Carolina or in Haiti or 00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:35.340 in Greece or in North Africa or in New York, like there's this commonality amongst all believers 00:06:35.340 --> 00:06:38.340 as we portray the traits of the family. 00:06:38.940 --> 00:06:44.820 And so we've begun to really put some words to this for us as a unique body of believers 00:06:44.820 --> 00:06:49.820 here at Willow Ridge Church last year as we talked about our vision and our mission, our 00:06:49.820 --> 00:06:52.780 vision, who we are, our mission and what we do. 00:06:52.780 --> 00:06:58.240 And what we look at with our vision is that we're one family with one ministry and with one 00:06:58.240 --> 00:06:58.720 calling. 00:06:58.820 --> 00:07:06.020 And there's a oneness, a uniqueness to this body of believers as we see our partnership with 00:07:06.020 --> 00:07:07.480 each other in ministry. 00:07:07.960 --> 00:07:13.900 And it's played out through our mission that we're engaging, equipping, and sending people 00:07:13.900 --> 00:07:16.460 to make known the truth of the gospel. 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:21.120 So with each one of these actions, we're engaging people with the gospel. 00:07:21.380 --> 00:07:24.060 We're equipping people with the gospel. 00:07:24.280 --> 00:07:27.500 And we're sending people with the gospel. 00:07:27.620 --> 00:07:30.480 There's a process of what we're looking for. 00:07:30.840 --> 00:07:33.080 We want to begin with engaging. 00:07:33.820 --> 00:07:39.700 This summer was a different summer in the life of my family like it was every other family, 00:07:39.760 --> 00:07:40.000 right? 00:07:40.460 --> 00:07:47.580 And I've got, in my family, I have an aunt who had five daughters who started having all 00:07:47.580 --> 00:07:50.000 the five daughters, had lots of kids, right? 00:07:50.220 --> 00:07:53.720 And this summer seemed like the summer of weddings. 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:59.220 And not all of us were able to go to all of the weddings because of what's going on. 00:07:59.320 --> 00:08:03.800 But what we could see and we could celebrate, even though we couldn't be there, was the fact 00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:08.980 that we saw this engagement, people coming into the family, right? 00:08:09.260 --> 00:08:13.640 And it's something that we could promote, that we could celebrate, and that we could find 00:08:13.640 --> 00:08:14.940 joy and happiness in. 00:08:15.260 --> 00:08:16.980 And it's that for us as the body of believers. 00:08:17.240 --> 00:08:22.060 As we engage people with the gospel of Christ, we bring them into the family. 00:08:22.360 --> 00:08:26.500 And then once we get them into the family, right, we've got to do something with them. 00:08:26.900 --> 00:08:28.620 We've got to do something with each other. 00:08:29.300 --> 00:08:35.740 And our job, our responsibility, our calling, our ministry of what God has given us is to 00:08:35.740 --> 00:08:36.840 equip each other. 00:08:37.100 --> 00:08:41.340 And it's the whole point of every small group that we have, right? 00:08:41.560 --> 00:08:46.620 Our job of our small groups, our job of our classes, from children's ministry, student 00:08:46.620 --> 00:08:50.000 ministry, and adult ministry, is how do we equip one another? 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:56.180 How do I equip you and you equip me so that we can go and make known the truth of the gospel? 00:08:56.360 --> 00:09:02.480 So that as a corporate body together, what we view, what we do in here, or we view our small 00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:08.500 group, is that when we're done and we say amen and we walk out the door, when we're done with 00:09:08.500 --> 00:09:13.900 our small group and we pray for our request and we go to our separate homes, that it's not 00:09:13.900 --> 00:09:14.800 us leaving. 00:09:15.540 --> 00:09:16.100 It's not. 00:09:16.400 --> 00:09:22.740 If the end of this service is focused in leaving, then we've missed it. 00:09:23.260 --> 00:09:24.580 It's in sending. 00:09:25.320 --> 00:09:27.780 It's in sending from our small groups. 00:09:27.900 --> 00:09:30.040 It's in sending from our worship services. 00:09:30.040 --> 00:09:37.000 It's in sending from our classes and everything that we have to make known the truth of the 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:37.380 gospel. 00:09:38.040 --> 00:09:42.860 And when we read the book of Acts, which we're going to look at here in just a second, the 00:09:42.860 --> 00:09:48.780 book of Acts is about the early formation and the sending of the church to proclaim the 00:09:48.780 --> 00:09:50.120 gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:09:50.320 --> 00:09:55.820 What we begin to find is there's a lot of the things that they do that we do. 00:09:56.460 --> 00:10:00.520 There's some certain characteristics as they sought to reach a certain people in a certain 00:10:00.520 --> 00:10:04.860 point in time that they don't do that we do. 00:10:05.220 --> 00:10:07.680 Or that they would do and we don't. 00:10:07.680 --> 00:10:13.200 But what I want us to look at over the next several weeks by looking at Acts 2 and looking 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:20.400 at Acts 4 is what are those essential things in the early foundation of scripture and the 00:10:20.400 --> 00:10:22.220 formation of the church? 00:10:22.680 --> 00:10:23.980 What is it that's done? 00:10:23.980 --> 00:10:28.400 And then how do we take on those traits of the family? 00:10:29.400 --> 00:10:31.500 That God's always rung truth from his people. 00:10:32.100 --> 00:10:37.260 All the way back to Genesis that we see manifest in Acts that we've seen grown throughout the 00:10:37.260 --> 00:10:42.540 story of history of the church and that should ring true in our hearts today. 00:10:43.020 --> 00:10:47.800 So if you've got your Bibles open with me, look at chapter 2 of the book of Acts, starting 00:10:47.800 --> 00:10:49.040 in verse 42. 00:10:50.240 --> 00:10:55.000 And we're going to look at a passage of scripture that describes the early church. 00:10:55.680 --> 00:10:56.660 It says this, 00:10:57.140 --> 00:11:03.460 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking 00:11:03.460 --> 00:11:05.020 of bread and the prayers. 00:11:05.880 --> 00:11:11.980 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 00:11:12.680 --> 00:11:18.020 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 00:11:18.860 --> 00:11:25.400 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any 00:11:25.400 --> 00:11:26.060 had need. 00:11:27.040 --> 00:11:32.800 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received 00:11:32.800 --> 00:11:39.920 their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. 00:11:40.260 --> 00:11:46.600 And the Lord added to their number, day by day, those who were being saved. 00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:52.820 Now flip over to Acts chapter 4, and let's keep reading verse 32. 00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:54.960 It's going to sound very similar. 00:11:56.260 --> 00:12:02.820 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any 00:12:02.820 --> 00:12:05.320 of the things that belonged to him was his own. 00:12:05.640 --> 00:12:06.940 But they had everything in common. 00:12:06.940 --> 00:12:13.200 And with great power, the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:13.780 Lord Jesus. 00:12:14.860 --> 00:12:16.800 And great grace was upon them all. 00:12:17.580 --> 00:12:19.640 There was not a needy person among them. 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:25.160 For as many as were owners of land or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was 00:12:25.160 --> 00:12:27.700 sold and laid it at the apostles' feet. 00:12:28.120 --> 00:12:53.020 And so these two passages of Scripture are going to be the foundation of what we study as we look 00:12:53.020 --> 00:12:53.980 at family traits. 00:12:54.460 --> 00:12:59.340 And what we want to do is we want to take from these passages of Scripture as the early 00:12:59.340 --> 00:13:05.580 church began to grow, as the early church began to form, as it began to multiply, equip, 00:13:05.880 --> 00:13:11.480 send, share the gospel, engage people with the gospel, see thousands upon thousands of people 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:17.900 walk out of pagan idol worship and walk into a relationship with Jesus. 00:13:18.140 --> 00:13:19.780 What did that look like there? 00:13:20.160 --> 00:13:25.780 What was essential to the faith as they played that out in their life? 00:13:26.520 --> 00:13:30.100 And it's what I want us to look at over the next several weeks. 00:13:30.540 --> 00:13:35.560 Where we're going to begin today is a battle that the early church would face. 00:13:35.980 --> 00:13:39.520 And it's a battle that we still face today. 00:13:39.760 --> 00:13:47.660 And it's the battle of truth, the discussion, the conversation, the thought process around 00:13:47.660 --> 00:13:50.720 what is truth. 00:13:51.400 --> 00:13:58.640 Now there's been a mindset or an ideology that has existed for thousands of years since sin 00:13:58.640 --> 00:13:59.220 began. 00:13:59.420 --> 00:14:01.960 And it's the concept of relativism. 00:14:01.960 --> 00:14:13.380 And relativism is this, that all facts, all facts, and all truth are relative to the perspective 00:14:13.380 --> 00:14:15.020 of the observer. 00:14:15.740 --> 00:14:21.680 And so here's what that means, that there is, in relativism, there is no truth. 00:14:22.160 --> 00:14:29.980 Instead, there is truth that is perceived by the different individuals who are perceiving 00:14:29.980 --> 00:14:32.420 the information that is before them. 00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:33.580 Here's what that means. 00:14:34.220 --> 00:14:40.520 If you take me and you take my son and you put us in this room and something is shown on 00:14:40.520 --> 00:14:41.300 the screen. 00:14:42.460 --> 00:14:46.140 And if at the end of that, we tell you what we saw. 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:47.540 Well, let's just say it's a football game. 00:14:48.500 --> 00:14:51.000 And so everyone leaves, you come back in. 00:14:51.860 --> 00:14:56.260 And I say, what was played on the screen was a football game. 00:14:56.960 --> 00:14:58.060 And then I go and sit down. 00:14:59.040 --> 00:15:04.960 And Grayson comes up and says, what was on the screen was a ballet performance, right? 00:15:05.980 --> 00:15:08.200 Now, you didn't know, you didn't see. 00:15:08.200 --> 00:15:15.560 But based off of relativism, you couldn't disagree with either one of us regardless of what was 00:15:15.560 --> 00:15:16.420 truthfully done. 00:15:16.700 --> 00:15:16.960 Why? 00:15:17.420 --> 00:15:19.760 Because my truth is my truth. 00:15:19.860 --> 00:15:21.840 And his truth is his truth. 00:15:22.140 --> 00:15:26.260 And what he saw through his perspective caused him to say that it is this. 00:15:26.420 --> 00:15:30.760 And what I saw through my perspective caused me to say that it is this. 00:15:30.980 --> 00:15:34.420 And it's a very, very dangerous mindset. 00:15:35.780 --> 00:15:43.780 And it is infiltrating not only religions all over the world, but it is infiltrating Christianity. 00:15:44.260 --> 00:15:48.700 A couple of ways that we see this and that we see this in our culture right now. 00:15:48.760 --> 00:15:50.140 And I just alluded to one of them. 00:15:50.200 --> 00:15:52.520 There's a phrase that is very popular. 00:15:52.900 --> 00:15:58.600 I hear pastors use this phrase quite often in concept of promoting relativism. 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:01.940 And it is the phrase my truth. 00:16:01.940 --> 00:16:13.760 And the concept of my truth is this, that my feelings and my experiences override truth. 00:16:14.760 --> 00:16:28.640 That how something makes me feel or my past experience will mold and shape what is factually true and cause me to then have a different truth than what is known. 00:16:29.100 --> 00:16:36.380 And it's a tack on for the people who have said, no, no, no, no, no, this is true. 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:46.860 And when we begin to wander from that, we begin to open the door to things that begin to pull us from God's standard that we're going to look at. 00:16:47.540 --> 00:16:53.080 That's another way that we are practically seeing this and we're seeing this grow and evolve in our culture. 00:16:53.380 --> 00:16:59.840 And I want to begin with saying this, whether you're sitting here with us today or whether you're watching this at home. 00:16:59.980 --> 00:17:07.360 What I'm about to say has absolutely nothing to do with political views but deals with politics. 00:17:08.200 --> 00:17:15.840 When I was growing up, we would have dinner, I talked about this a few weeks ago, and we would typically watch two TV shows. 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:18.640 We would watch the Andy Griffith show, right? 00:17:18.820 --> 00:17:20.360 Anybody else grew up watching the Andy Griffith show? 00:17:20.440 --> 00:17:21.400 Raise your hand at home if you did too. 00:17:21.500 --> 00:17:22.300 We would watch it. 00:17:22.320 --> 00:17:25.700 My kids still, immigration didn't raise your hand, we watch it all the time, right? 00:17:25.780 --> 00:17:26.500 There we go, thank you. 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:29.180 We watched the Andy Griffith show. 00:17:29.580 --> 00:17:34.180 And the Andy Griffith show would go off of the TV and then the news would come on. 00:17:34.620 --> 00:17:35.660 And we would watch the news. 00:17:36.080 --> 00:17:38.920 And there was something phenomenal that happened growing up. 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:46.220 And I think it rang true for my generation, for my parents' generation, and my grandparents' generation, and generations before. 00:17:46.740 --> 00:17:52.420 When the person who was on the news spoke, do you know what they told us? 00:17:53.260 --> 00:17:54.080 What happened? 00:17:55.300 --> 00:17:56.120 That was it. 00:17:57.140 --> 00:17:59.520 This was the temperature, right? 00:17:59.940 --> 00:18:01.940 This is what happened in this country today. 00:18:02.580 --> 00:18:04.480 This is what happened on the stock market. 00:18:04.980 --> 00:18:07.000 This is what happened in the school board meeting. 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:15.340 That news of what we would understand are the facts of what is happening in the world around us was the statement of fact. 00:18:15.900 --> 00:18:27.440 But what we begin to grow and evolve and move toward as a country, like I said, I could not tell you the political stance of anyone that I knew on the news growing up. 00:18:27.600 --> 00:18:29.800 We had ABC, NBC, and CBS. 00:18:29.800 --> 00:18:30.880 That's all we had. 00:18:30.940 --> 00:18:32.140 We didn't have cable, right? 00:18:32.620 --> 00:18:34.620 And Netflix wasn't a thing, all right? 00:18:35.580 --> 00:18:36.500 But that's all we had. 00:18:36.520 --> 00:18:37.300 I couldn't tell you. 00:18:38.020 --> 00:18:42.040 I had no clue what Walter Concrete felt like politically. 00:18:42.120 --> 00:18:43.280 I didn't know, right? 00:18:43.480 --> 00:18:44.720 We just watched the news. 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:58.720 But now, from sports, to politics, to the economy, to the environment, the news is reported through the filter of my perspective. 00:18:58.780 --> 00:19:12.320 And so we're walking through a day and time where society as a whole have said, no, you filter these things through you first and decide how they make you feel. 00:19:13.220 --> 00:19:16.700 Decide how they make your experience and where we go. 00:19:17.420 --> 00:19:19.160 And we can talk about it for politics. 00:19:19.520 --> 00:19:21.060 We can talk about it for the economy. 00:19:21.300 --> 00:19:23.080 We can talk about it from the environment. 00:19:23.080 --> 00:19:27.920 But the attack that we really need to be concerned about is the attack on God's Word. 00:19:29.300 --> 00:19:35.060 The attack on what the foundation and every fiber of what we believe rests in. 00:19:35.780 --> 00:19:44.660 And so for this week one, what I want us to look at and understand is this, is that truth is God's Word is our standard. 00:19:45.100 --> 00:19:48.320 It's the family trait that we see in the early church. 00:19:48.320 --> 00:19:52.880 That God's Word is the standard by which we set our lives by. 00:19:53.720 --> 00:19:55.680 In chapter 2, verse 42, it says, 00:19:56.060 --> 00:19:59.900 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching. 00:20:00.180 --> 00:20:02.840 Very first characteristic that we see. 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:04.320 They devoted themselves. 00:20:05.280 --> 00:20:10.880 The word devoted is the same word that would be used when someone trains for a marathon. 00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:11.640 All right? 00:20:12.040 --> 00:20:15.500 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching. 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:18.580 I don't know if you've ever trained for a marathon. 00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:19.500 I haven't. 00:20:19.600 --> 00:20:20.560 But I've started running. 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:21.080 Right? 00:20:21.580 --> 00:20:22.620 And here's what I know. 00:20:23.040 --> 00:20:24.120 It's hard. 00:20:24.940 --> 00:20:26.300 It's difficult. 00:20:27.260 --> 00:20:28.660 It's not fun. 00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:30.420 It's painful. 00:20:31.260 --> 00:20:42.900 And when I look at devoting myself to the teaching of God's Word, let me embrace something with you in your heart as we talk about diving into this more. 00:20:43.340 --> 00:20:43.900 It's hard. 00:20:44.680 --> 00:20:44.920 Okay? 00:20:45.720 --> 00:20:46.680 It's painful. 00:20:48.120 --> 00:20:49.140 It's difficult. 00:20:50.280 --> 00:20:53.220 But it creates a perseverance. 00:20:54.300 --> 00:20:55.600 And so they devoted themselves. 00:20:56.120 --> 00:20:58.640 But they devoted themselves to something. 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:00.360 To the apostles' teaching. 00:21:00.520 --> 00:21:02.380 And here's what's really cool about this. 00:21:02.700 --> 00:21:05.380 This word teaching, it means doctrine. 00:21:06.460 --> 00:21:07.700 What we believe. 00:21:08.780 --> 00:21:11.100 What God's Word says. 00:21:12.020 --> 00:21:15.860 But the word doctrine isn't just what God's Word says. 00:21:16.540 --> 00:21:25.780 But the word doctrine built in what the Word means, it's what God's Word said that is then imparted, that is then applied. 00:21:26.860 --> 00:21:28.480 A lot like what we talked about last week. 00:21:29.120 --> 00:21:35.880 That what I gain from God's Word, I know it, and then I apply it to who I am. 00:21:36.120 --> 00:21:48.920 So they devoted themselves to the process of the apostles' teaching, which was God's Word, so that they could apply it to their lives, so that they could live lives that glorified God. 00:21:49.700 --> 00:21:51.180 And we see from the very beginning. 00:21:51.840 --> 00:21:54.940 But then look at Acts 4 as they describe it again. 00:21:55.740 --> 00:22:02.320 It says, and with great power, the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. 00:22:02.740 --> 00:22:05.380 And great grace was upon them all. 00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:07.420 So what were the apostles also doing? 00:22:07.660 --> 00:22:08.680 They were giving their testimony. 00:22:09.500 --> 00:22:09.720 All right? 00:22:10.140 --> 00:22:12.200 And here's what it means by testimony. 00:22:13.140 --> 00:22:14.420 Testimony means evidence. 00:22:15.400 --> 00:22:17.420 Don't say how it makes you feel. 00:22:18.180 --> 00:22:21.780 Say what the truth is that's being known. 00:22:22.680 --> 00:22:29.480 And so when these apostles would go out and they would share their testimony, what they were saying is, 00:22:30.120 --> 00:22:35.100 here's who Jesus is as I speak about the resurrection of Christ. 00:22:35.600 --> 00:22:41.600 And in the testimony, so that you know that it is true, hold my life as an example. 00:22:43.360 --> 00:22:56.240 So from very early on, it wasn't Peter and John saying, all right, Jesus is gone now, and I know he had these ways that he was doing, 00:22:56.460 --> 00:23:01.740 but now here's a better way as we form this committee that we can go through and figure these things out differently. 00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:09.720 No, it was them saying, no, we're going to continue on holding God's word as the truth and the foundation for what we will do. 00:23:09.720 --> 00:23:11.780 Not having the New Testament or what's there. 00:23:12.040 --> 00:23:17.440 Everything coming out of, for us, what is known as the Old Testament, but for them what is known as Scripture. 00:23:17.780 --> 00:23:22.040 And speaking to, very specifically, the life of Jesus Christ. 00:23:22.220 --> 00:23:28.520 And the biblical foundation of the truth of what is there, of what they are working toward. 00:23:29.020 --> 00:23:30.140 And then I jump to Psalm 19. 00:23:30.880 --> 00:23:32.040 So what does this mean for us? 00:23:32.620 --> 00:23:38.500 So it's what the church has done, but then what does that look like for us in our day-to-day life? 00:23:38.660 --> 00:23:45.040 All right, as you turn there, I want to go over three things really quick that we need to agree with as a body of believers, all right? 00:23:45.040 --> 00:23:48.720 If you're not a believer and you want to talk about this at a later point in time, let me know. 00:23:48.780 --> 00:23:49.560 We'll have this discussion. 00:23:49.960 --> 00:23:52.600 Number one, this book is true, all right? 00:23:53.660 --> 00:23:58.860 Historically speaking, it is factual and it is accurate, all right? 00:23:58.940 --> 00:24:12.320 What God said is the way that it played out and there are both biblical historians and non-biblical historians who will not argue and instead support the historical accuracy of God's Word. 00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:13.240 It is true. 00:24:14.080 --> 00:24:15.640 Number two, it's inspired. 00:24:16.020 --> 00:24:17.460 Here's what we mean by it's inspired. 00:24:17.460 --> 00:24:25.540 It was spoken by God through His Holy Spirit to faithful individuals that would put it down on paper, all right? 00:24:25.660 --> 00:24:31.500 So it's this phenomenal work which happened in Scripture and has not happened in this capacity since. 00:24:31.780 --> 00:24:35.420 God's Word has begun and it has ended in God's Word. 00:24:35.680 --> 00:24:38.220 Nothing to be added to, nothing to be taken from. 00:24:38.500 --> 00:24:39.040 This book is inspired. 00:24:39.860 --> 00:24:45.400 The third thing, as believers, and if you're not here yet, you've got to get here, all right? 00:24:45.520 --> 00:24:48.900 Or there's this huge sin that you're ignoring in your life. 00:24:49.260 --> 00:24:52.140 God's Word, this book, is authoritative. 00:24:53.140 --> 00:25:01.860 It is filled with the commands of God and it instructs us in how to live our life. 00:25:02.200 --> 00:25:09.760 Now, it doesn't mean that we like everything that it says, but if you're willing to walk away and break from one truth that is in here, 00:25:09.880 --> 00:25:11.560 then why not walk away from a mall? 00:25:13.120 --> 00:25:18.560 But it's authoritative, meaning it has authority over me. 00:25:18.720 --> 00:25:20.260 And here's what makes this unique. 00:25:20.260 --> 00:25:21.280 I counted this week. 00:25:21.340 --> 00:25:22.080 I was kind of curious. 00:25:23.020 --> 00:25:31.040 I have in my library or in my office here at the church, I have 334 books in my office. 00:25:31.340 --> 00:25:32.320 Have I read them all? 00:25:32.560 --> 00:25:33.320 No, all right? 00:25:33.860 --> 00:25:34.700 I haven't. 00:25:35.220 --> 00:25:36.820 Yes, I've read them all every single week. 00:25:36.880 --> 00:25:37.320 No, I haven't. 00:25:38.300 --> 00:25:39.200 334 books. 00:25:40.440 --> 00:25:45.160 None of those books, not one, meet that standard. 00:25:46.380 --> 00:25:52.900 They're all Christian books written by Christian authors who have high level of application in their life, 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:55.660 who have high level of education in their life, 00:25:55.660 --> 00:25:59.760 but none of them fall to the same standard as this does. 00:26:00.380 --> 00:26:01.440 They're all different. 00:26:02.580 --> 00:26:03.540 This is the truth. 00:26:05.220 --> 00:26:07.740 And this is what we live by. 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:12.560 And so the psalmist begins to write about God's Word. 00:26:13.060 --> 00:26:16.580 How do we take this and how do we apply this in our life? 00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:21.760 We're going to start reading in verse 7 and read a little bit and explain as we go. 00:26:22.600 --> 00:26:23.640 He begins and he says, 00:26:24.300 --> 00:26:29.620 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. 00:26:30.680 --> 00:26:37.760 The law of the Lord, God's Word, it is perfect in reviving the soul. 00:26:37.760 --> 00:26:42.820 What we begin to understand is that God's Word does something in the life of a believer. 00:26:43.240 --> 00:26:46.680 God's Word works to change us. 00:26:47.140 --> 00:26:54.140 This word, this phrase, reviving the soul, means to literally shake something up. 00:26:54.780 --> 00:27:00.240 To take something from the way that it was before and move everything around. 00:27:00.920 --> 00:27:11.560 And begin to have friction and conflict and something that begins to happen and stirs within so that at the end of it, it's not like it was before. 00:27:12.260 --> 00:27:13.200 It's changed. 00:27:14.260 --> 00:27:18.540 And so that God's Word does the same thing in the life of the believer. 00:27:18.960 --> 00:27:21.780 So when you sit down, right? 00:27:21.880 --> 00:27:29.640 So you wake up in the morning and you go downstairs and you grab a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee and you open up God's Word. 00:27:29.880 --> 00:27:31.900 God's Word is working to change you. 00:27:32.440 --> 00:27:41.500 That when you gather your family together at the dinner table and you open it up and you read through God's Word together as a family, it's working to change you. 00:27:41.500 --> 00:27:49.520 That when you're engaged in Bible study with others and you dive in and you share what God's teaching you, it is working to change you. 00:27:49.740 --> 00:27:52.100 That that's what God's Word does. 00:27:53.040 --> 00:27:54.520 But I didn't feel it. 00:27:55.880 --> 00:27:57.540 But it doesn't make it less true. 00:27:58.920 --> 00:28:02.240 Because God's Word is working to change us. 00:28:02.600 --> 00:28:04.760 It is reviving the soul. 00:28:05.340 --> 00:28:13.100 The psalmist writes, the testimony of the Lord is sure, making the wise simple. 00:28:13.880 --> 00:28:17.280 God's Word gives meaning, right? 00:28:17.760 --> 00:28:24.480 As we dive into Scripture every single week, as you sit there in your quiet time, as you begin to wrestle with this, 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:30.940 we begin to understand how this life is determined by God to be lived. 00:28:31.880 --> 00:28:36.420 That God in His Word gives us the standard, His standard. 00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:41.240 And from His standard, you and I find our purpose. 00:28:42.580 --> 00:28:46.500 God's Word gives us the answer that man has searched for for years. 00:28:46.680 --> 00:28:48.080 It answers the why. 00:28:49.080 --> 00:28:51.160 Why do I live in the time in which I live? 00:28:52.120 --> 00:28:55.140 Why am I married to the person that I'm married to? 00:28:55.760 --> 00:28:57.840 Why do I have the job that I have? 00:28:57.940 --> 00:29:00.120 Why do I have the education that I have? 00:29:00.380 --> 00:29:02.640 Why do I have the income that I have? 00:29:02.640 --> 00:29:08.480 And in this, when we wrestle with, when we push aside the things that want to distract us, 00:29:08.700 --> 00:29:14.840 what we find is God's Word gives meaning by explaining His standard, and from His standard becomes our purpose. 00:29:16.100 --> 00:29:17.960 The psalmist continues on in verse 8. 00:29:19.140 --> 00:29:19.400 And he says, 00:29:19.520 --> 00:29:25.440 The psalmist basically says, 00:29:25.660 --> 00:29:32.360 God's rules are good, and His rules cause you to be excited. 00:29:33.100 --> 00:29:35.860 They bring joy into your life. 00:29:36.120 --> 00:29:36.380 Why? 00:29:37.040 --> 00:29:40.220 Because obedience comes from that. 00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:49.500 That by being into God's Word and the transforming power of what begins to happen as God's Holy Spirit works in the lives of the believers, 00:29:49.900 --> 00:29:53.640 that God brings to you obedience through change. 00:29:53.760 --> 00:29:57.920 That He shapes and molds the very fabric of who you are, 00:29:58.040 --> 00:30:00.740 so you are no longer the person who you were before, 00:30:00.860 --> 00:30:03.400 but you're the new creation that you were in Christ. 00:30:04.040 --> 00:30:07.260 I'm not different because I got saved at 22, 00:30:07.860 --> 00:30:10.460 and I'm now just a different guy because I'm 41. 00:30:11.340 --> 00:30:16.940 I've changed from 22 to 41 because of the transforming work of what God has done. 00:30:17.140 --> 00:30:21.300 Because trust me, I've met a lot of 41-year-olds who still act like 22-year-olds, right? 00:30:22.440 --> 00:30:23.820 And they're the same at 81. 00:30:25.040 --> 00:30:27.640 But it's the transforming power of God. 00:30:27.880 --> 00:30:31.660 It's what God has done in me, bringing from me obedience. 00:30:33.320 --> 00:30:34.440 The psalmist continues, 00:30:35.280 --> 00:30:40.800 The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. 00:30:41.280 --> 00:30:45.540 God's Word gives perspective, right? 00:30:45.980 --> 00:30:54.340 God's Word gives perspective so that we see things differently than the way that we saw them before. 00:30:55.360 --> 00:30:57.920 Go back to your life before you got saved. 00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:04.120 Go back to your life before you really started digging in to your walk with Christ. 00:31:04.940 --> 00:31:07.800 And look at how you began to see things differently. 00:31:08.540 --> 00:31:11.740 Look at how God has taken you and shaped you, 00:31:11.740 --> 00:31:16.480 and now as a result, the world is different than the world you knew before. 00:31:17.220 --> 00:31:18.220 How do you see truth? 00:31:19.480 --> 00:31:26.860 Lies, lostness, salvation, hope, despair. 00:31:28.140 --> 00:31:29.400 God changes. 00:31:30.700 --> 00:31:33.040 And then in verse 9, it says, 00:31:33.040 --> 00:31:38.900 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. 00:31:39.560 --> 00:31:44.840 In a different way, God, through His Word, gives us understanding. 00:31:45.820 --> 00:31:47.060 God gives us understanding. 00:31:47.760 --> 00:31:48.960 God wants you. 00:31:49.340 --> 00:31:51.800 Here's what it means to be in a relationship with someone. 00:31:52.860 --> 00:31:54.980 You know them, right? 00:31:55.360 --> 00:31:57.060 That's at the core of a relationship. 00:31:58.000 --> 00:32:02.440 I'm not in a relationship with someone who I've never met, 00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:04.520 with someone who I do not know. 00:32:04.920 --> 00:32:09.140 I am in relationship with people that I know and who know me. 00:32:09.720 --> 00:32:12.780 And so we know that God knows us, but the question is, do we know Him? 00:32:13.100 --> 00:32:16.840 And so through God's Word, we begin to know Him. 00:32:17.140 --> 00:32:18.200 And the psalmist writes, 00:32:18.460 --> 00:32:21.940 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. 00:32:22.140 --> 00:32:24.060 We could talk for 30 minutes about what this is. 00:32:24.120 --> 00:32:25.840 I won't, but here's what this means, all right? 00:32:26.300 --> 00:32:28.300 Right reverence to a holy God. 00:32:29.060 --> 00:32:35.920 That as I stand before Him, I am caught in awe because of who He is. 00:32:37.300 --> 00:32:41.200 And then as the psalmist finishes this section, he says, 00:32:41.300 --> 00:32:45.980 And the rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. 00:32:46.140 --> 00:32:47.060 He says they're perfect. 00:32:48.200 --> 00:32:49.520 And focus in on verse 10. 00:32:50.780 --> 00:32:56.700 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold, 00:32:57.720 --> 00:33:02.620 sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 00:33:03.580 --> 00:33:10.020 You see, for the believer that's diving in, that is growing, 00:33:10.220 --> 00:33:15.040 that is pleading with God to take him or her and change them and transform them, 00:33:15.360 --> 00:33:22.020 what God's Word begins to be in their life is more valuable than anything else. 00:33:23.320 --> 00:33:25.200 More valuable than our jobs. 00:33:26.280 --> 00:33:27.680 More valuable than our lives. 00:33:27.800 --> 00:33:29.040 More valuable than our bank accounts. 00:33:29.180 --> 00:33:30.580 More valuable than our homes. 00:33:30.580 --> 00:33:32.260 More valuable than our families. 00:33:33.580 --> 00:33:36.240 Because of the standard of what's there. 00:33:37.620 --> 00:33:42.660 And then from that comes so much more. 00:33:43.380 --> 00:33:44.760 I love the picture of honey. 00:33:45.840 --> 00:33:46.980 Because you know what honey does? 00:33:48.300 --> 00:33:49.800 Honey makes everything sweeter, right? 00:33:50.140 --> 00:33:50.900 I love honey. 00:33:50.940 --> 00:33:51.400 We love honey. 00:33:51.460 --> 00:33:55.120 I'll go at our house and get a big teaspoon of honey and just eat the honey. 00:33:55.160 --> 00:33:55.560 I love it. 00:33:56.380 --> 00:33:58.780 And what I like to do with honey is when we get fruit sometimes, 00:33:58.900 --> 00:34:00.020 that's a little sour. 00:34:00.020 --> 00:34:01.400 It's not quite where it should be. 00:34:01.640 --> 00:34:05.860 I like to take that fruit and take the honey and put the honey over the fruit. 00:34:06.140 --> 00:34:10.100 And as I began to eat the fruit, the fruit is no longer sour like it was before. 00:34:11.120 --> 00:34:17.240 Because my perspective of it has changed through what the honey has done. 00:34:17.240 --> 00:34:29.020 And when we see what God's word does, that the truth of it begins to change the perspective of the individual. 00:34:29.760 --> 00:34:35.600 That we see everything through the goodness and the sweetness of God. 00:34:36.960 --> 00:34:38.380 So it's like honey. 00:34:39.420 --> 00:34:42.000 More valuable than gold. 00:34:43.120 --> 00:34:47.680 Jesus in John chapter 5 tells a story. 00:34:48.740 --> 00:34:51.320 And I want to ask you this question in closing. 00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:53.840 I want to ask you this question. 00:34:54.840 --> 00:34:57.000 What do you desire? 00:34:58.280 --> 00:35:00.260 What is most important? 00:35:00.260 --> 00:35:05.760 When you go to God's word, why do you go to God's word? 00:35:07.080 --> 00:35:11.200 Jesus in John chapter 5, he's there with the scribes and the Pharisees. 00:35:11.500 --> 00:35:13.020 The experts of the law. 00:35:13.380 --> 00:35:15.260 And you know what makes them experts of the law? 00:35:15.520 --> 00:35:18.100 Not degrees that they had obtained. 00:35:18.640 --> 00:35:23.080 What made them experts of the law was their ability to memorize. 00:35:23.960 --> 00:35:29.680 Not memorize some of the scripture, but to memorize all of the Old Testament. 00:35:30.400 --> 00:35:35.140 So Jesus is in a room in John chapter 5 with the scribes and the Pharisees. 00:35:35.400 --> 00:35:38.960 And Jesus begins to say, this is who I am. 00:35:39.420 --> 00:35:40.380 I'm the Messiah. 00:35:41.320 --> 00:35:43.580 Jesus begins to say, I am God's son. 00:35:44.040 --> 00:35:48.300 And as you could guess, the scribes and the Pharisees, if you know the narrative of scripture, right? 00:35:48.300 --> 00:35:50.780 They're the ones that are Jesus' enemies. 00:35:51.080 --> 00:35:52.420 That are out to get him. 00:35:52.660 --> 00:35:54.440 And so there begins to be conflict. 00:35:54.840 --> 00:35:58.220 And Jesus says to them, he's like, here's your problem. 00:35:59.260 --> 00:36:04.700 You know scripture, but you don't know me. 00:36:05.920 --> 00:36:12.620 He looks at a group of individuals that have memorized it, but have missed it. 00:36:13.480 --> 00:36:18.720 Because when they came to God's word, they came to it with selfish desires. 00:36:19.540 --> 00:36:24.600 When they came to God's word, they came with it for them to be glorified. 00:36:25.240 --> 00:36:29.220 And Jesus says, and in doing so, you missed it. 00:36:30.340 --> 00:36:37.980 You missed when you read through Leviticus and you read the law, that it pointed to the fact that you couldn't, but I can. 00:36:38.140 --> 00:36:49.560 You missed it when you read the story of David and Goliath and you thought it was just about your king, but what it's really about is me because I'm the king. 00:36:50.560 --> 00:36:58.420 You really missed it when you read about Moses leading the people out of Egypt and you thought it was an event that happened in history. 00:36:58.420 --> 00:37:05.880 But what I'm about to do is I'm about to the power of the cross, I'm about to set my people free for all of eternity. 00:37:06.220 --> 00:37:07.040 You've missed it. 00:37:07.720 --> 00:37:08.480 You've missed it. 00:37:09.420 --> 00:37:18.940 And my fear is that gathered in here or sitting at home is a group of us who come here. 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:26.560 And because of our own selfish desires and ambitions, we miss it. 00:37:27.620 --> 00:37:32.780 Because the law of the Lord points us to Jesus. 00:37:33.680 --> 00:37:34.440 Would you pray with me? 00:37:38.180 --> 00:37:42.760 God, we thank you so much for who you are and for what you've done. 00:37:44.080 --> 00:37:48.560 We thank you that your law is perfect and it is good. 00:37:49.980 --> 00:37:52.300 We thank you that it is truth. 00:37:53.360 --> 00:37:56.440 Not a truth, but truth. 00:37:57.620 --> 00:38:00.540 A truth that we can build our life on. 00:38:01.360 --> 00:38:04.300 A truth that we can grow from. 00:38:05.880 --> 00:38:07.860 A truth that we can proclaim. 00:38:10.260 --> 00:38:18.360 A truth that brings people into a saving relationship and knowledge of you. 00:38:19.440 --> 00:38:25.240 Lord, I pray that as we're gathered here today, different men and women and children 00:38:25.240 --> 00:38:31.460 from different backgrounds, different perspectives, different feelings, different experiences. 00:38:32.200 --> 00:38:40.760 Lord, that I pray that we can all find our hope, peace in your word. 00:38:41.920 --> 00:38:44.260 Lord, may we approach your word for what it is. 00:38:46.080 --> 00:38:50.560 Not trying to bend it and shape it, to make it say what we want to say. 00:38:52.640 --> 00:38:54.160 But that it points us to you. 00:38:57.120 --> 00:39:00.600 Jesus, I ask that if anyone is here today that does not know you. 00:39:02.460 --> 00:39:10.480 That today, through the power of your spirit, they'd be made aware that they are a sinner who desperately needs a savior. 00:39:12.180 --> 00:39:14.780 Lord, I pray that today they would be broken of their sins. 00:39:14.780 --> 00:39:21.260 Know that their sins were paid for by the work of the cross. 00:39:22.940 --> 00:39:29.800 And that just as you walked out of the tomb, that they too can walk in newness of life. 00:39:31.420 --> 00:39:45.440 Lord, for all of us who do know you, may today be the day that we press forward. 00:39:46.440 --> 00:39:52.020 May today be the day where we are devoted to the teaching of your word. 00:39:52.480 --> 00:40:03.320 May today be the day that we are more committed to the testimony of the power of the resurrection. 00:40:04.460 --> 00:40:05.580 Jesus, we thank you. 00:40:06.180 --> 00:40:07.120 We praise you. 00:40:07.820 --> 00:40:08.660 It's in your name we pray. 00:40:09.320 --> 00:40:09.640 Amen. 00:40:10.860 --> 00:40:12.840 Just a minute, we're going to stand and we're going to worship. 00:40:13.920 --> 00:40:18.440 If you want to talk to somebody about a relationship with Christ, I'll be out back here in the hallway again. 00:40:19.420 --> 00:40:20.340 Would love to talk with you. 00:40:20.380 --> 00:40:21.320 Would love to pray with you. 00:40:22.140 --> 00:40:26.680 But if you find yourself here today as a believer of Jesus Christ, we're in a moment. 00:40:26.800 --> 00:40:27.480 We're going to stand. 00:40:27.840 --> 00:40:28.980 Leslie's going to lead us. 00:40:30.040 --> 00:40:38.380 And I pray what you sing from is in the testimony of the saved life that is surrendered to Jesus Christ. 00:40:39.520 --> 00:40:46.460 And that you leave here today being sent to make known the power of the gospel. 00:40:47.200 --> 00:40:48.560 Would you stand as we worship him? 00:40:51.800 --> 00:41:09.440 Thanks again for listening to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:41:09.440 --> 00:41:12.060 We hope that you enjoyed listening to this week's message. 00:41:12.660 --> 00:41:21.120 If you'd like to learn more about who we are or explore additional resources, visit us online at www.willowridgechurch.com 00:41:21.120 --> 00:41:24.660 or by searching for Willow Ridge Church on Facebook and Instagram. 00:41:24.660 --> 00:41:36.620 We'll see you next time.