Hey, man. Well, good morning, church. It's good
to see you this morning. I want to welcome those
of you online from wherever it is you're watching
from. We're so glad that we get to be together.
Have you guys been liking the last few weeks
of this collection that we've been in? Man, it
has been so good, this Just Camping collection.
I pray that it has blessed you as much as it
has blessed me. It has been one of those things
that I've just continued to think about. asking
myself questions and processing and pondering
over and over these concepts of what it means
to live this life like we're just camping. And
it's been super, super impactful for me personally.
And one of the things that I've been thinking
about as I've gone through this, it kind of does
relate, but not really. A couple weeks ago, Pastor
John was talking about the thief on the cross
and how Jesus turned to him and said, today you'll
be with me in paradise. And we know that to be
absent from the body is to be present with the
Lord. And so this idea of paradise, we don't
know exactly what it is, but Pastor John said
he thinks it's, you know, this beach and this
nice place. And I thought to myself, I've been
there before. That's San Diego, okay? That's
San Diego. That's what it is, okay? Some of you
who know me know I was going to say that, and
it's because it's paradise. That's what it is.
And I miss San Diego dearly, and I've had to
find substitutes in Prescott for things that
I enjoy in San Diego. And some things work, some
don't, right? Some things in Prescott are better,
right? The traffic in Prescott is better than
the traffic in San Diego, okay? Yeah, it is.
Wow, you're clapping for that. That's crazy.
Listen though, I did not say Prescott drivers
are better because dear Lord, they are not, okay?
They're awful. Not you guys, of course, other
drivers. Like you guys are great, but other drivers,
it's kind of not quite the best thing they have
going for them. I've had to find substitutes
with other things. One of the things I cannot
find a substitute for in Prescott is surfing.
Watson Lake just doesn't do it for me when it
comes to the waves, right? The waves just aren't
as good. I love surfing. I grew up surfing. And
when I was younger, In high school, my summer
job was I worked at a surf camp teaching kids
how to surf. And so when my kids got old enough,
I was so excited to teach them to surf. And this
last summer, we were in Southern California teaching
them to surf. And as we get there, we got the
soft top surfboard that was going to help them
get into the waves. And I taught them everything
on the beach. I'm teaching them, this is how
you stand up. This is what you do. And they,
dad, were kind of nervous. I'm like, okay, well,
what are you nervous about? Well, what if the
waves knock us down and all this? And I'm talking
to them, I'm going to be there with you. be okay.
We're going to handle it. And so I kind of got
them through that fear. And they said, well,
what about the things that are like under the
surface of the ocean, right? That's what some
of you were thinking. They're like, yeah, don't
go in there. And I had to tell them, I said,
listen, I know you're afraid of sharks, but you
need to understand the sharks are afraid of me.
And so if I'm in there with you, we're good,
right? And it worked. They believed me, okay?
So I'm like, okay, we've got all of your fears.
Like, you're okay, right? Do you believe that
you'll be okay? And they're like, yeah, I believe
we'll be fine. I said, okay, let's get in the
water. And they said, yeah, we're not going in
there. And I'm like, but we got all your fears
away. Like, you believe that you're gonna be
okay. So we went over it again. I said, do you
believe that you are gonna be okay, that everything
will be fine? And they're like, yeah, we believe
that. I'm like, okay, let's go surf. And they're
like, we're not getting in the water. And here's
the thing, if you're taking notes today, I want
you to write this down. Behavior follows belief.
Behavior follows belief. So you can say that
you believe something, but if you are unwilling
to let your behavior follow your belief, do you
actually believe it? If I brought a chair on
stage right now and said, I believe if I sit
in this, the chair will hold me, but I'm unwilling
to actually sit in it, do I actually believe
that the chair will hold me? See, I think many
people, when it comes to their faith, they meet
Jesus. They had this aha moment and it's incredible,
right? Maybe it involves emotion and there's
tears and they come forward after a service and
they pray and these things happen where they
go, yes, I've met Jesus and I believe in him,
but their life doesn't look any different. Yes,
they had an aha moment. Yes, they met Jesus,
but nothing changes in their life. Or maybe they
meet Jesus and they go, yes, I need to follow
him and they're on fire for Jesus, but then slowly
their life goes exactly back to where it was
before they met Jesus. And there's a disconnect
between what they believe and how they behave.
Behavior follows belief. And we're going to look
at that today. We're going to dive into this
idea that our behavior needs to match what we
believe and what we believe informs the way that
we live. So we're going to be in 2 Corinthians.
chapter five. Through this collection, we've
been walking through this book of 2 Corinthians.
It's a letter that Paul wrote to the church in
Corinth. It's his second edition of the letter.
So he wrote his first letter to the church in
Corinth, 1 Corinthians, and it was correcting
a lot of the behavior that was going on. And
they made those corrections. And so Paul then
follows it up with a second letter. And the second
Corinthians is a lot more of like, okay, now
that you've corrected those, this is how you're
supposed to live this life. This is what you're
supposed to do. And we've been walking through
in just camping, unpacking what Paul has been
saying in second Corinthians chapter five. And
we're in verse 14. It says this, for Christ's
love compels us. Christ's love compels us, right?
Compel is the motivation of why one does something.
That is what compels you to do. You know this
if you are a parent because you've asked your
kid this question before. Why did you do that?
Which is the dumbest question you can ask. You
know why? Because they have no clue why they
did that. You're like, why did you do that? And
you can get any answer. Well, I saw the dog do
it. And you're like, that is a terrible answer.
Like, why did you do that? And they're like,
well, it seemed like it would be fun. You're
like pouring cereal on your head in the middle
of the kitchen is not fun. Like, I don't know
where that came from, but you don't know what
you're gonna get. What compelled you to do this?
I was just curious. What is the motivation for
why you do what you do? And everything that we
do in our life, there's a motivation that we
have that compels us to the action that we take.
There's something that drives you to do what
you do. So let me ask you this, what compels
you? If everything you do in life is driven by
this thing that compels you to do it, why do
you do what you do? Are you compelled by money?
I just gotta get enough money. If I get enough
money, then I'll live the life that I was supposed
to live. Are you compelled by money? Are you
compelled by fame? Are you trying to be famous
in your circle of people that you're with? But
are you compelled by the opinions of other people?
Is your motivation in life for what you do because
of the opinions of other people, because you
want them to view you a certain way, you want
them to see you a certain way, if you do it that
way, then you'll make them happy, or the opinions
of other people, what compels you? Are you compelled
by guilt? Are you compelled by shame? That is
fear what compels you to do what you do in this
life. You're just run by fear. That is what you're
compelled by, comfort. If I just get the right
situation, the right house, the right car, and
I don't have to change what I get because comfort
is my main thing that I want, and I'm not gonna
step outside of that, and that compels you. Are
you compelled by comfort? What is it that compels
you? It says, for Christ's love compels us. Then
he continues in verse 14. He says this, because
we are convinced that one died for all. Because
we're convinced that one died for all. What he
is speaking to here is the crux of Christianity.
This is why we are in this room. This is why
this building exists. That's why a location in
Prescott Valley exists. This is why Heights Church
exists because we are convinced that one died
for all. We are convinced that Jesus was a real
person that lived on this planet and Jesus lived
a life where he never sinned. He did not mess
up. He did not sin like you and I do. And this
one man that we are convinced lived also died
on a cross to pay the price for your sin and
for my sin on the cross. And we are convinced
of this. And Paul is saying, this is super important.
This is what he is referring to. He's referring
to the death of Jesus on the cross. He says,
because we are convinced that one died for all,
continues in verse 14 and says, and therefore
all died. We're convinced that Jesus died on
the cross for all of us. And therefore, in that,
all have died. What does this look like? In the
early 1970s, there was a man named Chuck Colson.
Chuck Colson was a man that was driven by success,
driven by power, was very corrupt. In fact, he
worked with President Nixon and was known as
his hatchet man. This guy was driven by this
power, and this man was ultimately indicted and
sentenced to prison. As he went into prison,
he was given a book by a friend of his. The book
was called Mere Christianity, and it's by an
author, theologian named C .S. Lewis. And as
he went into prison, he read this book, and he
ended up giving his life to Jesus. In prison,
he was saved. He said, I'm giving my life to
Jesus. witnessed the change in his life after
he gave his life to Jesus. He was no longer the
person he was before. But as you've probably
realized, he was in a pretty controlled environment,
right? And then he got released from prison and
everyone's expectation for him as he got back
was to just go back to his old ways. This man
who was driven by powers, driven by success,
who was driven to all these things. But instead,
when he came out of prison, he founded Prison
Fellowship and dedicated his life to sharing
Jesus with people, right? Why? Because when he
met Jesus, his old life died. His old life was
dead, right? Not just his life, but his nature,
right? His old identity. In power and manipulation
and control, that died, that was gone. And a
new life that was marked by humility and service
and faith in Jesus is what replaced it. All right,
what Paul is saying here is he's saying, when
you meet Jesus, right? Because one died for all,
that means that all have died. That means that
your nature was nailed to a cross with Jesus.
It is gone, it is dead. All right, Paul says
it this way in Romans chapter six. He said, for
we know that our old self, was crucified with
him so that the body ruled by sin might be done
away with, that we should no longer be slaves
to sin. The old nature, your old sin nature,
who you were, died with Christ. That's a literal
death with him. What dead is rendered inoperable.
It doesn't work. The only time that something
that is dead is gonna come back is if you go
and pick the dead thing up and start moving around
with it. It is inoperable on its own. And you
go pick up something that is dead and you're
gonna play puppeteer with it. And for some of
you, that is a morbid word picture. Yes, it is.
That's gross. But it should be gross because
that is what you and I do every time we go back
to our sin nature that is already dead. That's
what we do. It was dead and nailed to a cross
with Jesus. And when you go back to your old
sin nature and go, I'm gonna go back to this
thing, you are essentially picking up something
that was dead to try to make it be a part of
your life again when Jesus said it's gone. It's
dead. Your old nature was nailed to a cross and
now it is Christ who lives in you. Which means
this, it means eternity starts now. Pastor John
has been talking about this idea of when we say
yes to Jesus, we are eternal security. Our eternal
future is secured and it is through Jesus and
eternity starts now, but it's not just to look
for heaven and look for eternity. It's to bring
heaven to earth, to live in mission now. All
right, your old is dead. That means you have
a new life in Christ and your new life is marked
by this mission that we get to live. It's marked
by understanding that we're not here to just
please us. We're bringing heaven to earth to
live for him because this life that we have is
not our future place. And he continues in verse
15 and he says this, and he died for all that
those who live should no longer live for themselves,
but for him who died for them and was raised
again. You should no longer live for yourselves.
It's not about you. I always find it funny when
I meet somebody and I ask them how they're doing
and they say they're tired. And then I find out
that they don't have kids. And I'm like, what
are you tired of? You're tired of sleeping in?
Like, that's crazy. You're tired of waking up
when you want to? Like, what are you tired of?
Are you tired of doing what you want to in the
day? Are you tired of sleeping through the night
without being kicked in the back a million times?
Like, what are you tired of? I don't get it.
I mean, I remember when we had kids, my life,
it for sure changed forever. It wasn't about
me. It was about them. There was no escape ever.
Ever. For those of you who don't have kids, you're
like, well, what if you go to the bathroom? No,
they come. What if you lock the door? Their stupid
little hand comes under the door. That's what
happens. You're like, get that evil thing out
of here. You know what I mean? You're like, well,
you have your bed, right? No, you don't. You
have a child in your bed who thinks that they're
a ninja kicking you in the middle of the night.
No personal experience on that, I'm just saying.
Oh, well, you have your own food. No, you don't.
You have their food on your plate, or at least
that's what they think. You're like, eat your
own food. It's the same thing. Tastes better
off my plate. It's not about you. Your life has
changed, right? I remember, I didn't know that
I was signing up for this when I had kids. And
my life was about them, it's not about me. Man,
even though I didn't know this was what I was
getting into, I remember the first time I saw
my kids after they were born. Like something
snapped in me and I saw them and I knew I would
do anything for those kids. I knew that my life
was not about me anymore, it was all about them.
I listen, when you said yes to Jesus, And you
allowed his death to cover your punishment. You
are no longer living for yourself. You're living
for him. It's not about living for you. It's
about living for him. Because living for yourself
is this. Living for yourself is putting down
roots like this is it. It's living in a way where
you think that this life is all that matters,
going, if I just get the right house and I just
get the right car and if I just have the comfort
and if I just never step out and make myself
happy, then I'll be okay. But what you've done
is you've lived for yourself instead of realizing
that you're living for him. You're just camping.
You're just camping. It's not about what you
do here. It's about living for him while you
are here. Have you ever downloaded, I don't know
if they still do this anymore, have you ever
downloaded the Lite version of an app before?
It's like the app you want, but it says Lite
on it, right? I used to do this when I would,
I don't have time now, but when I used to play
games on my phone, I would download these games,
and I didn't want to pay for them, so I would
get the Lite version, which gives you a couple
levels, so you get a taste of it, but you don't
actually get the full experience. You just get
a little bit of it, and you're like, okay, this
is good. I got to understand what it was, but
you don't actually get all of it. And I think
for a lot of us, we've bought into the light
version of Christianity. We've bought into the
light version of Christianity because we get
to a place in our life where we're like, yeah,
I just wanna add something new. I know the direction
of my life is not the way that it should be going.
And because it's not the way that it should be
going, I just need to add something a little
bit different to my life. And you just add the
light version of Christianity, right? For us,
we go, Christianity is a good thing. Church is
a good thing. So I just need to add a little
bit of that in my life. I need to add some good
into the negativity. The world's a negative place,
so I just need to add some good into it. All
right, we know doing good things is important,
so we wanna check it off our list. We showed
up to church, you're here today. You're like,
I'm here, I made it. Check. But your life doesn't
look any different any other day because you've
just added a little bit here and we've bought
into the light version of Christianity, but instead
we need to understand this. If you're taking
notes, write this down. Christianity is not turning
a new leaf. It's being planted in a new kingdom.
It's not just turning over a new leaf. Oh man,
things are just gonna be a little bit different.
It's being planted in a new kingdom, right? It's
not behavior modification. It's heart transformation.
My heart has changed so everything is different
in my life. I'm not just putting on an act. I'm
not just faking it. I'm not just putting the
face that you want to see for a moment. It's
not that because behavior follows belief and
the way that you live is influenced by what you
believe. If you believe it, then you will act
in accordance with it. When we believe in Christ's
love, You believe in his love. When you're not
just something that you say, but you actually
believe in his love and you are compelled by
that love. When you believe that he died for
all and you believe that you died with him, then
you're no longer living for yourself. And that
means that your life is marked by that. That
is what marks your life. Each one of our lives
are marked by something. A lot of times it's
what we do. Our life is marked by what we do.
That's your job, so you're marked by that. That's
what you do. Our lives are marked by maybe what
our achievements are. This is what you've accomplished,
right? This is what you put in your Instagram
bio. Everyone knows who you are, and that's what
you're marked by. I were marked by maybe identifying
factors. Maybe it's physical, right? For instance,
some would call me the bald eagle. I don't know
why they call me that, but they would. There's
marked identifying factors. Our lives are marked
by something, but if we are following Jesus,
we're no longer living for ourselves, then this
is what our life is marked by. First is this,
which is marked by love. Our life is marked by
love. When someone looks at us, this is what
they say that person is loving. And this is seen
in scripture, but here's what we like to do.
We like to read scripture the way that we want
to see it. It says this in John 13, 35. By this,
everyone will know that you are my disciples
if you voted for the right party. That's what
it says in there. No, not in your Bible. I must
have the wrong translation up here. I know it's
in there though. I know it's in there somewhere.
You know why I know? I know it's in there somewhere
because I know a lot of people in the church
right now who spend a lot more time on their
political news channels and their political talk
shows and their political articles than they
do in the word of God. Oh, I know it's in there
somewhere. It must not be in this translation.
It's in a different one. I know it's in there
though, because I know a lot of people that are
way more fired up about their political agenda
than they are about serving in the church. Oh,
I know it's in there. You know why? Because I've
met a lot of people that will take every opportunity
possible to tell me their political views, but
they won't tell anyone about Jesus. I think we
have a lot of Christians that are marked by what
they think they see in scripture. They'll know
you by who you voted for. They'll know you by
how you stand politically. Jesus never said that.
That's not what Jesus said. He said, what marks
you? He says this. He says in John 13, 35. We
like to read it this way. By this, everyone will
know that you are my disciples if you have enough
knowledge. I must have the wrong translation
again. I know it's in there though. You know
how I know? Because I get your emails. Oh, you
just don't go deep enough. Listen to me, you're
only as deep as the ministry you're serving in.
Listen to me, you're only as deep as the last
person you invited to church. You're only as
deep as your tithing record. Oh, I just wanna
go deeper. Listen, here's something that I've
said before and I'll say it again. I think far
too many Christians are educated way beyond their
level of obedience. It's not that you don't know
it, it's that you're not willing to do it, but
guess what? Behavior follows belief. If you believe
it, then you're willing to live it. And it doesn't
matter what you know if you're not willing to
do it. Oh, some of you are mad at me right now.
I can tell. Some of you don't like that. I would,
Jesus said, listen, we could do this all day.
I could read John 13, 35 all day with things
that we like to put in to go, this is what I'm
marked by. This is what I need to mark who I
am. But what Jesus says is this in John 13, 35,
they will know that you are a follower of Jesus
by your love for one another. They'll know you're
a follower of Jesus by your love for one another.
They'll know you're a follower of Jesus that
when somebody messes up, when somebody drops
the ball, when someone stabs you in the back,
instead of coming after that person, instead
of venting about them, instead of humiliating
them, you treat them with dignity. That you try
to fix it. That they will know you're my disciples
by your love. When somebody around you is struggling
and you bring a meal to a struggling family.
That they will know you. By your willingness
to watch someone's kids so they can just have
a break. That they will know you by the fact
that you give up your time for somebody who is
hurting. I don't have a lot of time. It's hard
for me to do that. I got places to be. I got
people to see. Yeah, but if you love, you'll
give up your time to be with someone who's hurting.
How will they know you? They'll know you by your
love, right? It's forgiving when you have the
right. To hold a grudge. Listen, you probably
have a right. What's happened to you, what people
have done, that's messed up. I bet I could sit
down with each one of you and you could tell
me the reasons why you won't forgive and I'll
go, man, you're right, that's pretty bad. You're
justified in that. You have the right to hold
a grudge, but what loving people do is they forgive
even when you have the right to hold a grudge
because we're marked by love. I was taking your
talents, what God has blessed you with and using
them for other people to love other people. All
right, what this looks like is if you're a mechanic,
it's saying, hey, I'm gonna take this person's
family car that I know they can't afford to fix,
and I'm gonna fix it for them, but not just what
they brought it in to get fixed. I'm gonna fix
everything. And I'm gonna come in on my day off
to do it. It's saying, man, I'm gonna be marked
by love to the world around me because they says
they will know you by your love. How are we able
to love? Because our old self has died with Jesus,
and now we're living being marked by love. This
is the great commandment. And the religious people
got together and they went to Jesus and they're
like, hey, can you tell us what's the most important
commandment in the Bible? Jesus said, let me
sum the whole thing up for you. You ready? Love
God, love others. And they're like, that's not
deep enough. And he's like, no, hold on. Literally,
love God, love others. That's what I called you
to do. That's the great commandment. That's what
you have been commanded to do. And when Christ's
love, when you truly understand Christ's love,
his everlasting, undeserving, sacrificial love,
when you understand that, it compels you. The
word compel that is used here in this text is
to enclose or lock up. So when you are enclosed
or locked up by Christ's love, you have no other
choice but to live for God, to die to yourself,
to live for God, to live for him, to love others.
All right, next is this, is mission. Your life
is marked by mission. You have a mission that
you've been given. It says in Matthew 28, 19,
therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching
them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always to the very end
of the age. You have the great commandment. Jesus
said, hey, listen, I want you to love God, love
others. That's a great commandment. Then he gives
you a great commission. The great commission
is go and make disciples. Go, your life is marked
by love and it's marked by mission. It's by telling
others about Jesus. Here's why this is so important.
The great commission is so important is because
as we've been discussing this idea of just camping,
there are things that you cannot take with you
to heaven, that you cannot take with you to the
next life. Guess what you cannot take with you?
You can't take your house with you. Oh, but I
spent my whole life getting the perfect house.
You don't even get to take it with you. You don't
get to take your car with you. Oh, but it's a
really nice car. I love it. And I polish it like
five times a day. It's amazing. You don't get
to take it with you. You don't get to take your
achievements with you. All those things that
you're so proud of that you've done and you brag
about, you don't get to take them with you. You
know what you do get to take with you? People.
You get to take people with you. And what God
said is, listen, you are gonna be marked by love
to love the people around you. And you're gonna
be marked by mission to go and to make disciples
because those are who you get to bring with you.
You get to live on mission in a way that invites
people into the family of God. And we have a
very practical place to be able to do this. It's
called Easter. You guys heard of Easter before?
Easter is coming up and then we get to celebrate
the risen Jesus, the reason why we're even doing
this. And the thing about Easter is there's a
lot of people who maybe grew up in church and
have walked away. They don't go to church anymore.
But there's something inside of them that tells
them, I need to go to a church service on Easter.
And you have an opportunity because God has placed
you in their life and you go, hey, I'm just camping.
So my life is marked by love and marked by mission.
And this is my mission field and I'm gonna invite
this person to church. And if you were here last
week, you heard Pastor John talk about Easter.
We have a long history. For many years, we've
done Easter at Watson Lake. It's this big thing.
And you heard that this year is gonna be a little
different. This year, we're having three services
at this location, three services at our Prescott
Valley location, not including our sunrise service.
So seven gatherings, seven opportunities to invite
people to church. And for some of you, when you
heard that, you were a little upset because you're
like, I love Watson Lake. It's awesome. That
was me too. I'm with you on that one. Right?
It's like Coachella for church. It's amazing.
I loved it. But here's the thing I had to realize.
It's not about you and it's not about me. It's
about the mission that we've been given. And
if the mission we've been given is to go and
to tell people about Jesus, to invite them and
to hear about who Jesus is, we have an opportunity
to say, come to church with me. I come to church,
come sit in this place with me. And then guess
what? Come back the following week. It'll be
the same place and you'll experience the same
stuff and it'll be awesome. Because we're not
here to just have people come and build a crowd.
We want people's lives to be changed by Jesus.
And when you realize that you are just camping,
you put yourself in a place where you're willing
to say, hey, my life can be marked by love, can
be marked by mission, and all of the other things
that I waste my time on. And this is life -changing,
man. This is earth -shattering information. And
some of you are sitting there and you're like,
it's not really that life -changing or earth
-shattering. then you're doing it wrong. If this
isn't life -changing and earth -shattering to
you, you're not doing it right. Because this
should require you to go, listen, I'm giving
my whole life. Jesus died on a cross for you.
And when he did, he nailed your old life to the
cross with him. It's gone, it's dead. And when
he did that, he gave you the free gift of grace.
Grace is free. It does not cost you anything
to receive grace. Jesus gave grace freely, but
it should cost you everything. Because when you
understand that your old life died with Christ,
you're no longer living for yourself. You're
living for him. You're no longer living for things
that don't matter. The old is dead. And you don't
pick up dead things. That's gross. That's weird.
We have this sin nature into us. It wants us
to go pick up dead things. It wants us to go
back to it. It's pulling us to go back to pick
these things up in our life. And what we have
is we have an offensive weapon, right? We have
the sword of the spirit. That's an offensive
weapon. That's the word of God. That we can speak
truth over ourself when we feel ourself being
pulled back to pick up the dead thing. And our
desires are going to pull it back. You can speak
truth over yourself. And when you're doing that,
what you're doing is you're submitting to the
rewiring that's happening in you to say those
things are dead. And I now have a new life in
Christ. I'm not living for the dead things. I'm
living for things that matter, for things that
last. For those of you in here, Maybe you just
kind of came in in this broken place of going,
I don't even know Jesus. I need you to know that
Jesus died for all, and that includes you. And
when you put your faith and trust in Jesus, you
say, hey, listen, I'm giving up. I'm surrendering.
I'm putting my life in his hands. It's not mine.
It's his. That's crossing from death into life.
That's entering into this new space of eternity.
You say, hey, I'm living for Jesus. If you've
never done that, I would encourage you today
to do that. For those of you who have done that,
you've put your faith and trust in Jesus. Jesus
built in this idea for us to remember that, to
go back to it because that is what saved you.
And it's called communion. As you came in today,
you were given one of these. And what communion
is, is an opportunity for us to remember. what
God has done for us in sending Jesus to the cross.
Jesus was surrounded by his disciples before
he head to the cross. And he was saying, this
represents my body and my blood. It was broken
and spilled on your behalf. He said, do this
in remembrance of me. So right now, I want you
to just take a minute to remember what God has
done. And if God has nailed your old life to
a cross, what does it look like for you to live
for him? We'll take it together in a moment.
As Jesus was in that room with his disciples,
he took bread and he said, this is my body that
is broken for you. Eat this in remembrance of
me. It says in the same way, he took the cup.
He said, this is my blood that is poured out
on your behalf. Drink this in remembrance of
me. God, we come before you, Lord, and we're
just humbled and grateful, Lord, that you died
for all, that you would include us in that all.
God, we thank you. God, I pray for each one of
us that you would help our behavior match our
belief. Lord, if we believe in you, that you
would allow us to let your love compel our actions
and how we live, that we would not be living
for us, that we would not be living for now,
but we would be living for your love. that we
would be marked by your mission, that we would
be marked by love to the world around us. God,
we love you. God, we praise you. God, we continue
to worship you. We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen. Would you stand up? Let's worship.