Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - God Never Said That, Part 3: It Doesn’t Matter What You Do

Episode Date: February 21, 2015

We love offering little nuggets of advice, support, or sympathy. They come in handy when we want people to feel better. But what if the guidance you’re giving or receiving just isn’t true? What if God Never Said That? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dude, I know you can get those type of videos on your phone. Totally. I don't know what I did before this. It's better hope your wife never finds out. It's not a big deal. Besides, she's been kind of not fun lately. Look, she's not going to find out. It doesn't matter as long as it doesn't hurt anyone. Are you serious?

God never said that. It is great to have all of you with us today at all of our life churches and our partnering network churches, we love you all so much and all over the world on the other side of computer screens at church online. We are in part three

of a four-part message series called God Never Said That. If you missed earlier weeks, you can watch them at livechurch.tv on iTunes, Roku, YouTube. They're always available for free. Week number one, we looked at the cultural misbelief.

Above all else, God wants everyone happy. Unfortunately, God never said that. Week two, we looked at the thing that so many people wrongly believe, and that is God will never give you more than you can handle. The truth is, God never said that. Next week is the final week, and I need to tell you, it is a very, very special message that has moved me deeply, emotionally.

It is a lie that it doesn't matter what you believe, as long as you are sincere. For those of you that know somebody that may not be sure about what they believe, this is the perfect week to bring them, and I promise you it will build your faith in a really significant way. Now, today, we're going to look at a very dangerous lie and something that has quite serious consequences. And so since it's going to be a little bit heavy, I thought we'd start off a little bit light. Is that fair enough? Here's what I want to do. All of our churches, I need everybody participating. It is no fun without you. So could I get all of you just to kind of look at the person sitting on this side of you right now? Just get a glance at them and just make sure you know who they are.

Now this side, you might even kind of look behind you just for fun. Just got to turn around real quick like there. Just look around, look at the people in front of you. Okay, what I want you to do is at the count of three, I want you to point to the one that looks like they are the biggest center. Okay, one, two, three. Go, go. Very good. There's one guy pointing at himself.

That's really good. At least he's a truthful sinner, and I like that about him. And so, you know, it's kind of awkward just to point at someone and say, you're the biggest sinner, because in reality, there is something the Bible calls an unpardonable sin. In culture today, people could argue the unpardonable cultural sin is to call someone a sinner. In culture today, it's totally unacceptable to say what anyone else does

is a sin which leads us to the cultural misbelief I want to talk about today. You will hear it all the time. Maybe you've even said it or believe it, and that is this. It doesn't matter what you do as long as you don't hurt anyone. It doesn't matter what I do. It's not your business. Doesn't matter what you do as long as you don't hurt anyone. God never said that.

And today, I want to dive into the reality of what Scripture teaches us about our behavior. Now, to walk into a very serious subject, I want to just kind of reflect a little bit. And if you think back to the time when Jesus lived, what do you think was the biggest cultural value? If you go back during the time when Jesus lived, what do you think was the biggest cultural value? Well, it's totally up for debate, and I couldn't necessarily. prove this, but I could make a very strong argument that the biggest cultural value during the time of the life of Jesus was justice. An eye for an eye, a truth for tooth. You do something wrong. You deserve to be penalized. If I asked the same question of today, what is the biggest cultural value of our world today?

You could make an argument that the biggest cultural value might be tolerance, right? I mean, pretty strong. argument in that case. What's interesting about even the definition of tolerance has massively changed over the past decade or so. Tolerance used to mean that all people have equal value. In other words, we're going to value people. Today, though, tolerance has evolved to mean all ideas and all behavior have equal value. Even the definition of tolerance has changed. so much so in culture today that it is wrong and unacceptable to ever say that behavior is wrong, that is sinful. In fact, culturally, we've watered down and sanitized even what otherwise would be sinful terms and given the more acceptable phrases to help us feel better. For example,

if I just took the category of sexual sin and you look at what we call things today, instead of saying, you know, you're looking at pornography. Instead today we say, oh, well, that's adult entertainment. It sounds so much more acceptable. We're not going to say somebody committed adultery. That's almost too harsh. Instead, it's, well, they had an affair. It doesn't sound nearly as bad.

We're not going to call premarital sex a sin in our culture today. In fact, we're not going to call it premarital sex. We're going to just say, well, they're just fooling around, and everybody fools around. We've taken what once was wrong and have even changed the way we describe it, because in our culture today, the unpardonable sin is almost, hey, don't ever tell somebody that's wrong. And besides, it's none of your business what I'm doing. I can do whatever I want.

as long as I don't hurt anyone. Now, what we need to recognize is that sin is very real. And sin has dramatic, earthly consequences and potentially damning eternal consequences. And so today, I want to talk about three cultural misbeliefs about sin and look at what God really did say. If you're taking notes, the first thing is this. It's very common in our world today for people to believe, number one, that I'm not a bad person. I'm not a bad person.

You're not a bad person all over the world. Well, we're not bad people. I mean, I'm not a bad person. And, you know, well, I may make some mistakes, but I'm not a bad person. And the reality is this is simply not true. In fact, John said this in 1.8, that if we claim to be without sin, in other words, if we say we're not a bad person, person. What do we do? Let's all say it aloud. What do we do? We deceive ourselves and the what, and the truth is not in us. Now, if we compare ourselves to other people, we may be tempted to say,

I'm not really bad, because we can always find someone much worse. Chances are on one side of the other. You may be sitting to one of those people right now. I am better than them, so I'm not a bad person. But other people are not the standard to which we are compared. When we compare ourselves to a holy and a perfect God, we are horrible, filthy sinners. We are all bad people. And I've used this illustration probably every year since the church started. If you're tired of it, I'm sorry, I'll probably use it every year going forward because it's so valuable. There's an evangelist named Ray Comfort who does this to people on the street, but I just want to ask you some questions right now. How many of you've ever told a lie? Raise your hand. All of our churches

raise your hand. Okay, look at the people whose hands are not up in the air right now and just point at him, call him, liar, liar, pants on fire. Put him down. How many of you have ever stolen something? I have raised up, you've stolen something? Very good. Put it down. How many have you ever looked lustfully at somebody? Looked lustfully? You're a little slower there, weren't you? You're sitting by your spouse. Well, I don't know. I mean, you know, maybe when I was 14, I can't remember, probably, right? You got to be careful, right? So let's just go ahead and unpack this a bit. If you've told a lie, somebody help me, what are you? You are a liar? If you've stolen something what are you? You are a what? A thief. If you've looked lustfully at someone, Jesus actually said

you've committed adultery in your heart. So let's say if you look lustfully, what are you? You are an adulterer. So, what are you? You are a lying, thieving adulterer. Welcome to Life Church, where we're here to make you feel better about yourself. Okay? We're not good people. We are sinful at our core. In fact, scripture teaches us this, Romans 3. reach in. There is no one righteous, not even one. You're not, I'm not. Last week I talked in one of the services. I said, yeah, I got in a fight with Amy and had to go teach at a marriage conference one time. A guy at the gym came up to him. I can't believe you got in a fight with Amy. Like, you're a regular dude. Like, oh. I mean, I don't put me on a pedestal. I, I send,

I'm most vulnerable in a car for whatever reason. He's put me in a car. Run me five minutes late. I mean, a couple of weeks ago, I was driving so angrily that Amy was like trying to get out the door while I'm driving, okay? That's how a regular dude I am. That's like Jerry Springer stuff, okay? There is no one righteous, not even one. I'm not a bad person that's simply not true. We are all sinful in the eyes of God. The second cultural misbelief about sin is this, and this is very dangerous.

All sin is the same. All sin is the same. You're going to hear this all the time. Many of you probably believe this. Who are you to judge me? What I'm doing is no worse than what you're doing. All sin is the same. God never said that. But we need to understand, and please hear me clearly, the Bible doesn't teach that all sin is the same. Now, don't miss this. All unforgiven sin does lead to eternal death, period. All unforgiven sin does. lead to eternal death, but not all sin is the same. All unforgiven sin does lead to eternal death. In fact, Paul said this, he said Romans 623, for the wages of sin is what? It's death. Any type of sin, little sin, big sin, whatever kind of sin, any type of unforgiven sin leads to death. The good news is, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. All sin, though, all unforgiven sin does lead to eternal death, but all sin is not the same. For example, I was driving to work one morning, and I have to turn onto a four-lane highway, two lanes on one side, two lanes on the other.

And I misjudged the speed of an approaching car. And so I turned into his lane when I should have let him go by. And so he had to actually turn into the left lane and go around me. And so being the man of God that I am, I just gave him the universe. signal for my bad. You know what it is? Head down, hand up, my bad, okay? I shouldn't have done it, my bad. Unfortunately, he gave me the universal signal for your bad. Peel the banana. And there's something about that that I don't like. I cannot lie. And so my foot hit the accelerator when he did that to me. What made it worse was, in the left-hand corner of the back of his car, was a life church

bumper sticker. I just got flipped off by one of you. Being the loving pastor that I am, I cannot let you live in sin. And so I pursued you at rather aggressive speeds. And we came up to a stoplight, and I pulled up right by whichever one of you did that. And the guy rolled down his window as I was rolling my down and I looked at him and he looked at me and he just got white as a ghost and I said God is good and he said all the time true story now he shot me the finger that's a sin if he shot me with a gun it's a different type of sin okay both will keep you out of heaven if they are not forgiven both are not equal in terms of consequences all sin is not the same All unforgiven sin separates you from God, but all sin is not the same.

In fact, if you're taking notes, we need to recognize that how we live influences at least three things. How we live, first of all, it influences consequences on earth, right? If you're a blessing to other people, they're more likely to be a blessing to you. If you are sinful, there are consequences. But again, on earth, all the consequences are not the same. For example, if you're one of our youth pastors and you commit the sin of gluttony, you might still be able to be a youth pastor. If you smoke dope with a teenager, you can't be the youth pastor,

unless you live in Colorado. I don't know what they do there, but they'll figure that out, you know. And so there are different earthly consequences to our behavior. Do we agree? If we agree, say I agree? There are also different consequences in heaven, how we live influences, rewards in heaven. We have to recognize that God rewards certain godly behaviors in heaven. And there are rewards in heaven eternally for how we live and what we do or don't do on earth.

And the third thing that scripture heavily implies is that how, how we live influences punishment in hell. How we live to some degree or another, and obviously we do not know the details, but it influences punishment in hell. Let me show you a couple of different verses. Luke's Gospel, chapter 20, verse 47. It says the Pharisees devour widows' houses.

In other words, they're taking advantage of those whom the church is called to serve and to love and to help. The Pharisees devour widows' houses, and for a show, they make lengthy prayers. God evidently hates that type of hypocrisy. And Scripture says, these men will be punished what? Everybody say it aloud. They will be punished most severely. In other words, this implies there might be a less severe punishment for some people in actions,

and there might be a more severe punishment for others. Jesus said to Pontius Pilate in John 1911, He said, therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of what? Of a greater sin, implying there is a lesser sin and there is a greater sin. And then when you look at the category of sexual sin, Paul pulls this off to the side, and here's what he says about sexual sin. 1 Corinthians 618. He says, run from it.

Run from sexual sin. Why? He says because no other sin so clearly affects the body as this one. In other words, there's different consequences to this sin than there would be to other ones. He says, for sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. And he's just begging you, don't you know your body was purchased by the shed blood of Jesus? So flee sexual sin. All the other sins, he says, fight, resist.

Not this one. Don't even try to fight. Run, forest. Run. Because this one impacts you in a very, very deep, personal and significant way. Doesn't matter what you do as long as you don't hurt anyone. God never said that. How we live, what we do, it matters on earth, and it matters in eternity.

Misperception number one. I'm not a bad person. Yes, you are. I'm a bad person. You're a bad person. We are sinful in the eyes of a holy God. Number two, all sin is the same. Actually, it's not the same.

All unforgiven sin does separate us from God and have eternal consequences. But there are certain sins on earth that will have a bigger impact on our lives on earth. And evidently, eternally, that is true as well. The third big cultural lie that so many people, believe in quite honestly, in a church this size, there are many of you who are believing this right now, and that is, since I've already done it, I might as well keep on doing it. Since I've already done this, I might as well just keep on doing it. And the list of when we fall into this lie, it could be so long I wouldn't even know

where to start. Well, the teenager or the young adult, well, I'm not a virgin anymore, so. I might as well keep on doing it. Well, I already, I've done drugs and, you know, so, well, I might as well do it again. You know, I cheated and, you know, I didn't get caught, and it seemed to help me, so I might as well do it again. Well, I already looked at something that, well, I probably shouldn't have looked at, but, you know, I did it, and so I managed to erase my track, so might as well do it again. I've already done it once, so I might as well do it again. Evidently, a couple thousand years ago, that problem was just as real as it is today.

Because the apostle Paul asked the very pressing and relevant question in Romans 6.1, he said, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? In other words, hey, if God's going to forgive us anyway, why shall I even stop? Should we keep on sinning that grace may abound? Should we keep on sinning because God will forgive us anyway? And he says, of course not. You're smarter than that? You're better than that.

Of course not. He says, since we have died to sin, how can we live in it? In other words, since Jesus died for us and we came to him, and because of our faith in our sin nature no longer has power over us. We now have the power of Christ. So why would we continue to go back into that which hurts the heart of God, hurts our own lives, and has the potential to hurt so many people around us? Shall we keep on sinning?

Because God's going to forgive us anyway? Of course not. You know better than that. God has something so much better for you. Since I've already done it, I might as well. keep on doing it anyway. Here's what's so interesting to me. I hear this sometimes at our church.

Well, I just want to go deeper. Let's learn some deeper stuff. Can we just get a little bit of deeper study? Get a little bit deeper. And quite honestly, I am all for deeper. Take it deep, take it deep, take it deep, take it deep, take it deep, take it deep. But listen to me. spiritual maturity is not about how much we know.

It's about how much we obey. Spiritual maturity isn't just having more knowledge, but it's having more fruit. Spiritual maturity isn't just learning more the original language or studying deeper theologian. Spiritual maturity is letting the Holy Spirit take over and live through you. If you love Jesus, you will obey him.

Spiritual maturity is not just knowledge, it's being transformed by the grace of God. So go deep, go deep, go deep. But let the fruit of the Spirit, let the Holy Spirit live through you and never, ever think spiritual maturity is just more knowledge. Spiritual maturity is more fruit, letting the Holy Spirit reign and rule through you. The problem is most Christians in our culture today are educated way beyond. on their level of obedience. Let that sink in.

Let that sink in. Let that sink in. Let that sink in. Most of us don't need to know more. We need to apply what we already know. We need to let God take the truth that he has shown us and let it settle into our lives. And to be set free from the sin that continues to entangle, the sin that continues to hold us back.

well, I've already done it, I might as well keep on doing it. I mean, it's a tragedy today. How many people call themselves followers of Jesus and just consistently walk back into the same sinfulness, walk back in and back in, and rationalize it and justify it and say it's not that big a deal? And who are you to judge me? Shall we go on sinning that grace may increase?

By, no means. Of course not. Since we died to sin, how can we live in it any longer? And here's what's so scary is when you're continuing in it and you don't even realize it. So scary. I'm going to argue all day long. I'm going to argue until the day I die. The most miserable person is not a non-Christian.

The most miserable people in the world are not non-Christians. The most miserable people in the world are Christians who continue to live in sin. The most miserable people in the world are Christians who know the freedom that is available. to them who know the standard and intentionally disobey God. The most miserable people in the world are not those who are not Christians. I mean, it can be fun to sin when you don't know you're doing anything wrong. Just live however you want to. The most miserable people are those who know there is something better and continue to reject the will, the way, and the purpose of God. Now, the last thing I want to do is stand up here and act like I've got it all together.

In fact, I want to just tell you right now, if you're not aware of sin, chances are that is a sign of spiritual immaturity because the closer I get to Jesus, the closer I get to Jesus, the more he reveals the impurity in my own life. The closer I get to him, the more I realize how much is wrong with me. And I'm always at a state of confessing sin. Not because I need to do it so he'll love me. He already loves me. I do it because I love him and because I don't want to do things displeasing to him. I don't want to do anything dishonorable to my wife. I don't want to do anything to hurt the name of Christ. I don't want to do anything to let people down. And yet, because of my bent towards sin, I continue to struggle. But guess what? God's grace is more powerful. His spirit,

I have dwelling within me the same spirit that raised Christ from the grave. And therefore, Therefore, what is in me is more powerful than the pull toward the world. The closer you get to Jesus, the closer you get to the light, the more you recognize just how much darkness there is in your life. So I don't want you to go around feeling guilty, horrible, horrible, horrible. But here's what you need to recognize. Sin is progressive. Sin is progressive.

Sin grows. Sin grows best in the dark. When you keep it quiet, it grows. Sin grows best in the dark. It's when you confess it, when you bring it to the light. That's when the light of Jesus sets you free. Some of you right now, all I did before coming up here is I just pray because I can't get into your mind, I can't get in your life.

I just pray that the Holy Spirit would convict in a loving way those who need this message, that you would sense there is something better, there is something better because sin is progressive. You cheat one time and you want to cheat again. You look at pornography and guess what happens? You get sucked in. You want more, you want more, you want more. It's progressive.

You lie a little bit and suddenly you start to lie more and more and more. How do I know? That was my life 25 years ago. It was based on a lie. I lied so much I couldn't even remember what the truth was. Sin is progressive. Sin is progressive. It'll take you farther than you want to go.

It'll cost you more than you want to pay. And some of you right now, you're going to say, well, it's not that big a deal. It is a big big deal. It is a big, big deal. It is a big deal. And the moment you think it's not, I want to tell you it is, because it is costing you right now.

How is it costing you? If you are a follower of Jesus and you continue to live in it, you will lose intimacy with God. Because sin and the holiness of God do not stay in it. You will lose intimacy with God. Suddenly, you will not be as sensitive to his voice as you once were. And when your heart starts to harden, this is when it gets so dangerous.

when your heart starts to harden, suddenly the distance between hearing from God and the distance between sinning and repenting grows. Listen to me, you're going to mess up, but you want to see spiritual maturity? There's a short distance between up I sin and oh, I repented. There's a short distance because you're sensitive to it. Oh, God, forgive me. Give me the power not to do that next time. And when that distance becomes shorter and shorter, suddenly you're starting to be sanctified and your mind is being conformed to the mind of Christ. And suddenly you're starting to look like Christ, and you're starting to live like Christ.

And it's not that you're trying to, but it's that a spirit is doing it through you. That may even be deep for those of you that want deeper. That may be just kind of flirting with deep. Don't let it fool you. I'll go back to shallow just to keep up my reputation, but that almost was deep. So, still will mess you up.

Mess you up. that's the bad news. The good news is Jesus is a friend of sinners. Jesus is a friend of sinners. Jesus is a friend of sinners. And I'm guessing the few of you that gave me a polite clap, you're probably the biggest sinners.

Because you know how good is grace is. And you just have to worship him because you recognize, see, when you see yourself as a sinner, you'll see your need for a savior. And suddenly you recognize Jesus didn't come for the healthy. He came for the sick. And that's the best news ever.

In fact, 1 Corinthians 10, 13, we looked at this verse last week, just for briefly. This is what scripture says. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a what? Somebody help me out. He will provide a way out so you can endure it. Here's what I want you to understand.

It doesn't matter what you're trapped in. it doesn't matter how long you've been there. It doesn't matter if you think you never could overcome it. God always gives you a way out. He always gives you a way out. There's always a way out. Jesus is the way. He is the truth and he is the life.

Jesus is the way out. He is the truth that sets you free and he is the life that endures forever. Jesus is the way. Some of you need to recognize. You're trapped in it. You step out of your sin and you step into Jesus. You step into His grace and out of the bondage.

You step into his power and out of the snares. You step into the love, the power, the transforming goodness of Jesus. And when you do, you step out because there is always a way out. There is always a way out. I'm talking to someone right now who you've rationalized it and you've thought you can't get out. You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. And there is a way out through Jesus. The reality is sin does.

cost us, but Jesus is bigger than our sin. We looked at this verse early in 1.1.8, that if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. And the very next verse says, if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just, and he will forgive our sins, and what will he do? He will purify us from all unrighteousness. That's how good Jesus is. He is the way, he is the truth, he is the life, he is the way out of sin, he is the truth that will set you free, and he is the only kind of life that will satisfy. And when you are tempted, remember, God is faithful. Our God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. He will always give you a way out.

So when culture says, it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you don't hurt anyone, recognize that as a satanic lie from the pit of hell, that sin is the greatest enemy to intimacy with God, and Jesus is the best friend of sinners. And that's why you're here today, because we're all sinners, and we all need His grace. So we run to Jesus, the friend of sinners who came to set the captives free. Father, I pray that by your power, your Holy Spirit, would speak to your church. And God, I thank you in advance today that there are those who may be for months, or years have been trapped. But God, I thank you, you are faithful,

and you always give a way out. And Father, I thank you in advance for those who are just even getting closer to Jesus and you're revealing the impurities in our life. And God, by your power, you're conforming us to the image of your son. All of our churches right now, as you reflect in prayer, I just want to ask very simply,

is the Holy Spirit speaking to you, those of you who are followers of Jesus, is the Holy Spirit speaking to you and showing you some area of your life that you want to confess before God and find a way out that you could better glorify him, not to win his love, but out of a reflection of his love.

You recognize sin, of which you want to be forgiven, healed, and set free. If that's you, would you lift up your hands right now, just all over the place? Just lift up your hands. I'm going to ask you to put him down for a minute. I'm going to just put him down for a minute.

I'm going to ask you again. I'm going to give you another chance. Listen to me. Listen to me. The closer you get to Jesus, the more you recognize your sinfulness. This is not a sign of weakness. This is a sign of strength.

I'm going to ask you again, don't be all perfect on me. I recognize. I need help. Listen to me. If you don't recognize your need for help, chances are you're not hearing from God right now because we all need it. We're trapped in a body of sin,

and there's power and grace through Jesus. All of our churches, you recognize. There's something in my life displeasing to God. I want his forgiveness and I want his help to overcome it. I want to find a way out through Jesus. Would you lift up your hands right now? All of our churches. God, thank you for you.

for a church full of people, desiring to know you intimately and reflect you passionately in this world. God, I pray that your Holy Spirit would set people free. God, I thank you that your love is not based on our performance, but your love is based on your goodness. You love us no matter what. But God, you love us so much, you don't want us to be trapped in that which hurts us,

breaks your heart or has the potential to hurt other people. So God, we thank you that you are faithful. and you always give us a way out. So God, I ask in the name of Jesus that the power of sin would be broken, that we would not continue in it because he who the son is set free is free indeed.

And God, we thank you because of the death, the resurrection of your son, Jesus. We are free. The power of sin does not hold us back, but the power of the spirit leads us into life and righteousness. As you keep praying today at all of our different churches,

those of you, and this is just going to be a thing that God does. And this is it. You're simply going to recognize you have a need. You have a need for a Savior. And all I can tell you is there's a time in my life when the reality hit me that I am not a good person. Until you see yourself as a sinner, you won't know you have a need for a Savior. And there are those of you you're going to recognize right now, you need forgiveness. And please hear every word I say, you can't earn it and you don't deserve it. None of us do. That's why the gospel is good news, because God came to us through Jesus, a friend of sinners, who hung out with the lowest of the low and the dirtiest of the dirty and the biggest sinners of all, but he didn't leave him there. He became sin for us on the cross,

died, and on the third day, he rose again so that anyone who calls on his name would be saved. And quite honestly, that's why many of you are here today. You recognize it's not about religion. It's not about works. It's all about his love and his grace. And you want it and you need it. What do you do? You turn from your sins and say, Jesus, I trust you.

Today by faith, I surrender my life to you. I recognize I need a Savior. And Jesus, I ask you to forgive and save me and make me new. When you call out to him, all of your sins will be forgiven and you'll be brand new. That's why you're here today. all of our churches you'd say, that's my prayer. By faith, I surrender. I need his forgiveness. I need his grace. By faith, I give my life to him today. That you lift your hands high right now all over the place and say yes, that's my prayer. Lift your hands and say yes, I surrender to him. Right back over here,

others of you who say me right here in this middle section. God bless you guys. Others right over here here say yes, I surrender. Others of you lift up your hands and say, Jesus save me. Right back over here on this side. Over here, God bless you as well. Jesus, transform my life. church online, you click right below me and we're going to pray together. All of our churches, aloud, pray Heavenly Father. I recognize, I am a sinner and I need a Savior. Jesus, forgive me. Make me brand new. Fill me with your spirit so I could know you, so I could serve you, so I could follow you. I confess, my life is not my own. today I give it to you.

Thank you for new life. Now you have mine. In Jesus' name I pray. Would you all worship big, worship loud, welcome those born into God's family today.