Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - Going the Distance, Part 1: Going the Distance

Episode Date: March 13, 2016

The gap between where we are and where we want to be can seem like an ocean. Here’s the good news: the bridge was built before you ever thought about taking the first step. Going the Distance alone is impossible—come learn about the one who paved ... Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Thanks for joining us here at Life Church, where we are one church meeting in multiple locations and worldwide at Church online. To find out more about us as a church, you can always visit us at life.com. Coming up today, author, singer, actor, and speaker, John Gray visits us here to show us how the gap between where we are and where we want to be can only be bridged by Jesus. In part one of his message, going the distance. Hey everybody, welcome to an amazing week to be in church. I want to tell you that two weeks from now is Easter weekend, and at all of our life church locations, we're adding additional worship times just to make room. This is the perfect weekend to bring people that don't go to church, that don't know God.

I've got a very, very powerful message that I promise you, I promise you, you bring people that are not normally churchgoers or maybe even curious spiritually. this will be a message that has the potential to impact their lives in a very serious way. The week after Easter, we're starting a brand new three-part message series. It's called Love Like Jesus. We're going to talk a lot about Jesus because he is the way, the truth, and the life. And for three weeks, we're going to talk about how we love like Jesus. Today, I am very excited, tremendously honored to welcome a good friend of mine who will be our guest speaker for the day.

I'm going to tell you right now, you're going to laugh. You're going to cheer. You may cry. You're going to be impacted in a massive way. John Gray is a very close friend. We've known each other for probably six or seven years. Spent a lot of times at conferences. He speaks all over the world. He is an actor. He is a comedian. He is an author. He is a preacher. He's probably a dancer. This guy is truly amazing. He's one of the most sought-after speakers all over the world. And you're going to see why. Would you join me in welcoming today, Pastor John? Gray. Well, it is an honor to be here with Life Church and to your pastor. I always want to give

honor to Pastor Craig, who is just a phenomenal leader. And of course, everyone knows the legacy of this church through U-Version and just the outreach. And I'm so grateful to be a part now of that legacy. He is what I want to be when I grow up physically because he's got a six-pack. I've got a 40-ounce, but we're working on it. I am grateful to be here. If you'll do me a favor and go to Matthew 26, Matthew 26, starting at the 36th verse. I'm reading from the new King James Version. And this is what is recorded.

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Githemone and said to the disciples, sit here while I go and pray over there. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and he began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then he said to them, my soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with me. He went a little farther and fell on his face and prayed saying, Oh, my father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.

Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. And I want to share from the thought going the distance, going the distance. Here in this scripture we find Jesus at the most critical moment of his earthly ministry. Here in Gatsimony, the night before he is to die for the sins of the whole world, he is in a conundrum. We see Jesus in a very vulnerable moment. Most of the movies that you and I see of Jesus, Jesus is kind of like carefree, and he's always got this like wide-eyed look and he's like, let us go to Jerusalem and let us go to Judea. shall we go to Copernium? And, you know, it kind of makes him untouchable. But here in the garden,

we see Jesus fully God and fully man, 200%. And battling between the will of self-preservation and the will of his heavenly father. Here in Gethsemini, he's got 11 disciples, one has already left to betray him, and he says something very interesting. You guys sit here while I go and pray over there. And the distance from here to there was the difference and the distance between religion and relationship, between bondage and freedom, between brokenness and liberty, between sickness and healing. He went the distance, the distance between here and there. And what God is calling for, I believe, in the body of Christ, is for those of us who understand the times, who understand what is happening in the world to take no solace in the place called here, but in faith, continue to walk

with the Holy Spirit to the place called there, because there is a place of relevance. There is a place of authority. There is a place of power. There is a place where no one can question your faith because you're not speaking it. You are living it. Now, Jesus was in Githemite, and the word Githemite means oil press. And any time, God wants to do anything of significance, and the life of a believer, he will put you in the oil press. Let me rephrase that. He will invite you to the oil press. No one is forced into greatness, but God invites you and gives you an opportunity to step into greatness. Up until this point, Jesus had lived a phenomenally charmed life. Of course, you know how he was born. We understand all of the significance around his birth.

30 years of preparation for three years of public ministry for three hours of purpose. For from the sixth hour until the ninth hour as he hung on the cross and died for the sins of the whole world, his entire life was developed for this moment. And here in the garden, when the rubber meets the road, he said, it's time to go the distance. Y'all sit here while I go and pray over there. He left eight disciples at the edge of the garden. He took Peter, James, and John, and then he shared his innermost heart. And he said, fellas, I'm so, I'm so hurt right now.

I'm so, I'm so just torn up on the inside that I could literally die right here. He said, my soul is sorrowful even to death. Fellas, stay here and watch with me. This, to me, is the power of Jesus. Not the supernatural Jesus that never went swimming because he walked on top of a pool. the power of Jesus to me is in his humanity in the garden. See, this is a savior that I can serve. I can't really connect to a perfect being who doesn't struggle

who's never gone through anything, but a savior who had the sorrow inside and the desire to continue to live. But he even in that moment said, not my will, but your will be done. Now that's a savior that I can serve. For too long, we have an antiseptic version. of Jesus that he was untouchable and immune and anesthetized to the realities of real people.

But this Jesus was a Jesus that struggled with the will of the Father. How many of us have struggled when God has asked us to do an assignment that is difficult? Jesus in this moment, that's my kind of Savior. The reason why my salvation is authentic is because his obedience was not automatic. Jesus chose to obey the father. It wasn't a mechanical response. It was a moment of setting his will aside for the will of his father. And this is the power of Jesus from here to there.

And many people, God is challenging many of us to leave the place called here to get there. And the distance between here and there is the distance between our projected image and our actual selves. And that's the difference between religion and relationship. For too long, we've had Halloween church, where we come into church with our masks on. We don't allow people to see us for who we really are because we're not sure if they'll really receive us

once they know what's really going on. We're so churchy that we don't even know how to have regular conversations. You ever been around churchy people and like, hey, how are you? Blessed? I'm blessed, I'm blessed. I'm blessed in the city.

in the field. You don't even have a field. What are you talking about? I'm blessed. Because we're afraid that if we tell people the real issues of our life, they won't be as excited to talk to us. If you catch me on the wrong day, I'm going to tell you exactly what's wrong with me. John, how you doing? Well, I'm struggling today. My foot hurts. Got a little gas. I had some bad Mexican last night, and my wife's getting on my nerves, and my kids were up all night, had diarrhea, got a little bit on my pinky finger. I'm very disgusting. right now. How's your day going? All righty. I'll just leave you alone. But when you go the distance, you've got to learn that Jesus went the distance with people, and we've got to learn how to go the

distance with one another. There are no successful Christian islands. If there was anybody that could have been successful, it would be Jesus. But Jesus chose to live in community. He chose 12 people to walk with for three years, to teach them and train them and build them and equip them so that when he went back to the father, they would continue the work of the church. There are no successful Christian islands. We need one another. That is the power of life church. That is the power of community. What I love about my Jesus is that in this moment, he says, sit here while I go and pray. Somebody say go and pray. It's one thing to go, but you better pray while you're going, because you need direction from the Holy Spirit in order to figure out what's next.

It's not about your intellect. It's about revelation. Some things are taught, other things are caught. And if you grab a revelation from the Holy Spirit in your private time, or if you're in your You version app and you're reading your word on a daily plan, whatever it is that you do, make sure that you are hungering for the voice of the Lord so that you're not stepping out of His will and stepping out of the zone that God has called you to. Jesus, the only man who never missed an assignment.

How? Because every morning before the son came up, you could find him somewhere praying to his father, asking for direction, seeking guidance, not content to stay in his gift, not content to rest on his anointing, not content to say, I'm in the building. He said, no, yesterday's grace was good for yesterday. Let me get in the presence of my father so that I can find out what you want. me to do today. Hallelujah. Sit here while I go and pray over there. Jesus was teaching us the power of being purposeful, persistent, and passionate.

You can't take the steps that he took in this garden without being purposed in your heart to honor the Father, persistent in your continued running after the Father. passionate. You can't serve people that don't like you without passion. You got to have passion. If you are, it is the hardest thing to be a true Christian, especially in traffic. When somebody cuts you off, you're not saying, oh, bless your heart. Other words come to mind. Ooh, Mama say mama Samu Ma'ma Maasai mu Maqu Maqu Maquza. You've got to have patience with people. one of the things that Jesus taught us is that everybody can't go everywhere

and there's nothing wrong with that. I believe in this season God wants us as mature believers to discern the relationships that are in our life to make sure that people are in their proper position so that we can get where God has called us to go without unnecessary baggage. Jesus said, you guys sit here while I go and pray over there.

Peter James and John, you come with me. Now if I was one of the eight, I can't, you can't, You can't, I can't go. How come you always take them? I want to go. Me and Bartholome you want to go. Thomas wants, no, Thomas, he's always doubting. You don't need to go.

You sit there. But Jesus actually shows us a model of the temple. The eight would be the outer court. Three would be the inner court. But then he went by himself. The Bible says about a stones throw away. Outer court, inner court, and holy of holies. And only the high priest could go into the most holy place.

There are some places that are reserved for only you and God. It's great to have friends, but you better have an intimate one-on-one encounter with our Father. And I feel the Holy Ghost today. Identify who you're 8-3 and 1 are. You've always got to identify and put people in their proper positions. If you've got people that are always calling you with a lot of negativity and a lot of drama and a lot of gossip, you need to keep them in the outer court. Doesn't mean that you're better than them.

than them. You're not judging them. You're just saying in this season of my life, I need people that are going to speak life to me who understand that God is trying to develop me and mature me and prune me. And I don't need that kind of stuff in my spirit. I need my three, Peter, James, and John. And I believe that Jesus chose Peter James and John for significance. It was never like James, John and Peter. It was always Peter James and John. And notice that Peter James and John were at critical moments of Jesus' development. At the Mount of Transfiguration, who was there? Peter, James,

John. Here in the Garden of Gathemone, at his most broken and vulnerable moment, we see Peter, James, and John. Why? Because you always need people to surround you who will remind

you of your ultimate destination. Peter, the name Peter, is the Greek Petra or Petros, which means stone in the Hebrew that would translate tablet or law. The name James is actually the Greek version of the Hebrew, Yaqub, or Jacob, which means replacement or trickster, where we get Jacob from. And then John is gift of God or grace of God.

And Jesus, in his most vulnerable moment, was surrounded by Peter, James, and John to be reminded that his ultimate mission in life was to declare that the law has been replaced by grace. Jesus was vulnerable, and he was vulnerable around the right people at a critical moment. Who are the people that you can be vulnerable around? Who are the people that you can share your intimate places, those hurting places, those broken places? So many people are battling through depression.

So many people are battling through stages of grief, and they do so alone. And any predator always picks off the isolated animal first. Let us live in community and in our weakest moments and our most vulnerable moments may we take Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord as the example who even as the King of Kings

chose to remain vulnerable and stay in community. Don't isolate yourself. We love you. That's the power. Look at the people around you. They're there for a reason. You're at the right church, at the right time, with the right people

and God has a plan for your life with this community that is thriving and growing and building. Stay right here and don't be afraid to share your scars. For in your scars is a testimony that will heal someone else. God doesn't want you hiding your scars. He wants you to show what he's delivered you from. For we overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. So instead of church folk always hiding behind the air of perfection,

may we take off our masks and take off our long-sleeved spiritual garments and show the cuts and the bruises that God has healed us from and delivered us from. We didn't always know all the songs. We didn't always sing the right song. We didn't always praise. We didn't always preach. We didn't always come to church. And people need to know that God took you from here and brought you there.

Can somebody give him a praise? But the distance from here to there is going to cost you something. It's an uncomfortable, yes. God is requiring many of us to give him an uncomfortable yes. And the uncomfortable yes is when you have to step outside of your comfort zone and be okay with your limitations. You're not in competition with anyone else. You are in concert with everyone else. So when I'm in a community of believers, don't feel bad like God likes them more than you

because they know the protocol or they know the songs. Maybe they have spiritual gifts that you don't have. I've been around people who want certain spiritual gifts, and that's great. The Bible says eagerly desire the greater gifts. I love what Paul said. But if that's not your gift, don't try to force it, because it's weird. Somebody next to you is speaking in tongues, and you don't speak in tongues. That doesn't mean God loves you any less.

Don't look over there. I want to do that. I want to do that. Oh, la, la, la, La, Mufasa, Hakuna Matata, Simba. Oh, Nimo. No, that's Disney. You're speaking in Disney. That's what you're doing.

You hear somebody singing real good? And you're like, wow, no way God wants to hear from me when somebody's over there singing real good. Oh, I love you, Jesus. I want to sing like that. And you are not in competition with anyone else. This is not a talent show. This is family. And God loves everybody equally.

this is the power of Life Church that people from every background come to hear about one Jesus. I'm so grateful that in a time in our country where we've got more tension than we've had since the 1960s, I can come to a place like Life Church and I'm surrounded by people from varying backgrounds in different races and black,

worshipping next to white, worshipping next to Hispanic and Mexican and Native American and every other culture that's connected and the only color that matters is red and it's the blood of Jesus. Jesus, and this is the power of community. This is the power of a church that goes the distance. Now, I'm up here. I'm trying not to shout. I'm already sweaty because you know I'm big. I'm cooking under the lights. It's just rotisserie Negro. Just who wants dark meat? Just, I'm cooking.

Jesus was in the garden. The Garden of Githemite. And here, the enemy pulled out all. the stops because the enemy for some reason always tries to knock us out in the garden all you got to do is go back to genesis everything was good adam was there god put him to sleep woke up eve was there they're working they're building all the sudden Genesis three who shows up the serpent and he talks to the woman and he says did god tell you not to eat from that tree he said don't even eat that tree That tree is nasty. That is no, that's a no-no. Okay, I'm not going to touch that tree.

Girl, you know good and well. If you touch that tree, you will not surely die. Look at the food on it. It does look good. Oh, my goodness. And all of a sudden, she eats the fruit and gives it to her husband who's just standing there goofy.

He just, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Never seen a nude woman. He just, mm-hmm. So he eats the fruit. And the Bible then says that God, says we got to get them out of the garden lest they eat from the tree of life and live forever and people say it was God's anger that kicked them out of the garden know it was his love because they had already sinned but if they had eaten from the tree of life what was a temporary

problem would have become eternal and so he said let me get you out of here and let me put the plan in place we're going to put the protocol Operation Lamb the lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world and I'm going to bring this thing together and it'll start with the law then I'll bring the prophet And then there's going to be a silence between Malachi and Matthew, and then my son's going to show up, and he's going to live a sinless life. And then on one night in a garden, right before he's about to be betrayed into the hands of sinners, he's going to come to a moment in the garden, and he's going to have to make a decision that every other human being will have to make. Do I go after what is comfortable, or do I run after greatness? Jesus said, sit here.

Will I go and pray over there? And then Jesus does something for the only time in recorded scripture. He literally prays not to take the assignment. He says, Father, if it be your will, let this cup pass. Translation, I don't want to do this. Nevertheless, not my will. Your will be done. He didn't ask it once.

He asked three times. Now, I know that that will mess with some people's version of Jesus, that Jesus didn't want the assignment. But I need you to understand what was at stake. Now, if it had been me, I would have talked to him like this. Now, Dad, you want me to let them arrest me. They're going to beat me all night. They're going to flog me. Put a crown of thorns on my head.

I might have to carry my own cross up go Gotha's hill. and then I'm going to slowly suffocate for three hours between two thieves for something I didn't do. Then I'm going to die. I'm going to be dead for three days. And then you're going to get me up? Yes. What about Peter? I never like Peter.

Thomas, he's always doubting. Get him. But Jesus was the only one that was worthy. He had to live a worthy life in order to die an unworthy death. He didn't die for me. He died as me. This is the power of salvation. He asked three times.

What I struggled with and what I asked the Holy Spirit is, why did Jesus not want the assignment? Was it the pain of the cross? The answer was no. Was it the shame of the cross? No, because Scripture says he despised the shame. That wasn't the issue. Why did Jesus not want this assignment? because it was the only assignment

Jesus ever had where he would be cut off from his father. He said, I can do anything you ask me to do. Just don't ask me to do it without you. This is the power of Gatsimony that Jesus said, it's not that I don't want to do this, I just don't want to be cut off from you. And the Bible makes it clear that our Heavenly Father is too holy,

but to look upon sin. And so Jesus had, He didn't just carry the sin, he became sin. He who knew no sin was made to be sin that through him we might become the righteousness of God in him. Now you understand why Jesus was on the cross and he cried out, Eloa, Eloi, Labas Sabakhtani, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And I can imagine in my mind that the Heavenly Father said it's either you for three days

or all mankind for eternity. And I choose them. Do you understand that our heavenly father let his only son die just in case you decide to choose him today? What person in their right mind would let the good son die for those who don't even claim the father? That is the love of the father. That is the faith he had. Talking about faith? No, he had faith in you before you had faith in yourself.

He had faith enough to let his son do. die just in case you choose him later. This is a God I can serve because that is a God that went the distance. He went the distance for me when I wasn't even looking for him. He was fighting for me when I wasn't even fighting for him. And before I was ever here to make the first mistake, Jesus had already paid the price. This is the power of going from here to there. And if my Savior could go the distance for me, certainly I can live the distance for him. I can go the distance for my neighbor. I can go the distance for my family. I can go the distance

in my marriage. I can go the distance with my children. I can build community. I can be intentional about diversity. I can fight for those who can't fight for themselves. I can be one that tears down the walls, not builds them up. This is the power of Jesus Christ.

There is no velvet rope, but there is a scarlet thread. Jesus stayed on that cross while his heavenly father turned his back. on him. And God turned his back on Jesus so he wouldn't have to turn his back on you and me.

If that's not enough to show you how much he loves you, I really don't have anything else in my notes, but he went the distance from here to there. A baby wrapped in swaddling cloth to a king on the cross. He went there.

And so now my challenge to you is are you willing to go there? Are you willing to fight for those who can't fight for themselves? Will Life Church continue to be the church that allows everybody to walk in regardless of their background, regardless of whether or not they understand protocol? I'm so grateful that there are safe places like this where people can come and receive the word. I remember growing up in churches where if you came in with your hat on, the ushers would ask you to leave. And what hurt me is that if Jesus was the usher, he wouldn't ask you to take your hat off if you were a year. young person. He'd say, I'm so glad you're here. A matter of fact, don't even sit in the back.

Come down to the front because I've got a purpose for you. I've got a plan for you. God doesn't care about your hat. He cares about your heart. This is the power of my Jesus. That everybody has equal value. There are no big eyes and little use. The same blood that was applied to me can be applied to any person who chooses to confess Jesus Christ out of their mouth. This is the power of family. You didn't even know it. You got family in Houston. Put me on your Christmas card. Scare the neighbors. Hey, Bob, there's a black guy on your Christmas card. Hey, he's my brother. I just found out. I didn't even know. I didn't even know. What I want you to walk away with is that I want you to be persistent and passionate. I want you to stay in a

a posture where you are listening to the voice of God for every area of your life. Can God trust you not to be comfortable with your here, but to do whatever it takes to get there, purposeful, passionate, persistent. No matter what it takes, we fight for one another here. No matter what it takes, we pray for one another here. No matter what it takes, we cover one another here. There is no judgment here. There is grace here. There is mercy here. There is forgiveness here. There is new life. After all, it is Life Church.

God bless you. Well, that's some pretty good preaching, huh? All of our churches, let's take a moment and let's all pray together. Father, thank you so much for bringing John today to encourage us to build our faith, God, to help us live with purpose, God, to be persistent, to have passion in all that we do. Now, God, we ask that by the power of your Holy Spirit, you would empower us to go from here to there, God, wherever there is that you want us to be. God, give us the faith to live with the uncomfortable yes. God, when our flesh may want to say no, is there any other way? God,

when you call us, may your will be done. May we say yes to your purpose with passion and persistence in our life. All of our churches now, as we reflect in prayer, nobody looking around. I know that there are many of you right now that if you're really, really honest, you're going to say, where I am is not where God wants me to be. Maybe it's in your marriage right now. Things are possibly comfortable, but it's not great. And you need to have an uncomfortable yes to go from here to where God wants you to be. Some of you, it may be physically right now. Where you are is not where God wants you to be. You need to make some changes. It's going to take some persistence, some passion, to get to his purpose. You say, I am here, but I need to be there.

Some of you, it might be in your finances. Where you are right now, let's just call it what it is. It's not great right now. And God may be calling you to have some discipline and to say, God, I know you want me there. Give me the faith to take that step. It could be any number of circumstances. It could be spiritually right now.

You're a place where you're really comfortable. You're coasting. You're not pursuing God with passion. You're here, and he wants to move you there. I want you to think about it. Everybody just reflect right now because the Holy Spirit is going to speak to some of you. and you're going to recognize God wants some movement. He wants you growing.

He wants you living by faith. If you're comfortable, you're not living by faith. And all of our churches, those who would say, I can sense it right now. I'm here. God wants some movement. He wants me to take a step of faith. He wants me there. I want to pursue him.

I want to have the persistence and the purposeful living to get to the place where he wants you to be. All of our churches, if you say, yes, God is using that message to speak to me. He wants to create movement in me. I'm here. He wants me there. By faith, I'm ready to go there. If that's you, would you lift up your hands right now?

Just be real honest and fantastic. All of our churches, people saying, yes, God is speaking to me. I pray right now, God, that even as your word was proclaimed today, that it would be planted in our hearts, God, that we would be faithful to say the uncomfortable yes. Even when it would be easier to say no, God, we say yes. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. your will be done in our lives, God. The distance between where we are and where you want us to be

may be the uncomfortable yes standing in the way. So God, give us the courage to say yes to you. Yes, we will live by discipline. Yes, we will live by faith. Yes, we will apologize. Yes, we will own our own sins. Yes, we will pursue you. Yes, God, we will follow your perfect will.

And God, I thank you that for many people today, they're at one place. And because of this message because of your presence and because of the living power of the Holy Spirit in us, we will not stay here, but God, you will move us to there. May we continue to pursue you that we could live in your perfect will, always pleasing you, living by faith. As you keep praying at all of our churches, there are some of you right now when you look at your life, you say, where I am is not where I'd want to be. In fact, for those of you who would say, I believe there's probably got to be a God, a lot of

you say where I am is certainly not where God would want me to be. And the good news is, in a moment of time, by a simple act of faith in one prayer, you can move from where you are into the middle of the perfect will of God. How do you do that? You recognize I'm not there. And many of you, you're going to just be real honest and say, you know what, where I'm living right now, the way I'm living, I don't know God personally. I'm not pursuing God. I don't even know where I stand with God. I'm distant from God. One prayer, one moment, all the grace of Jesus. and everything can change. I love the way John described it, that God gave his son just in case one person might believe. And the good news is there are many of you, and you know it today. You're here

not by accident, but you can sense there's something greater going on. And that is that God brought you here today because it's time for you to go from here to there, from here where you are, lost in your sins to there in the presence and the grace of God. For maybe believing religion is the way to recognizing it's a relationship with Jesus. It's not by you. your good works, is by his perfect work. It's not by you trying to be good enough, but it's by the perfect, sinless son of God who shed his blood that we could live. When Jesus died and rose again on the third day, now the truth is recorded in heaven that whoever calls upon his name, and that includes you, your sins will be forgiven.

You will never be the same. By the grace of God, you don't just become a better person, you become a new person, and that's why many of you are here right now. At all of our church, it's those who say, I'm here, but I'm going there. By faith, I'm going there. By faith, I'm giving my life to Jesus. By faith, I'm turning from my sins. By faith, I am surrendering my life to Him. By faith right now, God, I give you my life.

Jesus, be my Savior, be the Lord of my life. I surrender to you. That's your prayer. All of our churches, would you lift your hands high right now and say, yes, God, I surrender completely to you. As there are hands going up at all of our churches, you all at church online, you just click right below me. And with every single one of you, we celebrate,

there's a party in heaven going for you, and we'd like to join the party by praying together. Family of God at our church, nobody prays alone. Would you all pray aloud? Pray Heavenly Father, I give you my life. Forgive me of all my sins. Make me brand new. Jesus, be my Savior. Be my Lord.

Holy Spirit, fill me that I could follow you. My life is not my own. Today I give it to you, God. Thank you for new life. Now you have mine. In Jesus' name I pray. And everybody said, amen. Worship God.

Cheer, welcome those born into God's family. To see if there's a Life Church location in your area, just go to life.church slash locations. Here at Life Church, we fully believe in being irrationally generous. And one of the ways that we do that is by giving away all of our resources completely for free, No strings attached to thousands of churches around the world. Grace Church of Avondale is one of those churches, and they have an amazing story. Check it out.

We have about 200 people in our congregation. A lot of times, 50 of those can be kids, ranging from birth to 12 years old. Being a part-time children's pastor and being a full-time nurse and mom and wife, it's really hard to get everything together that will actually keep my kids' attention and pour into them what I want to pour into them. So one day I was looking at the Bible app and I saw a link at the bottom that Point of Media Life Church.

I clicked on it and I saw that they did like this church online platform and all these other things that were free for churches and somehow I saw a kids tab. So I clicked on the kids tab and all these videos came up. And investigating that, I realized it's not videos. It's a full A to Z children's curriculum.

So I started downloading stuff and I realized it was all free. This is what we've, been missing. This is it. I was like, this is so fun. I was so impressed with the videos, and I was so impressed with what was being offered, that I thought, we're going to try this. And I tried it, and I have not looked back. I've seen a huge difference in the kids since using Life Church's curriculum. They're more excited about salvation. They're really excited about baptism. They're really excited to come to church. And then they're really excited to

read their Bible outside of church. If I can say anything to the people of Life Church, it would thank you so much for providing what you provide for pastors like me and for churches like ours to help us make kids fully devoted followers of Christ. If you're a church leader in need of resources to help further your ministry, you can find thousands of videos, transcripts, graphics, sermons, ideas, and even more, all at open.completely for free, no strings attached. Here at Life Church, it's our mission to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ, and we do it because we believe whoever finds God finds life.