*** >> You'll find links to our worship services, Bible study options, online giving; and our new podcast, Anchor Point. You can also download our church app. Just search "First Colony Church of Christ" in the App Store or on Google Play. Every link is there. The app is a great resource where you can stay connected to First Colony Church. Anchor Point is our new podcast. We are posting a new episode every weekday. In addition to finding our podcast on our website and the church app, you can find it across all podcasting platforms. Our Children's Ministry is posting a weekly kids' online Bible lesson. Be sure to check that out. And our Student Ministry is creating lots of daily content on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Be sure to follow them. Thank you for joining us online today. We are glad you're here. >> Thank you for joining us online today. We want to let you know about a few items of interest. First, go to our website, firstcolonychurch.org, and go there often. We have a unique page dedicated to resources for you during this season. You'll find links to our worship services, Bible study options, online giving; and our new podcast, Anchor Point. You can also download our church app. Just search for "First Colony Church of Christ" in the App Store or on Google Play. Every link is there. The app is a get resource where you can stay connected to First Colony Church. Anchor Point is our new podcast. We are posting a new episode every weekday. In addition to finding our podcast on our website and the church app, you can find it across all podcasting platforms. Our Children's Ministry is posting a weekly kids' online Bible lesson. Be sure to check that out. And our Student Ministry is creating lots of daily content on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Be sure to follow them. Thank you for joining us online today. We are glad you're here. >> Shane: Welcome to the live worship services of the First Colony Church of Christ! (Cheers and applause) Welcome in the house and welcome online! We're so glad you're here with us today because this is the day the Lord has made, so let us rejoice and be glad in it. In the house, come on, let's stand and sing together! >> Richard: Let's stand and give God His praise! He is worthy! He alone is worthy! ("Only King Forever" playing) >> Richard: Here we go! >> Richard: That's Who we trust! >> Richard: Did you hear that? Forevermore! He is victorious! (Applause) There's not a moment when our God is not in charge that He is still King of Earth. He is the King of Kings, Lord of Lords; and the Way, Truth, and the Life. ("The Way" playing) >> Richard: How many of you believe that this morning? He is the Way, the Truth and the Life! (Applause) Come on up, Joel. >> Joel: Well, guys and girls, you can have a seat. It's so good to see you all here today. You know, if there was a theme Bible verse for Children's Ministry it would be 1 Timothy 4:12. Really quick, we'll start this off with 1 Timothy 4:12. (Video playing) ? ? Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young ? ? But set an example for the believers ? ? Don't let anyone look down on you ? ? Because you are young ? ? But set an example for the believers ? ? In speech in life, in love ? ? In faith and in purity, in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity ? ? 1 Timothy 4:12 ? >> Joel: All right! Well, that is my goal, is that young people would have the opportunity to set an example in speech and purity and faith. So people ask me. They said, "Okay, Joel, when you come up with an object lesson, how do you do it?" Well, I don't know. Sometimes I search the Internet and look for other people, but this particular one I went to the dollar store in Grapewood -- which better than my closer dollar store -- and I saw these rings. I'm like, "Sweet! There's rings! I wonder what they do!" And as I played with it, these rings are really cool; and it's interesting. I'm going to use these rings to illustrate an example of sin. And sin is anything we think, do, or say that's wrong that hurts God. The problem is that sin may look like something really small, but it entraps you. And that's where things get difficult. So this is a trap. It wasn't made to be a trap, but it works like a trap so check this out. I bet you didn't see that coming. It is springs on whatever walks right through it. Now, it's interesting -- as people going through life, we get trapped by sin. It sticks around. It hangs. And imagine someone covered in traps of sin. It becomes harder to run. It becomes harder to get away, and you're just completely entrapped by these rings. Well, in the same way as a Christian, Jesus has paid our penalty, and when we turn and follow Him, He takes those sins on Himself, and we are able to live freely. We're able to do the right thing in speech, and life and love and life and faith and purity. My phrase is how can a young man keep his way pure, how can a young woman keep her way pure? By keeping it according to God's Word. That's our prayer, we would walk a life worthy of our calling by keeping our lives according to God's Word. Thank you very much. >> Shane: Thank you, Joel. For those at home, it's time to gather for your communion supplies if you have not yet done so. If you're here and didn't get supplies on the way in, on the tables in the back of the room are supply. When you're done in the building, just put your cups back into the little bag they came in, and when you leave, you can put them in the basket upon each row or in trash cans in the back. When you're done, you can just discard of those in the bags. We'll focus on what Jesus has done for us because we're here. He has given us life and freedom and grace. Pete and Missy Edgmon will lead us. Thanks, guys. >> Missy: Yes, thank you for joining us. I'm Missy and this is my husband Pete. I will pray for the communion and he will have Scripture. Please pray with me. Holy Father, thank you so much for how You care for us so carefully, and You know we are people who have short memories. So You have told us to come together and remember regularly what Your Son has done for us. So we're obeying today and we're coming together and we're remembering the life Jesus live and He obeyed everything You told him to do all the way up to giving His body to death on a cross. He didn't fight back against the injustice of it, but He absorbed all of the punishment of the sin each one of us deserved. He spilled His blood out for us, which was an acceptable sacrifice to You so we could have His righteousness. Thank You, God. Thank You for Jesus. He's worthy of us to remember. He's worthy to be our Lord. He's worthy of our obedience. It's in His Name we pray; amen. >> Pete: Today I will be reading from 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, verses 12-15. The Scripture will be on the screen for you to follow along. >> Missy: Now we can take our communion together. ("Rescue Story" playing) (Applause) >> Shane: Amen! Wow, what a fantastic song. Jesus is our Rescue, amen, church? You guys can have a seat. Scott Wolfe, a member of our Finance Team, will lead us in our offering. >> Scott: Good morning. Before we have the prayer for the offering, I just wanted to say thank you. Your continued generosity and your faithful stewardship is so encouraging. Through good times and bad times, your genius spirit continues to shine through. Just know you are making a kingdom impact in impacting lives so thank you for your partnership in this ministry. There are couple of ways available to give this morning. At each door of the Worship Center, there is a secure box labeled that will accept your contribution. You can also text to give or give online. Those are both safe and secure. So let's go to our Father in prayer. Heavenly, wonderful Father, we acknowledge this morning that every good and perfect gift and blessing comes from You. Lord, we ask Your oversight on our giving, that it may advance Your kingdom and Your church. In Christ's Name, amen. >> Shane: Amen! I have two quick things I want to bring to your attention this morning. First is exciting news the women's Bible studies group begin meeting this Sunday, both online and in person right here in this building. We're using same guidelines as today. To register and get the information you need, go to the home page of firstcolonychurch.org. You will see a link for Women's Ministry. In fact, on our home page is a link to the fall events and will find out all act our fall events and connection points, things you can get involved in this fall. Right on the home page of firstcolonychurch.org, check that out. Also exciting for me is to kind of say and let you know our Foster Creek campus is reopening next Sunday, okay, so I'm happy we will do that next week. Take note: this will be a 6:00 p.m. service and outside worship service in the evening on Sunday night. We'll have live worship. We'll have live preaching. Ronnie will be there next Sunday night. All under the beautiful trees we have at Foster Creek in the shade, enjoying time for fellowship together so if that is a great solution for you and your family, and you want to come to outside worship on a Sunday evening, come with us next Sunday night. It happens to be Foster Creek's five-year anniversary next Sunday so that's pretty cool. (Applause) Yeah. So here in the house, it's time for you to stand and we're going to greet one another and give a loving, welcoming socially distant wave, okay! And at home, go ahead and get that coffee or whatever you need, but come back quick because we'll sing again real soon. ("Jailbreak" playing) >> Richard: Here we go! >> Richard: Thank you for your worship! You may be seated. (Video playing) >> God. The earth, the moon, the sun; the stars. The oceans. The mountains. The trees that grow beside the waters. The animals that come to the stream to drink. It's all Your work. You have created it. You gave us the sun, which marks the days; and the moon that marks the months. In it all fits together like the workings of a clock. Then You gave us the ability to care for it all. You gave us the chance to care for each other. There is so much work to do, God. Help us to remember we do the work for You. If we cooked, let us cook as though Your Son will be a guest at the table. If we paint, let us paint as though the picture will hang in Your house. If we clean, let us clean as if Your angels are coming to our home to dance. We will keep You in mind, God, in all things in all we do. When we labor and when we rest, You created and You took a break. We will take this day and stop. We will breathe. We will appreciate the gifts You have given us -- our hands; our feet; our minds; our hearts. We will look around and see our lives as a gift. We will be grateful for the jobs we have. We will pray for those who cannot find work. We will reach out a hand to help those who cannot help themselves. We will be grateful for this day, this moment set aside to say thank You to the One who began a good work and continues that work in us. Amen. >> Ronnie: Hello, and good morning to those watching our online service. Welcome! For those in the room, I'm so glad to see you. Welcome! Welcome, welcome. It's Labor Day weekend, and we love to hear from you. You can communicate with us via that Connection card that is right there on your livestream page or on your church app. Let us know what is going on. We're not good mind readers, but we would love to hear from you, and it would be our joy to pray for you so just let us know, please. In our teaching time, we're continuing. We're almost through this New Testament book of 1 Thessalonians, and the title of today's message is Real Relationships. Real relationships -- not phony ones, not fake ones, not relationships that are photo-shopped; but real relationships. I mean, let's just be straightforward: relationships, people can be both exhausting and exhilarating; both fulfilling and frustrating; and some of your greatest joys in life will come through relationships. And some of your greatest pain in life will come through relationships. Relationships are real and messy, and the Bible speaks to that. And as believers, we have fantastic resources to help us in our relationships. We march to a different Drummer, and His Name is Jesus. I have two simple points. The first point is follow the leaders. The second point coming up here in just a bit is love the followers. First of all, follow the leaders. We're in 1 Thessalonians 5, verses 12-15. Here we go. Let me stop right there. This is a reminder that he's not speaking to people in the world. There are lot of people out there that don't welcome Jesus. They don't welcome the Scriptures. They don't welcome the Holy Spirit. But you do. You're in Christ; you welcome Jesus; you welcome the Holy Spirit. You welcome the way of Christ. And he says, "Now we ask you, brothers and sisters." (Continuing to read) That's a pretty good description of a church leader. What do they do? They should work hard among you. They should care for you -- not just as a number but a name and a person -- work hard among you, care for you, and admonish you. Sometimes have a conversation that people would just assume not have. You just sort of -- you know, sometimes a church leader has to say, "Hey, why don't we go here instead of there? Why don't we do this or make this choice instead of that choice?" That's what church leaders do. He says here, "I need you as a believer to protect the ecology of your church. I need you as a Christian to protect the ecology, the environment, the atmosphere of your church." And here's something that can just wreck a church, and that is when you declare open season on your church leaders. And you don't recognize and have a spirit of honor and followership -- now, listen, he's not saying here that you create a celebrity culture or there's unquestioning allegiance. To the contrary. In fact, elsewhere Scripture talk about church leaders need to meet certain qualifications and held accountable and people need to pay attention. Sometimes -- here's a quote from Scripture -- you can have a wolf in sheep's clothing. If you're not paying attention, you get that wolf in sheep's clothing. If you have good leaders among you and they're trying and legitimately care for you and work among you, acknowledge that. Verse 13 -- (reading). He said, so hold them in higher regard. Again, as a church leader, I fully acknowledge that I disappoint people. Every church leader will disappoint you at some point. I know of a church leader who sometimes -- when this person travels and somebody said, "Well, Hey, what do you do? What's your job?" He will say, "My job is I disappoint people for a living." That's what I do. I disappoint people for a living. I get that. But if you can only be led and nurtured by an absolutely perfect leader, everybody's in trouble. There is only One Chief Shepherd, and that is Jesus. And all of us are seeking to imitate Him. So leaders -- he says leaders need to lead well. You need to care. You need to work hard at this time. But all the leadership in the world cannot lead folks who are resistant and who seek to contaminate the environment, the ecology, the atmosphere of a church. He said, live in peace with one another and protect that atmosphere and environment. We'll have to work at that over time. We just well. You know why we have to work at it? Because you people are not normal. You're not normal like me. I'm normal. The rest of you are just not normal like me. It's easy for me to love if I can just find lovable people like me. The problem is you think that I'm not normal like you. You know, it's easy -- if I'm at the house and let's say Martha is away for a bit, maybe running an errand -- when she's not at the house, I get it just the way I want it. I can set the thermostat just the way I like it. I set it is on 72. Martha would like to set it on 62. Honestly, she'd like to set it on 52, but it won't quite go that far. So when she's not there, I can set the thermostat just the way I like it and turn on the music and I can have the volume JUST the way I like it. I would have it at a seven on a scale of ten, maybe an eight. But when she comes back and she shows up, she complicates things. Just does. I heard of one church a few year ago that got tired of people complaining of thermostats and installed thermostats not attached to a thing. "You want it up? There you go." What happens in a church is I have to realize that, yes, I count; but you're not just the blurry periphery. And if we're going to have a church that lives in peace with one another, we have to acknowledge that other people exist; that we have conversations and we have compromises and we give and take. Peacemaking never comes as easy as trouble-making, and that's why the Bible will say, as far as it depends on you. You can't control other people. As far as it depends on you, live at peace with one another. In other words, he said, "Ronnie, let there always be, as far as YOU'RE concerned, a reconciling spirit." We can do this, everybody. I got to tell you, you know, over the years the Lord has blessed us with, I think, a very healthy ecology and atmosphere and environment. Never take it for granted and always protect it. All right, so he says, follow your leaders. But now he will say, love the followers, your fellow followers here. Verses 14 and 15. Let me pause for a moment. You and you. He's not speaking to the elders. He's speaking to you and me. Listen carefully: he's putting the responsibility for the church on the church. As a church leader, I have extra responsibility, but you have responsibility, too. As for YOU, brothers and sisters -- again, people who welcome the Lordship of Jesus; people who welcome the way of Christ. He says, here's how I need you relating to different segments of the church. First of all, you need to warn those who are idle and disruptive. Warn them. Warn those who are irresponsible and irritable, unnecessarily; that you need to take that on yourself to sometimes be willing for people that you know in your circle to have a conversation you assume not have and to step into that difficult conversation that you prefer to avoid. You know, many times in a church, problems arise not because somebody's been too mean but because they have been too nice. And you will find yourself in a situation where one of your friends may be engaging in something that is just unhealthy, personally unhealthy to them -- maybe relationally unhealthy. I hope you will go to that person directly, that you will put it on the line; and say, "Look, I care about you and others that are influenced by you.. I care about you and treasure our friendship, and I know I'm not perfect, and I might have a blind spot here in this situation; but it look to me like you're walking in a direction that is just not healthy. And I just don't think -- are you sure that you really want to go there? Are you sure you want to leave that kind of legacy? Are you sure that is how you want to be known, that you want that coming from your lips? Are you sure that's where you want to go?" He said sometimes we have to warn those who are just irresponsible and unnecessarily irritable. That person who is just passive aggressive or critical or negative -- listen, there's a time for constructive criticism, legitimate feedback. That needs to occur. But the church has to own itself the health of the community. Sometimes you warn. But secondly he goes on and say, encourage the disheartened. Not everybody is irresponsible and irritable. Sometimes people, they're just faint-hearted. They are despondent. They are discouraged, and here's what people like to -- here's what they need. They need you to encourage them. Give them some tender, loving care. Then thirdly he said, help the weak. These are people beyond being faint-hearted. Right now they're in a situation in life where they hardly have the energy to go on. And you have been there at critical moments. I mean, all of us are weak at some points; but I want you to think about a time where you have gone through an episode recently. Maybe it's grief, some significant life change. For example, there have been so many times over the years where I've seen somebody here on a Sunday -- I mean, in our first service today, we had a brother in the Lord sitting right down here, who spoke yesterday at his daughter Christy's funeral. And I've watch the church family over the years, somebody go through something, but they're here at church. You just say, "How are you?" And they will say something like this, "Well, I'm here." And I get that, and I have tons of respect for it because what that person is saying is "This is where I need to be. This is my home. This is my family, and yet I just hardly have the energy to put one foot in front of another. I'm not sure I can sing a song, Ronnie. I have no idea what you talked about today. My mind is a thousand miles away." But they're here, and in essence what they're saying is "My bones are here, but I need you, as a family, could you just sort of be my muscle tone for a while? Could you be my heart, soul, strength; and let me listen to you sing?" All right? Let me just watch you worship for a bit. You know. He said -- this is real. What's real is sometimes we have to say to a friend, "Are you sure you really want to be saying that? Are you sure you want to make that decision? Are you sure you're paying close enough attention to your marriage?" Sometimes we have to warn and challenge and admonish, and sometimes we have to encourage. Sometimes we just have to help and carry. He summarize and said "Just be patient with everyone." With whom? EVERYONE. Why? All of us go through tough times -- and, listen, all of us have days when we're not at our best. We got to be patient with one another -- not indulgent, not enabling, but patient. I don't want you to remember me for that conversation I'm not proud of. I hope you'll not remember me for that day when I was not at my best. Hopefully we can be patient with one another. When I was a teenager, we used to say, "Hey, would you cut me some slack?" You know, the idea of a rope, it's got a little slack in it; and in the rope that connects our relationships, sometimes we cut one another a little slack. We give them room. We give them patience. We're not so quick to pounce on EVERY mistake. We let love cover a multitude of sins, and we hang in there. Be patient with everyone, he says. Why? It's real. People change, and people grow, and people develop; but they do it slowly, and you'll have to thank your way to patience. By thanks your way to patience, I mean, you give thanks for how far we have come. Thanks for how far that person has come and not just always looking at how far they have to go. None of this makes sense out there in the world. None of what I've talked about today makes ANY sense at all in a culture that just wants to attack and demonize and divide. But this makes perfect sense to people who have tasted the love and grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. May I remind you, all these commands -- again, not given just to a few, but to us, to us. You're not responsible for all, but we all have a part to play. Now, he says something in verse 15, which may be the most overlooked teaching in the Scriptures. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong -- one more time. Make sure nobody pays back wrong for wrong. But always strive to do what is good for each other and everyone else. So he said, rather than react and engage in the never-ending and always escalating, vicious cycle of one-upmanship, stop it. Let it stop with you. Be Jesus in this picture. You know, somebody gave me advice years ago. They said, unless somebody does something to you with malevolent intent, just intentional, deliberate, willful spite; there's an evil intent; step back and give that thing a lot of grace. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for there are everyone else. You know, revenge can sometimes taste pretty good, but when you engage in it, get ready -- here's what you're doing. You're just feeding hatred. You're drawing other people into the drama, and you're dissipating energy that could go in so many productive, high-road ways. Let me just ask you -- people in your family ever rub you the wrong way? Sure. People in your family ever hurt you? Yes. People in your church family ever hurt you? Yes. This teaching is given because it assumes that sometimes wrong will be done to me. So don't repay wrong for wrong; rather, seek to do what is good. So who are the enemies in your world? "That person divorced me." "That person said this about me." And we have to step back and ask what will be our next step. Here's what many of us need to do. We need to do what the United States and the Soviet Union did during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They didn't talk about it; they just did it separately. They knew they were headed to trouble, and both leaders were saying, "What can we do? What little step can we take to de-escalate things here?" "What can we do to de-escalate than pour fuel on the fire?" The apostle Paul would say it like this in Romans 12. Maybe you can take the little step when your enemy is hungry to give them something to eat. And when they're thirsty, to give them something to drink. So could you take a step? Could you de-escalate? And could you, as a follower of Jesus, LOOK to Jesus, Who is our role model in everything? Jesus, the Bible says, when He was reviled, He did not insult in return. And when He suffered innocently, He did not threaten. Instead, He blessed. And, you know, Jesus is our Hero, and may I just remind you today that no one will ever love you like Jesus; and no one will ever do more for you than Jesus has done. You say, "I don't know that I'm worthy to be called a friend of Jesus after what I have said about Him and the way I have mistreated." However much sin there is in your life and mine, there's more grace and love to cover it. Nobody will love you more than Jesus, and when He went to the cross for you, well, the Bible says that by His stripes we are healed. He's our Hero. He's our Leader. Ultimately we follow Him. So out of the Scripture we have read today, here's the assumption. The assumption is that we are going to be in this together over the long haul. And that we're going to love each other. Okay, you with me? Here's how we're going to do it -- not in the abstract. It's -- I'm going to change the world in the abstract. I'm going to love humankind in the abstract. I'm going to love my neighbor as myself -- in the abstract. But how about up close and personal? How about we start with us? This environment? This atmosphere? This ecology? Not in general but in particular. And all of our relationships are rooted where? They're rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That's why Jesus said, just as I have loved you -- as I have loved you -- so you love each other. God bless you, everybody. Thank you for being with us today online. Thank you for being right here in this room. Okay, we're not done. We want to finish in prayer. One of our elders, Scott Wolfe, will come up here and pray for us. >> Scott: Let's go to our Father in prayer. Good morning, Father. We close out our time together this morning with thankfulness for the hope, joy, and confidence we have in Your Word. Lord, we acknowledge You as the Creator of all in fully trust in You as our Maker and Provider. Help us to remember that day by day, and minute by minute, we fully belong to You. Father, may we continue to be unified in spirit in Your church. Sometimes we feel so broken and uncertain. Lord, we are struggling. We're hurting. There are so many challenges this year. We're dealing tough economic times, health uncertainties, job uncertainties; social and racial unrest and political challenges. Lord, we ask that You fill us with Your Spirit and Your love. We ask You help us set aside differences and look to You. Help us to live a life of love. And we pray for Your Spirit to move across our land in fresh ways and draw others to know You. Father, wake us up and remind us to always be aware of who we are. We are Your children. Lord, remind us to live aware; redeem our time; listen to Your Words and be listening to make a difference in our communes and our land. Give us the courage to speak out, and may we always be a shining light in every place that we walk. Father, we pray for the healing of our land. We pray for all of those in authority, locally and nationally. May You give them wisdom and discernment to lead and may their hearts be directed first to You so they recognize You. Please heal our land, Lord. Shine Your merciful face on all of us today. And finally, Lord, give us Your eyes to see and heart to heal. You alone are worthy. Thank you for being our King. In Jesus' Name, amen. Thank you all for joining us here today. Go in peace, and have a great week. Thank you. >> Joel: Sounds good. God bless. See you!