Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - Punchline, Part 1: Punchline

Episode Date: October 31, 2015

Humor helps us put our lives in perspective. We may not know what’s coming when a joke starts—but the Punchline brings it all into focus. It’s the same way with our lives. Let’s learn how our setbacks are really setups for what God has in store fo... Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, though, you are going to be so glad that you came to church. I've got an amazing guest speaker, a very good friend of mine who is a comedian, but this guy can bring a spiritual message that will impact your heart. You're going to laugh. You're going to love it. Michael Jr. is truly a great husband. He's the father of five kids. I have six kids. He loves his wife almost as much as I love, Amy.

Five kids good. He has done comedy all over the world. He's been on Comedy Central. He's been on Oprah. He's been on the late show. He's been on Jimmy Kimball. He's been on the Tonight Show. But he's never been more excited to be anywhere than he is today.

Would you join me in welcoming a great man of God and a great comedian? You're going to be blessed. We're honored to have Michael Jr. All right. That was cool. Thanks, man. We've got a blad. It's so cool.

We're going to laugh. So listen, I'm going to do some jokes. We're going to laugh. It's going to be cool. Some people think you're not supposed to laugh at church. What good father doesn't want to hear his children's laughter in his house? So we're going to laugh. It's going to be cool.

And then maybe the Pharisees are going to go home. I don't know what you've got to do. So I want to tell you about me and Pastor Craig. We went out to eat. And you guys see him as a, like you don't get to see him on a personal level when he's, he's still a pastor no matter where he goes. So we're out to eat. and the waitress is clearly a little distraught.

I didn't notice it at first. I'm like, whatever, I'm hungry. She was a little distraught, and he noticed it. He points it out to me, and then he says something to her that just blesses her in a way I can't explain. So the waitress walks over, and he looks at her, and wait, you know, there's two scriptures that I need to get out the way first. Let me do this.

There's two scriptures. There's Jeremiah. 29-11, and then there's also another one that's on the screen right there. Yeah. So those two scriptures, which is Romans 12, 2, both of those scriptures are extremely important. So after you see what I'm going to say today, go home and read them on your own time, and then it's going to pop even more. It's going to be great.

So let me tell you about me. My experience in church when I was a kid was extremely different from this. Like, this is mad, cool. But when I was a kid laughing at church was illegal. I remember one time laughing at church, one time this lady was jumping around and her wig fell off. That stuff was hysterical. I laughed. My grandmother would pinch and twist.

I can understand a pinch. You're going to twist? That's the devil. And the church was miserable. I remember one time going to church and it's literally like a dead body in the front. And nobody explains to a seven-year-old Michael Jr., this is a funeral. It's not church. I'm thinking, yo, that's how they're.

road. Like every three weeks or so, they bring a dead body in as an illustration or something. And the dude on stage with yell at us like, we did it. I remember asking my grandma's like, Grandma, what happened to the man in the box? What happened to the man in the box? Her whole explanation was, he in a better place. I'm like, what kind of box did he live in before? And I'm seven years old, so I have no idea what's going on. And this dude is on stage. And every Every time we go to church, it seems like he was mad at us. And I figured out why he was mad. It was because he had some phlegm caught in his throat.

Because at the end of every sentence, he would try to get it out. You'd be like, the Lord said, act like your, ha. This is a black church in case you're wondering. Somebody I don't know. The church was miserable. It was like the worst. It lasts like six hours. And we go in the basement and eat a sandwich and come back up.

Like, what was that, halftime or something? Before going further, there's this thing I've been doing lately. I want to do with you guys. I would like to explain to you guys how comedy works. A lot of comedians, some comedians aren't even aware of this. Some comedians would never share this with you, but I thought I'd share with you how comedy works. Let me explain.

First, there's a setup, and then there's a punch line. Let me break down a little further. The setup is when a comedian will use his talents and resources to seize any opportunity to ensure that his audience is moving in the same direction. The punchline occurs when he changes that. direction in a way you weren't expecting. When you catch on to this change, you have received the punchline. The results are revelation, fulfillment, and joy expressed through laughter. I just thought I'd share that with you so you can enjoy these jokes on another level. So seven years old, I hope you're

track with me. 14 years old, we don't have a lot of money. Like, we don't got no money growing up. I was actually being sponsored by a family from Haiti. Yeah, that's a funny joke, man. Some Christians don't know what to do with that joke. You can't laugh and shake your head. Like, we have no money. We don't got no money. You get creative. I remember I wanted an action figure.

I was 10 years old. I just wanted an action figure around 14, 10 years old, whatever. I'm making this up right now. My dad hands me a box. I opened it up. It was empty. He said, it's invisible, man.

I played with that thing for three weeks, man. To my brother hit it from me, man. Me and a friend made a pat right around 14 years old, too, that we wouldn't curse anymore. I don't know anything about God. My grandmother literally, instead of forced me to go to church, she would ask me if I wanted to go. So I was like, let me think about this. No. Church was miserable.

Why would I go to church? So me and a friend made a pat outside of that that we wouldn't curse anymore. He don't know anything about Jesus. I don't know anything about Jesus, but this was the deal. If he heard me curse, he could hit me in a chair as hard as he wanted to and vice versa. Duke can hit hard. I stopped cursing immediately. We still did regular stuff.

We played games. One of my friends actually had money. They afforded stuff that we just couldn't get. One of my friends had allergies. I wanted allergies, too. I didn't even know what they were, man. This is how I found out what allergies were. I went over his house.

His dad made dinner, and he looked at the food, and he went like this. He said, Dad, I'm not going to eat that. That's what he said to his dad. And my natural response was the duck. you say something like that to my dad something going to happen but instead his dad goes like this oh that's right I forgot

you have allergies I was like what are these allergies and where can I get some a few days later I get home I'll get to the green beans on my plate I'm like I'm gonna try this I was like dad I'm not gonna eat this

let me just say there was a bad reaction there was some swelling and some watery eyes Turns out I have allergies after all. I also started noticing around that age I was having a hard time reading. Now I noticed it before that but right around 14 years old I'm also noticing girls and I don't want the girls to know I'm struggling with my reading. So if I saw what, let me say by the way, as an adult I read just fine, like the signs over the door to say, excite. I can read that stuff. When I was a kid I would struggle with my reading.

I couldn't sound a word out phonetically. It just didn't work. So I would have to look at the word differently. at the font size, the color the word, the positioning, what's in front of it, what's behind it, how people are responding to it. I came up with all these ways to look at a word to determine what it was. By the time I got to high school, I was so fast at this. People didn't know I wasn't really reading.

I was just working it out. Now as an adult, I read just fine, but I still have this ability to look at words and people and situations seven different ways almost immediately. In fact, it's the primary place where I pulled my comedy from. So that very thing that looked like it was a handicap when I was a kid, God didn't cause it, but he was using it in preparation for what he has me to do. It wasn't a handicap. It's almost as if I was practicing.

I just didn't know I was practicing. Let me say this one more times you can really understand what I'm saying. That thing from your past, you never met your dad before, you were divorced. Whatever that is, God didn't cause it, but he will use it in preparation for what he has for you to do. Somebody may need to hear your story. You've been practicing. and you just didn't know you were practicing.

So now, here's what's cool. Here's what's cool about practicing, like, looking at things differently. Stuff will happen. I had a little kid standing an autograph line for, like, 30 minutes. This is a cool little white kid. I was like, hey, what's up? What's your name? He said, I'm Tanner.

I'm like, no, you're not. I'm Tanner. Or people ask me questions, like weird little questions. And I just look at words. It's fun looking at the words or imagine them. They'll say, Michael Jr., where are you from originally? I'm like, originally, huh. Well, I was conceived in Michigan.

Before that, I was with my dad. And then there's a swim competition, right? And I won, which is crazy. I didn't even know black people like to swim, man. It's crazy. I don't know. I don't think we do, actually. 26 years old, I moved to New York City.

I hope you're tracking with me. We're going someplace. The reason I moved to New York City because I'm from Michigan, and in New York, if you're not funny, the way to let you know is I'll say something like, you're not funny. So in New York City, there's this club called the Comic Strip Live that is the best club in New York City. It's so hard to get in this club. They have an open mic on Tuesday nights that starts at 7.30 p.m. Comedians actually start lining up to do three minutes in front of the manager at 6 o'clock in the morning. And if for some reason a manager likes them, the next month, they don't have to wait in line.

So it's finally my turn to perform at the comic strip live. And right before I get on stage, this comedian named George Wallace walks in. Now, you don't know who George Wallace is. One of my favorite jokes he does. He says he was in China. He bought a pair of shoes. He looked at the bottom of them, and it said, made right around the corner. Now, I love George Wallace, but here's the problem.

Whenever someone like that walks in, whoever's next gets bumped. I'm next, and I know I'm about to get bumped. but no, this is where God shows up for the first time in my life. Well, this is where I noticed them. The manager's walking over to me. He says, listen, Michael, George Wiles is here. Do you want to go before him or after him? I was like, let me think this is over.

Before him, please. So I'm going before George Wallace, and I got New Yorkers laughing. Not only are New Yorkers laughing, but he's laughing as well after he comes into the room. And then after the show, there's a bunch of comedians. they're all around them, ask them questions. He leaves them, and he comes over to me. And he says, you're really funny. I was like, wow, snap, thanks, man.

He said, let me ask you a question. He said, why don't you curse? I was like, I don't know. Where my grandmother walk in? My grandmother won't come into New York? But what else I was going to say? My friend might hit me in a chest. I'm a grown man.

The truth is, I didn't have any reason not to curse, except for the fact that I made a deal with a friend a long time ago. I had no idea. So I decide, you know, he says to me, you're funny and you're really, really clean. I'd love you to do a show with me and my best friend in a couple nights. I don't even know his best friend is. It don't matter. I could do another show.

I'm excited. I'm pumped. I'm like, yeah. We get to the show. It's me, George Wallace, Jerry Seinfeld. So we do two shows. I get two standing ovations. I rip.

I'm the man. I'm like, yeah. After the show, the club manager, it's a different club. He walks up to me and he says, Hey, listen, Michael, you got a great set tonight. Would you like to go to church with me tomorrow? I was like, church? I just got two standing ovations, man.

Why are you messing this up right now, man? Anybody going to church, man? That stuff is miserable. You ain't going to back up. I ain't going to, no, I ain't going to church. 20 minutes later, his fiance asked me the same question. She was fine. I mean, she was beautiful.

And she had some kind of accent, too. She was like, Michael Jr. Would you like to go to church with us? I was like, I was just looking for a church the other day, man. I was like, man. Find me a church, man. Shoot. So I go to this church for the wrong reasons.

I can't even find these people. I'm sitting way in the back. This church is huge. It's like 4,000 people with this church. I'm sitting way in the back. And this dude comes out on stage, right? And he was talking about Jesus. That's it.

He was just talking. He wasn't screaming. He wasn't yelling. He didn't had no person. I was just talking about Jesus. Then he did this thing where he said, can I get a hallelujah? That's what he said.

Can I get a hallelujah? And I know what that means. That means you want me to say what you just said, but I don't know what that means, so I ain't saying it. That's what I'm thinking in my head. And then he says, in case there's anyone in here

that doesn't know what hallelujah means. And then I said, this place is creepy. He said, it's the highest praise you can give. And then he did this thing where he did an altar call. He did an altar call. And Patrick does this phenomenal. He does this autichrecha.

where you said, if you're on Jesus your life, all you have to do is believe in your heart, confess with your mouth, and then raise your hand or come forward. And I really wanted to do it. I'm telling you like I'm telling you. I really wanted to, but I was like, nah, I got to read the pamphlet first. I don't know, man. Because I knew a couple Christians, and it was kind of creepy.

There's some creepy Christians out there. If you don't know any creepy Christians, it's you. Yeah, I'm just saying, your friend's no one. Or should I say your friend knows one? So I told myself, no, I'm not going to do that. I got to read the pamphlet first. And I was like, I don't know, because it could be a catch or something. Because there's some Christians, do you ever know a Christian?

And they, they cool at first. And then when they start talking about God, their voice change. Like you just taught, hey, you see the game? It was a good game. And I like, can I tell you about the Lord? What is wrong with your voice? What just happened to the octaves? So I told myself, I'd read the whole Bible before I went to the altar.

I didn't even have a Bible. I didn't know it was that big. And this lady at the O'Hare Airport, I don't even know this lady out of nowhere. She just hands me her Bible. We never even exchange words. She just hand me her Bible. So I open a Bible up and the Bible was made. I read the copyrights first.

The Bible was made in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Me too. Read the Bible. I'm going to church. I'm reading the Bible, going to church. And now I'm very, very in, like I'm digging in. I don't understand if I'm reading the Bible. At this point in New York, all I'm doing the whole time I'm in the church, all I'm doing,

New York City is hitting the comedy clubs, reading the Bible, and sleeping. Like, that literally is all I'm doing. I'm putting in, like, 14 hours a day because now I really want to get my life for Jesus, but I told myself I'd read the Bible first. You don't have to do that. I just wanted to stick to what I said. So I'm digging into it. 14 hours a day, it's like nine pages a day.

I was digging in. I get to the part of Matthew where it said Jesus died for me. I did not know that Jesus died for me until I was 27 years old. Literally, I didn't know. I'd been to church, people yelling, screaming. I saw the little crucifix thing. Same thing was on a rapper's neck. I don't know what that's supposed to mean.

I didn't know until I read it right there in Matthew did Jesus die from me. I didn't know. Then I turned to Mark and he died again. I'm like, what is going on? Why do they keep killing him? I don't understand what's going on. Get to Revelations.

I was like, reading the Bible was like paying bills. You got to pay attention to the red ink. Like, you better pay attention to something going to get cut off or something going to happen. So I finish reading the Bible and I go to church and I run up to the altar like during the announcements. I was like, yeah, I know you got a picnic on Saturday. But is Jesus here right now? Because I'm ready.

So I give my life over to God and now I understand some stuff. Like I understand, before I just thought I was funny, but now I understand I'm funny for a reason. Like there's purpose behind me having a sense of humor and God has a purpose for it. Just like he has a purpose for you. He even has a purpose for the things that you've been through, even though he didn't cause him, but he's using them. You've been practicing. For a lot of you guys, it is game time. Or you end up on the field, not knowing what to do, and then just practicing some more.

So now I'm in that club, and I leave New York because it's extremely expensive, and I moved to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, is the number one club in the country. The best kind of – I can't even get inside this club physically, except for the fact that my friend George Wallace is in town, and he takes me into. to the Comedy and Magic Club. Now, he can't get me on stage. He can only get me inside the club. And at the time, some of you guys may remember, a football player got hitting the eye with a flag,

and he was suing the league for $400 million. And now in the green room is George Wallace, Gary Shanley, Jay Leno. And these guys are working on this joke subject for the Tonight Show's monologue on NBC. I'm not saying anything. I'm just happy to be in there eating French fries with these dudes. But your gift will make room for you.

So I'm sitting there and there working on the joke. Then it got quiet and they looked at me and I was like, oh, snap. This is an opportunity. I was like, all right, let me see if I got this right. He got hidden eye with a flag. He lost his vision in one eye and he sued a league for $400 million. Oh, he's not going to see half of it. Like, for real.

Here's the thing. How did I get that joke that fast under that much pressure? The truth is, it wasn't as much pressure. as you might think, because I've been practicing since I was a child in a form of a kid who had a hard time reading, I've been practicing. Just like you've been practicing, you probably didn't know you were practicing, though. I'm here to let you know you've been practicing. And it's game time. But you have to be able to hear the coach's voice. So now I'm in the club. Like I'm in the club and probably four years ago, five years ago, right before I got on stage, I was headlining there. God gave me a changing mindset about comedy.

normally when a comedian gets on stage he wants to get last from people that's what i was all about and then god said to me simply no what i want you to do is go up there and give them an opportunity to laugh romans 12 to be not conform to the ways you're going to look it up he said give them an opportunity to laugh this right here has changed everything about everything that we do as a company because i'm not looking to take i'm looking to give if you can get a hold of this it will literally for real in every way change your life. Because if you walk into a room and you're asking the question, what can I give? You're just in a better place. You are more like Jesus under those circumstances. And if you haven't made that decision to ask that question by default, you were saying, what can I get? So when you make

the choice, it literally changes everything. So now I'm in the, I do my show. We have a great time. I leave the club that night. There's people around and want autographs, high fives. It's like this whenever I leave this club now, but this in particular night, while I'm talking to the people, I look across the street and I saw a homeless guy. I had never seen a homeless guy outside this club before, ever. But that doesn't mean he wasn't there before. That just means before my mindset was to get last from people. So why would I even notice a homeless guy? I noticed him and I was like, what about him? How could I give him an opportunity to laugh? Then I asked God and a guy was like, you really want to know? And I was like, uh, nope. And I said yes. We went to did this conversation.

tour. We start going to homeless shelters in prison. So whenever I do a concert somewhere, we always look for a prisoner or a homeless shelter to do comedy at. We go to this one prison. I got to tell you what happens. I'm scared for real. As soon as we walk in and the war took my belt from me, he's like, you can't have a belt? Somebody might try to hang you. Like, can't they just boo me or something? Why I got to hang you? I'm in prison, my pants loose? This is a bad idea, man. I got seven different ways to look at this, man. So I'm scared for real, and I'm walking in this prison, and I know like I know, I need to be funny immediately.

Normally, if you ever come see me in concert, I take my time. It's cool, it's interactive. No, I need them to like me immediately, but not too much. So I'm walking into prison, and I need a joke, and I'm doing the math. And first of all, bars, when you walk in, the bars open to front of you, you take a few steps, and they close, and there's some more bars, and they just take a couple. Some of you all know what I'm talking about. Welcome home.

Anyway, so I'm scared. I'm walking in, and I know I need a joke immediately, and I got nothing. Seven different ways to nothing. I had one joke pop up, but I wasn't going to start with it. I was going to be like, you know what? You guys are a captive audience. I just want to say that, you know.

So I'm scared, for real, and I'm walking in, and I literally have nothing, and all the prisoners are sitting in here. First of all, there's no stage. Like, there's no glass. We're not doing comedy on the phone. These cats are right here expecting funny, and I got nothing. Seven different ways to nothing.

And I remember walking in, and all of them got on pink jumpsuits. So what? I ain't saying nothing about them jumpsuits. And they're all sitting there, and I figure I got two steps left before I got to bring the funny before instinctively they know that I know that I got nothing, and I don't know what's going to happen because there's no guards in there with me. The guards left me at the last gate, and they gave me a little, gave me a little black box and they put it on my pants and they said if anything happens

pull the pen don't they know about the pen it's probably one dude his job is to hold the pen so i so i take my first step i still got nothing nothing nothing nothing i lift this foot up still got nothing i settled his foot and for real life church listen sitting right up front is a white dude with a white beard named moses i was like thanks lord When I said these words of Moses, the place exploded in a laughter, we had an amazing time. I said, Moses, this is what I want you to do. When you see the prison ward, I want you to look him in his eye. I want you to look him right in his eye, and I want you to say, let my people go.

Like, for real. So here's the thing. How did I get that joke, that fast, under that much pressure? It wasn't that much pressure because I've been practicing just like you have been practicing. Before a bounce, I'd like to explain to you. how life works. At least from a comedian's perspective. First, there's a setup, and then there's a punchline.

The setup is your talents, your resources, and your opportunities. And most of the time, we use our setup to ensure that our audience, or the people around us, are moving in a direction that serves us. Which means the punchline occurs when you change that direction in a way they weren't expecting. You actually use your setup for other people. The results are the same yet multiplied, revelation, fulfillment, and joy. But it's not just for the one receiving your punchline. It's also for you who get to deliver the punchline as well.

People ask me all the time, Michael, what was your big break? Our next guest is performed on Comedy Central's premium blend. He made its first appearance on the Tonight Show from Montreal Comedy Festival. You've seen him on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. That wasn't a big break. The big break was at a club. And right before I got on stage, I had a change in mindset about comedy.

Normally when a comedian gets on stage, he wants to get laughs from people. And I felt a little shift take place, where I felt like I was to go up there and give them an opportunity to laugh. Now I'm not looking to take. I'm looking for an opportunity to give. This changed everything.

My name is Michael Jr. I'm gonna do some jokes. I'm gonna do some jokes. And ultrasound's come in color now, which is ridiculous. I know it's a black baby. That'll be a black baby. I leave the club that night, and there's all these people giving me hugs, and high fives, telling me their favorite jokes.

Then I look across the street and I saw a homas guy. And I thought to myself, what about him? Most comedy, most jokes are set up. My son, a four years old, looks at me out of nowhere. He says, Dad, I wanna be a doctor. I was like, yes, yes. And then a punchline. Then he said, or a dinosaur.

I understand that me doing comedy and doing all of these TV shows and making all these people laugh is really just a setup. My punchline is to make laughter commonplace and uncommon places. We go to Montrose, Colorado, a place called the Dolphin House. They take care of children who have been abused by her parents. And his grandmother explains to me that her grandson is being abused by his mom. He's so afraid of his mom that everywhere he goes he wears a Spider-Man costume. So I get on stage, sitting right up front, Spider-Man.

I started doing comedy. People start laughing slowly but surely. Probably about 25 minutes into it, I hear a voice, and the voice says, my name is Ronan, and this little boy pulls off his mask. It was one of the most powerful moments in my entire comedy career. If we could just stop asking the question, what could I get for myself? And start asking the question, what can I give from myself? I think people would learn that you don't have to be a comedian to deliver a punchline. So if I ask the question, how many people here know what your setup is?

I'm talking to everyone at every location. If I ask the question, how many of you know what your setup is, chances are you would be able to tell me. You can tell me if you went to school, you can tell me if you have a job where you live, if you have a car, you have clothes. Your setup is about what you've received. But what if I asked the question, what is your punchline? How many of you actually know what your punchline is? And to live life, only knowing the setup and not the punchline, is an extremely uncomfortable place to live.

Let me get an example. How many people are still thinking about the story of me and Pastor Craig at the restaurant? So you're still thinking about that story because all you have is the setup. And that's a story you just heard. But what you've decided to do is just push it in the back, continue on about life. We've laughed. You've heard some stories.

Everything's fine. But you still don't have the rest of the story. The punchline is still missing. And that's a story you just learned right now. You've been living your story your entire life. And if you only have to set up and don't know what the punch line is, you need to know your punchline. And the one who knows your punchline

happens to also be the owner of the greatest set up punchline story ever. Let's think about Jesus for a moment. He was the king. My back. He was the king of kings. And when you're the king of kings, the mindset of the entire audience

is you serve the king of kings. That is the direction everyone goes. But what did he do? He said, no. He changed the direction. He said, instead of you serving me, I'm going to serve you. I'm going to climb up on this cross and I'm going to die for your sins. The greatest set up punchline story ever.

And he also knows your story. He knows your setup. And please catch this. When I was a kid, I had a hard time reading. He knows your setbacks, which are just part of your set up. So you can deliver the punch line you're called to deliver. and the further back you've been set like a slingshot, the further you're going to reach.

But you first have to clearly just say to him, please tell me, what is my punchline? Why am I here? I appreciate you. I love you. I'm Michael Jr. At all of our churches, as you take a moment and pray, I just want to meditate on the verses

that Michael Jr. brought up to us, do not be conformed to the patterns of this world that be transformed by the renewing of your minds that you'll be able to test and approve what the will of God is, his good, his pleasing, his perfect will. For God, you know the plans that you have for us, plans to prosper us, to bless us, not to harm us, to give us a hope and a future. God, I pray that the set up would deliver us and bring about the punchline that you want

for every person today as we've been in your presence. At all of our churches, I just want to take a moment, and as you look back on your life, Many of you, as Michael Jr. said, you've been through some difficult times. Some of you right now, you're going through a hard time. And you recognize, I've just been practicing. This is the setup for me to use my gifts to make a difference in this world. I can so relate because I, too, didn't know Jesus and went into the wild life. And what I recognize now, God, used all that stuff in my life to help prepare me to tell the gospel

in a way that people would understand and to help bring them to Jesus. And all of our churches, there are those of you. you, maybe you're going through something right now or you look back and there's something or challenging or something unexpected in your life. And you would say, God, use that. Use me. Not to try to get from others, but God use me to give to others to make a difference. If you want God to use a set up to bring about a punchline to use you to make a difference in this world,

would you lift up your hands right now? All of our churches. I hope every hand goes up. Father, thank you so much for a church full of people who want to know you intimately and to use the gifts that you have given them to make a difference in this world. And, God, I thank you. Most people wouldn't think of being funny and think of comedy as a way to share your gospel. But, God, you can use every single gift that you've given us to make a difference.

I pray, God, that you would inspire people today to recognize that all throughout our lives, you've been preparing us to make a difference for your glory, empower your church to serve you and to serve others. faithfully we pray. As you keep praying today, I'm so moved by Michael's story that at the age of 26, as he simply heard about Jesus, about the unconditional love of God, the reality that every single one of us, we've all sinned, we've messed up, we've fallen massively short of God's standard. But because of God's goodness, he sent Jesus who was without sin to die on the cross, one time, not four, like Michael thought of the Gospels,

but to die for us one time and to be raised again from the dead. Why? So that anyone who puts their faith in Jesus would be forgiven and transformed. At all of our churches, there are those of you. You recognize, I don't have that. I want it.

I need his grace. I need his forgiveness. Today, by faith, I simply turn toward Jesus, just like Michael Jr. did. Say God, I give my life to you. I want to surrender completely. Jesus, by faith, I need your faith. I need your grace, I need your forgiveness, so I surrender my life to you.

That's your prayer at all of our churches. Would you lift your hands high right now and say yes, Jesus, I surrender completely to you. At all of our churches, as we have hands going up, church online, you just click right below me, and we're all right. That's how we do it. Everybody pray aloud. Pray Heavenly Father. Forgive me of my sins.

Make me brand new. I believe Jesus died for me. And he rose again so I could live for you. Fill me with your spirit so I could serve you and follow you for my whole life. Thank you for setting me up for the punchline to serve you. I give you my life. In Jesus' name, I pray. Would you all worship, cheer, give glory to God and welcome those born into God's family today.