1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,400 Some of you are here because of those calls and we thank you. 2 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:11,000 We thank you very much for coming. 3 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:15,640 We're glad that you have decided to be a part of our worship service this morning and learn 4 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:20,000 more about the Lord's work here at Venture Christian. 5 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:23,260 We want to help you get acquainted with us. 6 00:00:23,260 --> 00:00:26,600 We are Venture Christian Church. 7 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:31,040 We're in the 915 service, which is our blended service. 8 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:36,240 Includes high energy worship songs as well as more traditional hymns and kind of an updated 9 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,560 tempo and arrangement. 10 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:40,560 We have other styles. 11 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:44,400 One at 1045 is a little more contemporary, a little more loud. 12 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:49,520 As somebody said, you kind of feel the worship in there because the sound is a little louder. 13 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:52,760 We have a traditional service at eight o'clock. 14 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:57,600 We have an opportunity to sort of find the one that fits who you are. 15 00:00:57,600 --> 00:00:58,600 Venture Christian Church. 16 00:00:58,600 --> 00:00:59,600 What is a Christian? 17 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:02,400 What do we mean by a Christian church? 18 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:09,520 Well, obviously the word Christian is focused on the word Christ with the letters I-A-N 19 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:10,520 on the end of it. 20 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:12,680 It's not too hard to figure out, is it? 21 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:16,400 I mean, we talk about Californians. 22 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:21,920 I can't say that in the Austrian that our governor uses, but I'm Irish. 23 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:27,960 Californians are people who identify with or belong to California. 24 00:01:27,960 --> 00:01:34,320 Rotarians are those who belong to the Rotary Club, one of the civic clubs of America and 25 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:36,800 the world. 26 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:45,840 Christians are those who belong to or who identify with or who follow Jesus Christ. 27 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:48,600 That's because Jesus invited us to come and follow him. 28 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:51,360 In fact, it's the text I wanted you to look at. 29 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:55,120 It's in your notes, and that's on a blue piece of paper inside your bulletin. 30 00:01:55,120 --> 00:02:00,640 I invite you to pull that out and look at it as together we think about the vision of 31 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:02,280 Venture Christian Church. 32 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:09,040 Jesus said, come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 33 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:12,160 Notice Jesus says, come and follow. 34 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:17,560 The first thing I notice is this, that Venture Christian is about journey. 35 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:19,040 We're on a trip with Jesus. 36 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:22,840 He says, come and follow me. 37 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:31,200 We're here to journey together to know God and to make him known, to know God personally 38 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:35,240 and more deeply, and then to make him known to others. 39 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,880 That's what this journey that we're on is all about. 40 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:44,360 A journey implies that there is a start and there is a finish. 41 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:46,640 Journeys don't last forever, do they? 42 00:02:46,640 --> 00:02:47,680 There's a starting point. 43 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:50,120 There's a finish point. 44 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:56,000 We went on a little trip last weekend to see my wife's family in northern Kentucky. 45 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:57,600 We started here. 46 00:02:57,600 --> 00:02:59,880 We flew to Dayton, Ohio. 47 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:03,760 We drove down across the river into northern Kentucky. 48 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:05,340 Then we came back home. 49 00:03:05,340 --> 00:03:09,320 That was our journey, a starting point, a finishing point. 50 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:14,680 For a spiritual journey, the starting point is really that place in life where you come 51 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:22,520 to and you begin to sense that not everything is okay inside. 52 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:33,480 You begin to sense that there is this God-shaped hole, a vacuum that only God himself can fill. 53 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:39,600 You begin this journey to figure out how can I get satisfied inside? 54 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:42,360 How can I fill this hole that's in my life? 55 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:52,040 How can I escape the bondages and the guilt and the problems in my life? 56 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:58,440 The journey lasts throughout the lifetime and the finish of it is death. 57 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:04,500 A journey involves a start and a finish, but a journey also implies that what's in between 58 00:04:04,500 --> 00:04:06,440 is very important. 59 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:12,600 That is, what happens from the time you begin this search for something transcendent, something 60 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:17,280 more, until the end of life is very important. 61 00:04:17,280 --> 00:04:22,980 Now, the journey has all kinds of twists and turns and surprises in it. 62 00:04:22,980 --> 00:04:29,320 The journey consists of a series of decisions that we all make in life, deliberately or 63 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:31,400 not deliberately. 64 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:35,960 But these decisions ultimately determine our destiny. 65 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:41,240 A journey implies a start and a finish and that what happens in between is very important 66 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:46,120 and it implies furthermore that none of us has arrived. 67 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:51,500 That in fact we all are still very much in process that we're on a journey. 68 00:04:51,500 --> 00:04:53,080 We are growing. 69 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:57,120 We are being changed. 70 00:04:57,120 --> 00:04:59,920 A spiritual journey requires some things. 71 00:04:59,920 --> 00:05:06,600 It requires first of all that we discover with others, not alone. 72 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:12,200 You see, God has made us this way that we need to connect with other people. 73 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:14,020 He has not made us to be lone rangers. 74 00:05:14,020 --> 00:05:16,760 God has made us to need others in our lives. 75 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:21,940 And it reminds me to say to you once more as we said in the announcement that next Sunday 76 00:05:21,940 --> 00:05:29,900 at 1045 in room 214 up here in the educational part of our campus, it's going to be my privilege 77 00:05:29,900 --> 00:05:35,040 to meet with all of you who are new to Venture Church. 78 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:36,760 We want to have a let's get acquainted time. 79 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:41,960 It's going to be very informal, no pressure, just an opportunity to get acquainted and 80 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:44,280 to have some Q&A together. 81 00:05:44,280 --> 00:05:50,240 So I hope that you'll join me up there because you see we need one another on this journey. 82 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:52,640 A journey also requires that we're real. 83 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:58,260 Not that I mean that we're authentic. 84 00:05:58,260 --> 00:06:03,460 It doesn't take very long in life to learn that we need to build defenses around us. 85 00:06:03,460 --> 00:06:05,640 Would you agree with that? 86 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:09,640 Even as a child I learned I needed to defend myself. 87 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:14,280 The first time I really remember this is after my father died when I was eight years of age. 88 00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:19,320 I needed to defend myself in certain ways and build walls so that I wouldn't get hurt 89 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:23,600 like that again if I could ever help it. 90 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:31,600 And we learn as we grow up to put masks in place because we're afraid. 91 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:38,600 A spiritual journey requires that we begin to take the masks off, that we be real with 92 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:44,180 God and we be real with one another, that we let God know really what's on the inside 93 00:06:44,180 --> 00:06:46,400 of us, not try to pretend. 94 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:50,920 I mean after all God knows anyway, doesn't he? 95 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:53,600 So we might as well be honest with him. 96 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:57,760 And we need to find some people that we can be honest with. 97 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:04,760 One of our goals here at Venture is to make this a safe place so that you can find a place 98 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:10,520 where it's safe for you to be who you are. 99 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:12,520 We're on a spiritual journey together. 100 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:16,900 You know God has put a universal desire in all of our hearts. 101 00:07:16,900 --> 00:07:23,200 That desire is that we all want to be a part of something that matters. 102 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:26,920 I've known a lot of people in my life and I've yet to meet a single person who said 103 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:28,320 I just want to blow my life. 104 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:31,840 I want to end my life living for nothing. 105 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:34,240 I've never met a single person like that. 106 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:40,240 Now some people have lived their lives that way but not because they intended to. 107 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:45,320 It was the consequence of the decisions they made in the journey. 108 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:50,480 We all want to be a part of something that is significant and that matters. 109 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:58,960 I believe that growing into a real community of Christ followers on a lifelong journey 110 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:04,040 is something that matters and it matters forever. 111 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:08,920 That's what we're here to talk about today is being a part of that journey. 112 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:10,700 We invite you to join with us in it. 113 00:08:10,700 --> 00:08:13,080 We want this to be that kind of a place. 114 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:17,440 Pastor Dave is my co-pastor here. 115 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:20,480 Come on up here and tell us what kind of a place this is. 116 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:22,440 You've got some neat ways of putting it. 117 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:23,440 Thanks Galen. 118 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:25,840 Listen some of you are probably saying what in the world is this guy doing sitting up 119 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:26,840 there on a stool? 120 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:30,520 Well listen, Galen our co-pastor is here at the church. 121 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:35,200 He usually preaches at the 8 and 9.15 hour and I preach at the Saturday night service 122 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:37,160 at 5 and then at 10.45 hour. 123 00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:39,280 He explains some of the differences between them. 124 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:41,360 There is a way to tell us apart. 125 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:45,760 I'm the one that has the solar power spot on the back of his head. 126 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:51,280 I have baby oil on it today so I can get a tan off of this new screen that we have going 127 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:54,880 here. 128 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:58,400 Listen we believe that God's house ought to be just filled with joy and laughter. 129 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:02,000 But if you take a look at your outline, we've got a lot of other things. 130 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:03,720 What kind of place do we want to be? 131 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:05,040 What kind of place do we want to be? 132 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:10,320 Now listen, I've spent several hours this week with technicians from Dallas trying to 133 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:14,240 get a PDA that I have functioning again because it went haywire. 134 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:18,760 And I had a guy say to me about 10 o'clock the other night, well pastor there's something 135 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:21,680 corrupted in your files. 136 00:09:21,680 --> 00:09:22,920 Well I knew that already. 137 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:28,360 How many of you have ever known anybody with a corrupted attitude? 138 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:30,880 And I find out if I'm that careful I can get one. 139 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:34,400 So when we're talking about a church place, look at the first one, we want to be a place 140 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:36,440 where positive attitudes are developed. 141 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:40,120 There's enough negativity in the world, doesn't need to come from here. 142 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:43,240 There's another thing, we want to be a place where good people become better. 143 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:47,240 Now somebody's going to say, well I thought the church talked about sinners and all that. 144 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:49,800 Well we are and you're going to hear Galen talk about that. 145 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:54,520 But if you take a look in the scriptures, it says that God created, and after He created 146 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:59,760 everything which included man and woman, He said that this is good. 147 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:05,180 There's a goodness that God has placed within us, but in some of us it's gone dormant. 148 00:10:05,180 --> 00:10:09,160 We see it in movies like Snow White and so forth. 149 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:10,720 Remember the story of Snow White? 150 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:13,280 She dies because she ate the forbidden what? 151 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:15,320 You know the poison apple? 152 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:19,720 And then she's laid out in a glass coffin because her beauty still remained until the 153 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:24,400 prince came and kissed her and she came alive again with the beauty that God intended for 154 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:25,440 her to have. 155 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:31,240 On the other side of that you see where you have the princes kissing the what? 156 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:32,240 The frog. 157 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:34,580 The men are always the frogs. 158 00:10:34,580 --> 00:10:38,640 And all of a sudden the frog is released to live the life that he was intended to live. 159 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:43,280 We believe that when we get connected with God, the goodness of God is released within 160 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:44,280 us. 161 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:46,040 Here's the third thing we want you to see is simply this. 162 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:48,280 This is a place where hurts are healed. 163 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:50,880 Now we've got to get honest about this. 164 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:52,560 Everybody has hurts. 165 00:10:52,560 --> 00:10:55,620 Everybody has scars including the Lord Jesus Christ. 166 00:10:55,620 --> 00:10:58,740 Nobody gets out of this life without scars. 167 00:10:58,740 --> 00:11:03,980 Sometimes our scars are self-inflicted and other times they're inflicted upon us. 168 00:11:03,980 --> 00:11:08,080 But this place is a healing place where God comes and begins to heal the soul. 169 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:14,620 And because he begins to heal the soul, he begins to heal all of life around us. 170 00:11:14,620 --> 00:11:17,080 This is a place where friendships are developed. 171 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:22,560 And may I say to you not just short, shallow friendships but long-term friendships. 172 00:11:22,560 --> 00:11:26,720 Matter of fact, if the person who's sitting next to you and if you are a Christian, then 173 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:29,300 that person is your brother and sister in Christ. 174 00:11:29,300 --> 00:11:30,940 They are your brother and sister in Christ. 175 00:11:30,940 --> 00:11:32,160 They are your friend. 176 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:34,480 But they are not just your earthly friend. 177 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:38,800 They will be the friend that you live in heaven with forever and ever. 178 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:45,120 So why don't you take a look at the person next to you and say, you are my forever friend. 179 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:47,040 Because these are the people we're going to live with forever. 180 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:50,880 These are the people we're going to be around with in heaven and heaven and heaven forever 181 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:52,640 and ever and ever. 182 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:56,240 Now the next thing we need to see is that this is a place where marriages are strengthened. 183 00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:58,040 It's been married 42 years. 184 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:00,160 Now I say this quite openly. 185 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:08,000 Been married 42 years, been married happily for 35 years. 186 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:09,360 You get my drift? 187 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:11,720 Listen, marriage is God's idea. 188 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:14,560 We're a little confused about that in this state. 189 00:12:14,560 --> 00:12:17,480 But marriage is God's idea. 190 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:23,040 Okay? 191 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:27,640 But when we say marriage is God's idea, we know that Satan's job is to try to undo what 192 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:29,600 God calls good. 193 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:32,320 So don't be surprised that you have difficulties in your marriage. 194 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:36,040 Don't be surprised that the enemy, as we call them, Satan comes against us. 195 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:40,120 Because the enemy is about trying to destroy everything that God has put together for our 196 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:41,120 good. 197 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:42,120 He put together marriage for our good. 198 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:43,280 Satan's trying to destroy it. 199 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:44,280 What's the job of the church? 200 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,600 We're at a place that we want to strengthen your marriage and say hang in there. 201 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:51,600 God's got a plan for you, not only for eternity, but right now in the midst of your family. 202 00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:55,720 I can say that better after 42 years of marriage. 203 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:59,780 You know, there were those times when I would roll over in bed and put my arm around my 204 00:12:59,780 --> 00:13:03,960 wife and say, God, thank you for the greatest gift you've ever given to me. 205 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:07,100 And there are those times, and I've said it publicly before, where I've gotten bed turned 206 00:13:07,100 --> 00:13:10,560 my back to my wife and said, God, where did you get this woman? 207 00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:11,560 Okay? 208 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:14,640 She said the same thing about me, and we're honest about that. 209 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:18,920 But yet God, after 42 years of marriage, binds us together in the goodness of his love. 210 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:21,480 Here's the other thing you need to see, which is where families are bonded. 211 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:23,880 And I have three children. 212 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:25,100 I can call them child. 213 00:13:25,100 --> 00:13:27,280 They can call me dad. 214 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:28,880 But there's something else about that. 215 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:33,760 Because they have given their life to Jesus, each of my sons are also my brothers in Christ, 216 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:36,280 and my daughter is my sister in Christ. 217 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:40,160 There's something that's happened to us together as a family as we've ministered together, 218 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:43,040 prayed around our table, and asked God to bless our home. 219 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:46,480 And our family has become sweeter and better because of it. 220 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:48,560 Now let me ask you, how many of you ladies are married? 221 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:49,560 Can I see your hands? 222 00:13:49,560 --> 00:13:52,400 Okay, now I'm going to ask you the next question. 223 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:56,720 How many of you have a remote control in your home for your TV? 224 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:00,400 Now the next question, how many of you have husbands that drive you crazy with it? 225 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:04,680 Okay, now listen, there's a restlessness in life. 226 00:14:04,680 --> 00:14:07,480 There's a restlessness in life. 227 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:11,200 If a man gets a remote, you see the restlessness. 228 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:17,200 My wife says to me, keep it somewhere. 229 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:22,520 Just click it somewhere and stay more than 30 seconds. 230 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:26,720 Right now, that whole thing says to us that there's a restlessness in our life. 231 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:31,320 And here's what I know, the Bible says to me that God gives to me a peace that passes 232 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:32,680 all understanding. 233 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:38,080 And I need that peace because there are things that come into my life that spark my restlessness. 234 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:42,960 And unless God is there, I'll wonder and I'll wonder and I'll wonder. 235 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:48,680 Instead of journeying into his arms and finding the peace that only he can give to me. 236 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:50,480 What's the next thing, kind of church we want to be? 237 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:52,080 Well, we want to be a place where love is alive. 238 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:57,080 Well, we just don't talk about God's love, but where God's love is demonstrated and people 239 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:00,080 are blessed because they come into God's house. 240 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:03,160 Here's the other thing that we say, we want to be a place where God is understood. 241 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:07,760 Now let me be very, very candid about this. 242 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:12,920 We have both taken time to get educated in scripture, in the Bible. 243 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:16,040 We both have our academic degrees. 244 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:21,440 And we have taken years of our life to set a study time aside just so we can grow on 245 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:23,120 God's word. 246 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:27,600 And I have to tell you, it would not be difficult for either one of us to get up here on the 247 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:32,080 weekend and to give to you what I call a Bible history lesson. 248 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:36,960 That would be easy for us to do, but you'd walk away with some good history and what 249 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:38,580 else. 250 00:15:38,580 --> 00:15:42,880 And so what we try to do every weekend is to answer the question, so what? 251 00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:44,440 That's what the Bible says. 252 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:46,000 And here's the question, so what? 253 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,180 What does it mean to my life today? 254 00:15:49,180 --> 00:15:59,000 To know about God, but not to know God is something we don't want to have happen. 255 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:02,720 So when we preach and teach, we want to tell you what the Bible says, but yet in a way 256 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:07,640 that we can get a handle on it and know that we know God better because of the things that 257 00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:10,520 we read together in His word. 258 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:14,040 Here's the other thing, type of church we want to be, we want to be a place where Jesus 259 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:15,040 Christ is Lord. 260 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:18,640 Well, somebody says, well, what do you mean, Jesus Christ is Lord? 261 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:24,440 Listen, I can say an awful lot about that, but let me simplify it by saying it this way. 262 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:31,580 Of all the people who've ever lived and walked on the face of the earth, Jesus is the person 263 00:16:31,580 --> 00:16:35,760 that we need to listen to and follow. 264 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:41,120 He is the most significant person who's ever been on the face of the earth. 265 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:48,880 And when I listen to Him and follow Him, make Him the Lord of my life, He reconnects me 266 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:56,240 with God, Creator, my eternal Father, that I might have relationship for Him now and 267 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:57,240 forever. 268 00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:00,160 Listen, we call that life transformation. 269 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:04,520 And I want you to turn your attention now to the screens because we have a testimony 270 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:16,960 for you. 271 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:17,960 Ron and I met in high school. 272 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:24,960 We dated a couple of years, got married, moved around a lot because he was in the military 273 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:32,680 and settled here in 1978. 274 00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:38,880 He moved here in 78 because Ron got hired after getting out of the military. 275 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:42,360 He got hired by IBM. 276 00:17:42,360 --> 00:17:52,240 And we started getting involved in activities to do here in the Bay Area, hiking and biking, 277 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:55,840 snow skiing, winter sports. 278 00:17:55,840 --> 00:18:03,160 And we were training to climb Half Dome in 2006. 279 00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:13,040 And July 3rd, my world changed. 280 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:26,560 July 3rd, 2006, I woke up to the alarm clock and my husband didn't, he had died in his 281 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:27,560 sleep. 282 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:35,200 Ron and I have been together 36 years. 283 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:40,760 And I found myself alone for the first time, really alone. 284 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:49,840 I mean, we'd been apart because of trips or things, work related things. 285 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:56,600 And I found myself sleeping downstairs because we didn't want to go back upstairs. 286 00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:05,360 And it was difficult to go back into the bedroom. 287 00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:18,160 You're putting one foot in front of the other and getting through planning a funeral, making 288 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:19,640 arrangements. 289 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:24,600 And God putting the people, the high people in your life to help you do what you need 290 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:29,440 to do to get through each day. 291 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:43,320 And as I'm trying to adjust to life anew, I wanted to find a church family. 292 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:46,760 I'm grateful. 293 00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:54,600 I know that all my needs are being met. 294 00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:55,600 All my needs are being met. 295 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:56,600 God's got a plan. 296 00:19:56,600 --> 00:20:03,600 I'm still trying to live each day, one day at a time. 297 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:10,240 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to cross for you and not to 298 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:14,880 harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 299 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:15,880 This is my story. 300 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:16,880 This is my life. 301 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:17,880 And I thank God for every part of it. 302 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:18,880 Amen. 303 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:29,960 All right, thank you. 304 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:30,960 You may be seated. 305 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:31,960 Thank you, Stephane. 306 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:32,960 Praise God. 307 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:37,440 You know, the reason we were in a hurry to get up here is because that slide that said 308 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:43,620 real people with real stories building real community, that testimony that Eva gave to 309 00:20:43,620 --> 00:20:46,640 us is just a wonderful example of that. 310 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:48,880 She's right here in the choir this morning. 311 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:50,280 Eva, God bless you. 312 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:54,960 Thank you for sharing with us. 313 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:56,560 And folks, that's what it's all about. 314 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:58,340 We're in this journey together. 315 00:20:58,340 --> 00:21:01,140 We need each other. 316 00:21:01,140 --> 00:21:03,400 We need each other on the journey. 317 00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:06,600 Our vision is to build that kind of a church. 318 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:10,120 But we have a message, we declare, as we're with Jesus. 319 00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:14,240 In Mark chapter 1, you'll notice there's another verse we read from verse 38. 320 00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:17,760 It says, Jesus replied, let us go somewhere else. 321 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:20,440 Notice, let us go. 322 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:23,240 He's journeying together with his followers. 323 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:28,260 Let us go somewhere else to the nearby villages so I can preach there also. 324 00:21:28,260 --> 00:21:32,520 That is why I have come. 325 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:38,800 As we journey, we, like Jesus, have a message to share. 326 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:43,600 And that message is that God wants everyone to know Him. 327 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:45,720 God wants everyone to know Him. 328 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:48,320 He loves all people. 329 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:50,500 God is not hiding somewhere in His universe. 330 00:21:50,500 --> 00:21:57,960 God is all the time communicating His glory, even in languages that have no vocabulary, 331 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:00,440 like in the heavens displaying His glory. 332 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:06,920 But God wants a people to articulate His love and His truth to others. 333 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:09,400 And that's why we're here. 334 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:13,760 You'll notice that we are this weekend talking a lot about global outreach. 335 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:16,200 We have a man who's heading off to Africa tomorrow. 336 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:20,920 And in the month of October, as a congregation, we're going to celebrate reaching out to other 337 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:23,640 nations of the world. 338 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:28,720 Whether it be in other cultures or be right here at home, as we do in our school ministry, 339 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:34,240 in our sports ministry, and so many other ways, we as a congregation know we have a 340 00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:35,440 message to declare. 341 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:38,560 We want to help other people come to know God. 342 00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:41,200 Now, what does it mean to know God? 343 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:48,920 To know God is much more than to know about God, as if God could be somehow condensed 344 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:55,800 into a theology class or a subject or a topic to be mastered. 345 00:22:55,800 --> 00:23:03,800 What it means to know God is to have a relationship with God, a relationship. 346 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:11,360 We want to help everyone come to experience God in their own lives. 347 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:17,560 This relationship that we can have with God is a relationship that is based upon love, 348 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:18,980 His great love for us. 349 00:23:18,980 --> 00:23:24,520 The Bible tells us that God loves all the world, all people everywhere. 350 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:31,000 As someone has said, if God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. 351 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:32,520 Because you're precious to Him. 352 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:34,480 He loves you. 353 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:35,760 That's why He created you. 354 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:40,140 You were created to know God and to enjoy Him. 355 00:23:40,140 --> 00:23:42,680 That's your purpose. 356 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:48,080 So what is it that prevents this love relationship with God? 357 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:50,080 All people have it. 358 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:57,560 It's because of that innate human desire to be boss of our own lives. 359 00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:00,720 We all want to be in charge. 360 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:05,640 We want to be in control of our lives, not God. 361 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:08,680 That's what the Bible calls sin. 362 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:16,960 And it is that desire, that self-centeredness, that self-focus that all of us have. 363 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:22,800 It is that which separates us from God and places our spiritual journey and our ultimate 364 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:27,280 destiny in terrible jeopardy. 365 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:32,240 God tells us in His word that He pursues us. 366 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:38,480 He relentlessly pursues you. 367 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:44,860 Jesus said, I have come to seek and to save those who are lost. 368 00:24:44,860 --> 00:24:51,520 He came to personally, Jesus came to personally show us God through His life and His works 369 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:59,440 and then to provide our reconnection to God through His death and resurrection. 370 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:06,520 The Bible says that even while we were still sinners, while we were very much self-focused, 371 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:10,800 God demonstrated His love for us in this way. 372 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:15,840 Christ died for us. 373 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:23,480 Your spiritual journey brought you here today to this service, to this campus. 374 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:26,920 It's no accident that you're here. 375 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:32,040 Today you can begin a new chapter of your spiritual journey, a whole new direction in 376 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:36,400 it if you will become a follower of Jesus Christ. 377 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:39,040 And that's what we invite you to do. 378 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:43,920 No matter where you've come from, no matter who you are, God loves you. 379 00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:53,200 When Jesus extends the call to you and He says, come, follow me and I will make you. 380 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:55,160 I don't know what He wants to make you. 381 00:25:55,160 --> 00:26:01,720 I don't know how He wants to form your life and use you, but He does. 382 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:11,280 I hope that you will join us on this spiritual journey to know God personally and more deeply 383 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:15,760 and then to make Him known to others as well. 384 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:17,800 Pastor Dave, come now and wrap us up. 385 00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:18,800 Thanks, Galen. 386 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:23,600 You know, Galen and I have been in the ministry long enough that we've made a lot of hospital 387 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:24,600 calls. 388 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:26,400 I made one this week. 389 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:29,480 Matter of fact, I made several this week. 390 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:33,680 One was a call to the emergency room over at Santa Teresa to a friend of mine that has 391 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:35,960 been a friend of mine since high school days. 392 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:38,680 And when I got there, he was weak. 393 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:43,560 He'd had pneumonia about a week and a half ago and was still trying to recover from that. 394 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:52,360 And through what I call a whisper of a voice, he just said to me, something's terribly wrong 395 00:26:52,360 --> 00:26:53,360 with my body. 396 00:26:53,360 --> 00:26:57,160 Now, listen, you don't have to look around very far. 397 00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:01,200 You look at 9-11, you look at the corporate greed of Wall Street and the things that we've 398 00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:06,620 been living through the last couple of weeks to know that there's evil in the world. 399 00:27:06,620 --> 00:27:10,480 And there's personal evil within us. 400 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:17,640 Somebody said it this way, everybody has been snake bit talking about Satan, the great serpent. 401 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:21,880 Everybody has some trouble in their life that they brought on themselves by their own bad 402 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:23,720 decisions. 403 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:25,720 But there's some great verses in the Bible. 404 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:28,240 I call them exesketch verses. 405 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:29,240 You know what an exesketch is? 406 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:30,960 You know what I'm talking about? 407 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:34,080 It's where you make an ugly picture and then you do what? 408 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:35,640 You turn it upside down and what? 409 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:37,720 You shake it and you have a do-over. 410 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:42,400 Listen, one of the things that we know about God is that he's the do-over God. 411 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:46,240 We mess up things and he brings forth his forgiveness and he brings life to it. 412 00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:48,080 He's the exesketch God. 413 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:52,840 And what I mean by that is not that he overlooks the things that we do, but he finds a way 414 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:58,240 to bring forgiveness for the things that we do. 415 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:03,960 Because we matter to God and God has chosen to live in relationship with us. 416 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:08,720 One of my favorite stories is a story that comes from a man by the name of Ron Dunn. 417 00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:13,860 Now Ron had a five-year-old boy who was turning six years old and so he said to his soon-to-be 418 00:28:13,860 --> 00:28:18,560 six-year-old son, why don't you select five friends and we'll go out to the amusement 419 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:20,680 park together and we'll celebrate your birthday. 420 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:23,400 And so his son selected five friends. 421 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:28,080 Now one of these amusement parks in Southern California was like the Santa Cruz Boardwalk 422 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:31,760 where you had to buy the individual tickets to be given out. 423 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:36,160 And so when he walked into the park with these kids, he just bought this humongous pile of 424 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:38,440 tickets so they could go all the rides. 425 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:42,320 And you know, some of the rides were two tickets and some were three and some were four. 426 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:46,600 And so he said he had these six kids and every time they get ready to go on a ride, he would 427 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:50,800 be taking off three or four tickets and handing them to each of the kids and they'd go ride 428 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:53,840 that ride and then they'd come off and say, let's take another ride. 429 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:57,880 And he would stand there and he'd pass out three or four tickets to the kids again or 430 00:28:57,880 --> 00:28:58,880 they get on the ride. 431 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:04,400 And he said lunchtime came and they went over and began to eat the hamburgers, the hot dogs, 432 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:07,600 the corn dogs, to find some cotton candy and to do those things. 433 00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:11,840 And in the midst of eating, they began to play with a bunch of the other kids that were 434 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:13,480 having lunch with their families. 435 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:17,160 And when they got ready to go on some more ride, he called his kids together and they 436 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:21,560 went to the next ride and they all lined up and he was passing out tickets. 437 00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:27,000 And as he got to the last one, he packed out some tickets and he stopped for a moment. 438 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:33,040 And he said, I thought I was passing out tickets to six kids. 439 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:36,840 And he realized that he had passed them out to seven. 440 00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:40,880 And so he kind of looked around and he spotted a face that he didn't know and he said to 441 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:44,120 the little boy, he said, who are you? 442 00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:51,940 And the little boy looked up and said, I'm your son's new friend. 443 00:29:51,940 --> 00:29:55,680 And then this little boy looked at him and said, your son told me that if I would be 444 00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:59,680 his friend, his dad would give me tickets for the ride. 445 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:04,360 Now, really, that's part of what we're talking about here. 446 00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:08,200 There's a heavenly ride, begins on earth, takes us all the way to heaven. 447 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:12,920 And because we become a friend of Jesus Christ, God gives us a ticket. 448 00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:15,920 See, there's some people say, well, you're just talking about heaven. 449 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:21,200 You know, there's a country western song out now that says what I've heard people say forever, 450 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:26,280 everybody wants to go to heaven, they just don't want to go now. 451 00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:28,320 Yeah, I am talking about heaven. 452 00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:35,720 But Jesus said this, I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly. 453 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:40,800 That's a here and now thing, that you may have life to its fullness right now in the 454 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:41,800 here and now. 455 00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:45,560 See, heaven begins for us here. 456 00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:50,900 And at the right time, we are translated there. 457 00:30:50,900 --> 00:30:57,520 Because God has a plan for us that begins right here. 458 00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:04,080 But I have to invite Jesus into my life to be my friend. 459 00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:09,400 See, there's some of you here today said, well, you know, maybe I need to think about 460 00:31:09,400 --> 00:31:10,400 that. 461 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:15,520 I've heard about Jesus and I don't really know enough and I would like to know more 462 00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:16,520 about that. 463 00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:20,520 And I have to tell you, Galen and I are available for those conversations and so are other 464 00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:23,960 people on our staff. 465 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:30,880 But may I say to you, some of you, this is your day. 466 00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:34,600 You're not here by accident. 467 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:40,440 God's been talking to you about going to church and getting closer to Him. 468 00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:47,000 God's been warming your heart with His love and somehow that motivated you to get out 469 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:53,280 of your bed today and to get here this morning because today is your day. 470 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:58,080 Today is the day where God wants you to say, yes, I want Jesus to be my friend and I want 471 00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:03,560 you, God, to be my Father forever and ever and ever and I want to sit at your table in 472 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:05,680 heaven someday. 473 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:12,360 See, God loves the world, but just as Galen said, if God had a refrigerator, your picture 474 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:13,360 would be on it. 475 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:21,800 God knows you by name and He's inviting you by name to be His forever child. 476 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:24,600 Somebody says, well, how do you do that? 477 00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:27,920 Well, you tell Jesus that you want to be His friend. 478 00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:28,920 That's how you start. 479 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:34,040 And you tell God that you want Him to be your forever Father. 480 00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:36,160 And you can do that just while you're looking up here. 481 00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:38,400 You don't have to close your eyes or anything. 482 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:43,120 All you have to say in the depth of your heart is, dear Jesus, I want you to be my forever 483 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:45,760 friend and I want your Father to be my forever Father. 484 00:32:45,760 --> 00:32:54,400 And if you'll just start right there and take a step of faith, God will meet you there. 485 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:58,120 But it's a conscious decision by faith. 486 00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:03,640 I want Jesus to be my Lord, my Savior, my forever friend. 487 00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:06,960 And I want God to be my God. 488 00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:11,440 And for some of you, today's your day. 489 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:15,880 God has opened the door and He's asking you to walk through it. 490 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:21,520 Now listen, one of the ways that we celebrate being children of God in the life of our church 491 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:25,120 is through what we call the Lord's Supper. 492 00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:27,720 Some groups call it the Eucharist. 493 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:31,240 Some other people call it the Communion Service. 494 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:37,120 It's where you eat a piece of bread and drink some grape juice or some wine and you are 495 00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:43,240 reminded that you have become a friend of God through Jesus Christ and that God has 496 00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:46,400 a place setting waiting for you at the table. 497 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:48,080 Let me ask you a question. 498 00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:50,960 How many of you home have your place to sit at the table? 499 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:53,520 You do, don't you? 500 00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:56,400 God has a place for you to sit at the table. 501 00:33:56,400 --> 00:34:01,480 And one of the ways that we remind ourselves about that is through what we call the taking 502 00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:02,480 of the Lord's Supper. 503 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:07,160 Galen is going to come and talk more about that and then we are going to receive the 504 00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:09,160 Lord's Supper this morning. 505 00:34:09,160 --> 00:34:10,160 Galen? 506 00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:18,480 In this service we remember Jesus in a special way each week. 507 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:22,760 And what we do is to pass the trays and we invite you if you are a follower of Jesus 508 00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:27,760 or if today you want to become a follower of Jesus, we invite you to take a piece of 509 00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:33,280 the bread and one of the cups and hold it and pass the tray on to some others. 510 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:38,800 Then to spend a few minutes reflecting and thinking when you are ready to partake and 511 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:40,400 remember Him. 512 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:43,600 The usher is going to distribute the elements and I am going to pray right now. 513 00:34:43,600 --> 00:34:51,020 Father, I pray that as we remember Jesus together that in a very wonderful way the Savior would 514 00:34:51,020 --> 00:34:54,120 draw close to each of us. 515 00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:59,480 And as we remember the price that Jesus paid on the cross to sacrifice, may our hearts be 516 00:34:59,480 --> 00:35:04,440 broken and may we be drawn to Him afresh and anew. 517 00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:25,480 Amen.