DISCLAIMER: This text is not a verbatim transcript. Communication Access Real Time Translation (CART) is provided in order to facilitate communication credibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings. >> 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 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 great resource where you can stay connected to First Colony Church. Anchor Point is our new podcast. We are posting a new episode receiver 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: Well, good morning, everyone! Welcome to the live worship services of the First Colony Church of Christ! So glad to see everyone here in the Worship Hall and glad to have everyone watching from home or online, wherever you may be. Thank you for being with us. How great to worship the Lord this morning! Whatever your week is like, whatever you're going through inside or in this world, we have this opportunity to look to the Lord and remember He's inviting us to draw closer to Him. He's inviting us to remember what really matters, and that's what we do today right now, thinking about what Jesus has done for us. So let's all stand here in the house and let's worship and sing as we gather together! >> Richard: Our God is good and faithful, amen? ("Victory in Jesus" playing) >> Richard: Yes! >> Richard: Yes! >> Richard: Yes! We've already won! We may still be fighting, but we know we win. We are victorious in Jesus. ("Stand in Your Love" playing) >> Richard: Let's sing together, church. >> Richard: ? Yes, I'm standing in Your love ? >> Richard: ? In Your love ? >> Richard: Yes! You may be seated. >> Joel: Well, good morning, everyone. It is an honor to be with you whether you're online or here in the darkness. I can't see you, but I know you're here. Howdy doody. It's time where we're emphasizing missions as we do all the time, and our emphasis with missions is always the Gospel. The verse I want to share with you today comes to us from Hebrews 4:12 it says, "For the Word of God is alive and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. It penetrates even dividing the soul, the spirit, the joints, and marrow. It judges the thoughts, the actions, and the attitudes." Now, I have a balloon here which represents the world but also represents our soul; and one thing I want to mention about the world -- do you know how many languages there are in the world? Did you know there's over -- well, right at 10,000 different languages, but this is what is really interesting. Of the 10,000 languages 2,000 are oral languages, which means they don't have a written copy of their language or written copy of God's Word. As a result, over 1.9 billion people do not have access to the Gospel. Well, it starts with us hiding God's Word in our heart so I have a needle -- because we know God's Word is sharp and needs to penetrate inside of us. I have a red thread, which represents the Gospel. God made it; we broke it; Jesus fixes it; we respond. The cool thing is we want God's Word to penetrate through our soul, through our body, and impact us in a way that leaves a mark inside of us. Pretty cool, huh? Ultimately God's Word needs to be living and active inside of us, and we need to use His Word as we go out into the world; but it has to start inside of us. That's my prayer for you, is that God's Word would live inside of you and overflow in your lives and in your opportunities for outreach. Thank you very much. (Applause) >> Shane: Yeah, thank you, Joel! That's great. He's a magician. Hey, as Cameron and Corey Waters will come up to for Communion, gather your supplies. If you didn't get them in the building, they're in the back tables or in the lobby. When you're done, put the cup in the plastic baggies and can put them in the basket at the end of each aisle. Now is our time to focus; now is our time to reflect and remember of what Jesus has done for us so these guys will lead us. >> Corey: My name is Corey, and this is my son Cameron. We're excited and thankful to be here for communion. Please pray for the bread that represent the body of Christ and the cup which represents the blood shed for our since. Father in heaven, we're overwhelm with by Your gift of mercy and grace through the life of Jesus Christ on the cross. God, we thank You to give Your Son for a debt we can never pay. Thank you for the body bruised for our transgressions and blood shed for our sins. I ask You bless our communion and change our hearts. In Jesus' name, amen. You may partake of the communion. >> Cameron: (Reading) ("Who You Say I Am" playing) >> Shane: Amen! What an incredible thing to sing right now. We are beloved children of God, amen? Amen. Well, one of our elders, Brad Clarkston, will lead us in our offering prayer now. >> Brad: Good morning! As we proposer our offering today, we want you to know that giving online is safe, secure, and simple to set up. For those watching online, just click the link on your screen or you can text to give. For those here for live worship, there are collection boxes in the back as you leave. We give in partnership to make a difference for Jesus and His mission in the world. Thank you for giving. Please pray with me for today's offering. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for all the blessings You give us every day. As we return a portion to You, we pray You help us to do so with a loving attitude and generous heart. In Jesus' Name we pray, amen. >> Shane: Amen! Well, today starts our two-week emphasis on our international mission partnerships and next week is missions Sunday, of course. We have a treat today because our Outreach Minister, Grant Wright, has stories from what we're doing all over the world and partnership with mission point so it's such a great thing. If you know Grant, you know this is not words from him. He's passionate about what God is doing in the world in international outreach so it will be a great message for you. For now, let's here in the house stand and greet one another with a socially distanced wave. At home, please log in and say hi on the chat, and let's just say howdy to each other. ("Every Giant Will Fall" playing) >> Richard: Thank you so much for your worship today! You may be seated! >> Grant: Good morning, church! My name is Grant Wright, Outreach Minister here at First Colony. I'm excited and honored to be speaking to you today as we enter into this month of missions. Obviously I'm excited. I'm the missions guy here, and so this is a privilege to get to talk. I mean, as we look around the sanctuary, we see all these flags that represent the nations, and we know what Jesus called us to do, to go to all nations. So as we look around, this is just a reminder of what the Lord is calling us to do as a church, and we have five specific mission points that we give 100% of our mission efforts to. Those flacks are kind of center stage up here. We have Haiti, Honduras, Uganda, Colombia, and Nepal. So today I want us to talk about what does it look like to have courage as we go on God's mission. So we have SO many great examples of men and women here in our church as well as people that we support that have great courage as they go. What I want to get to do this morning is tell their story, tell some of our stories that we get to learn from as great examples. The premise of our conversation this conversation this morning is around this phrase: "A single act of courage is often the catalyst for extraordinary." A single act of courage is often the catalyst for extraordinary. We will look at three different Acts of courage as we join God in His mission. Before we do that we have to know what God's mission is, and I'm sure we can probably spend a whole sermon series on this; but this morning we will do in it a nice, little, tight, Cliff Notes version for us. The classic text here is the Great Commission, Matthew 28. It says, "Go and make disciple of ALL nations." Right? And we just talked about that as we look at these flags because that is a reminder of what Jesus asks from us. We also see Jesus telling Zacchaeus in Luke 19. He says, "For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost." Jesus is saying this about Himself. "The reason I have come is to seek and to save the lost." That is His mission. Then He goes on to say in John 17 as He's talking to His disciples before he goes on the road to the cross. He say, "As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you." The very heart of our Father is to go. The mission He gave Jesus was a sent mission. That is Christ telling us there that now as His disciples, He is sending us with His mission. What is His mission? To seek and to save the lost. So why? Why, might you ask? If you flip to the very end of the book of the Bible, you have the book of Revelation 7:9. God gives us a beautiful picture of the completion of what we're working towards "Every nation, tribe, tongue, and language standing before the throne and the Lamb," worshiping our God. So how will we get there? I think it starts with our courage, a single act of courage is often the catalyst to extraordinary. So today I want us to look at our first act of courage, and that is, do you have the courage to stay in mission when it would be easier to go? Many time the grass is green on the other side. If you have stayed anywhere for any length of time, you know the people; you know the problems; and it starts looking better just to get out. We've got to ask ourselves, "If I start running now, am I ever going to stop running?" "Is leaving actually going to fix the problem?" And maybe the best question of all: "What is the Lord asking me to do in this situation? Just because it's difficult, is He asking me to stay, or is He asking me to go? This morning, I want to tell you a story of one man who chose to stay when it would have been easier to go. That man's name is Philip Katwal. He was born and raised in Biratnagar and became a Christian 40 years ago in a Hindu nation where Christianity was illegal. He felt the Lord's call to become a pastor, but there was no opportunity for him to grow or to go to school so he leaves his town, goes to India, goes to Bible school, gets a seminary degree, graduates, and goes to his hometown in Biratnagar, Nepal, to plant a church, where Christianity is illegal. 40 years he is faithful to this call that the Lord has called him to and on a regular basis he and his wife go out to share their faith, to share the Gospel when they know it is not going to be received well by their Hindu and Muslim community. They know persecution is coming when they go share the Gospel message. Through the decades, the decades of consistent faithfulness, they start a church in their home and are faithful to the members, the new believers that God brings to them in their home church. Christianity was legalized in Nepal in 2008. About seven years after that, our church leadership is praying and asking God, "Where do You want us to go next on mission?" Long story short, we end up in the hometown of Philip Katwal in Biratnagar, Nepal. We met a group called the NNEA and introduce us to Philip and his wife Kausalya and have had a partnership for three year. It's been a huge blessing to us both. One of things that the NNEA has is a Bible Training School or seminary in India. They have had over 200 Nepali alumni that have gone through the school and are now back in Nepal, working to start their ministries, working to do ministry in this country where Christianity is so new. Our church has been able to come around that alumni and start investing in them as well as starting to build a team around Philip with his alumni base. This past year, we were able to add two families to Pastor Philip's team in Biratnagar and they have started multiple groups there now in that city with that support. This next year, Lord willing, we're looking to add three more of these alumni families to Pastor Philip and his team so that we can have more groups and more churches that are plan planted in this area. One of the really exciting things that we have been able to do through our partnerships start a Bible Training School there in that city. Because these men had the opportunity to go and get this seminary degree, they have been able to bring back solid, deep, theological teachings to this place that has young pastors and young Christians that don't have that opportunity anywhere else. This is a TREMENDOUS asset to Nepal and to this place, and not only that one of my favorite things about this small church that has been meeting in Pastor Philip's house for so many decades -- they have had a dream of having their own church building. You know, when I went to visit them, they were packed into one room and in Philip's house; and about 70 people that are signature on the floor in his room that are crammed in. Pastor Philip was gifted through inheritance a piece of land. He donated it to his church, and that church had been saving their rupees and pennies for years, and our church was able to come alongside them and help gift them a new church building. Church, I'm so excited to show you the most beautiful purple and pink Nepal building in Nepal. It's such a Nepali church. Isn't that beautiful, church? Isn't that awesome? (Applause) This is the center of where everything is happening in Nepal. They've got their services there. The Bible Training School is based out of there. The church planning initiatives and everything is based out of this church. 40 years. Philip went through a literal 40-year-in-the-desert experience and stayed faithful to the call God gave him. And now he's seeing great growth among his people; he's encouraged by more Nepalis coming to serve; and he's seeing more churches planted to the people God gave him a heart and vision for, 40 years before. Philip had the courage to stay when it would have been easier to go. A single act of courage is often the catalyst to extraordinary. All right, let's look at our second act of courage we will discuss today, and that is, do we have the courage to go on God's mission when it would be easier to stay? So going is at the very heart of the First Colony Church of Christ. It's in our DNA and who we have been since our birth when the Westberry Church of Christ and Eldgridge Road Church of Christ planted a church in a new community called First Colony. The year was 1985, and you have families like the Onsteads, the Carliels, the Osborns, the Brighams, the Martins, Palvados, Edisons, Gowens, Frys, Harrises, Davis, Scotts -- some are still here, up to the third and fourth generation that are serving today were the foundation of this church 35 year ago. You know, we didn't always come to worship in this big, beautiful facility. We started gathering in Settlers Way Elementary School in the cafeteria. The classes for the kids were set up in the halls; the church members would come early in the morning; they would set everything up. They would break everything down; they would host events for the community and love and invite them in; and you see the fruit of the heart that was behind that church. Do you know what it takes to plant a new church? It taking digging deep into your wallets and digging deep into your time. That's what those churches did in 1985. That's what those families did. They gave big, and as we look and we see these flags that represent the places where God has called us to, that's what it takes for us to go do the same thing of church planning in those locations is we give big. As we think about the courage to go, I love the passion in the lives that sit out here that do absolutely that. You know, we have been sending nine to ten short-term mission trips every year and we have been sending up to 70 and 80 people every year on short-term mission trips. Let me just say, church, that is not a normal, natural thing. If you're committing time to go on a trip, that means you have a very specific thing in mind where you are loving eternal things more than the things of this world; and I say that because it taking great sacrifice to go on a trip. You have to sacrifice time with your family; you have to sacrifice the comforts of Sugarland or this church or your home. You have to sacrifice opportunities. It might be your job; it might be money; it might be a spot on your sports team; but to go on a trip and to give your time is a sacrifice. I think back to what Jesus said in John 17. "The Father has sent Me so I am sending you." That is at the very heart of who we are. That's in our DNA as Christians, is sent ones. He gives us that call to go. I will tell you a story of one man that was willing to go when it would have been easier to stay. That man's name is Roolite Religieux. Who knows him from Thomazeau, Haiti? Roolite is a phenomenal young man who loves the Lord and is a great leader for Christ in Haiti. He's a man we support as our church, backing him in his mission and oversees the church there of 300 that we support. He oversees the Christian school of 425 students that we support. He helps oversee the orphanage there on the campus in Thomazeau. So God put it on Roolite's heart to go on mission beyond the mountains that were there at the Thomazeau campus. Let me be clear: Roolite has on to the people in the mountain and those folks are already coming to the Thomazeau church every Sunday for worship; but no one knew what was beyond those mountains until now. I want to let Roolite himself tell you his story. Let's turn our attention to the big screen. >> Grant: Isn't that exciting? (Applause) >> Grant: Absolutely! Give Roolite a round of applause. Can't you see the excitement on his face and hear it in his voice? What is beautiful is it's not in Roolite's job description to go to these people. Roolite already oversees the school, the church, the orphanage. He's got plenty on his plate, but the Lord gave him this call; and he is now leading other men and women. You heard he's taking the youth group up there, leading them on mission for God. Even though mission can be painful to go -- you heard Roolite talk about how hard it was to go four hours up into those mountains -- you can see the spiritual joy that it brings to our lives. Do we have the courage to go when it would be easier to stay? A single act of courage is often the catalyst to extraordinary. All right, let's talk about our third and final point this morning, and that is: do we have the courage to give big to mission throughout life's uncertainties? The courage to give big mission to mission. So this church is known for its generosity and in 2017, you know, this was no different. This was the year that Hurricane Harvey came through, swept across the Gulf Coast, and destroyed so many people's homes and financially strapped so many people's lives. You know, this church stepped up big. We had a Harvey Relief Fun, collected over $300,000 here, giving locally. You know, as we gave so much locally, we got to November in our missions month. We were expecting mission giving to be down. You know what happened in 2017? A Harvey year for missions? In the face of some uncertain times, this church gave the biggest mission offering that we had received in over two decades. It was unbelievable what we received in a Harvey year of devastation. Then we get to 2018, and you exceed that number. We get to 2019, and you exceed that number. Every year, you keep giving more and more to our international mission work, and what we're able to do is that means we're now able to support more indigenous leaders. We're able to take care of more people that are in need of relief efforts that have come into play so heavy this year. That means more people are able to hear the Gospel and more churches are planted because of YOUR willingness to give back to mission in the face of uncertainty. In the past three years of us doing that, this church has been able to plant three new churches in our mission work. Three years, three new churches. We have been able to come alongside 50 churches to help strengthen and train and grow those churches, and as we see these churches plants grow, as we see these 50 other churches grow, our mission works have started 86 new small groups. 86 groups. These are small groups in the Barrios of Colombia, fellowships in Biratnagar that Pastor Philip and his team are working on transitions in to churches. These are casas de paz, houses of peaces, that Santos talk to us about last year on mission Sunday. This is so exciting what they're able to do as they're growing the kingdom. Do you know who's filling up these new churches? And these new small groups? This may be my favorite number of morning. 2033 new baptized believers. We have seen 2033 new baptized believers. This church has decided to show up and to give big to mission, has decided to go on the mission that the Lord has called us to, to seek and to save the lost; and we are seeing the lost come to be saved. Isn't that beautiful, church? I want to tell you one story, close with just one story today of a life that has been changed. This is ONE of those 2033. Her name is Manisha. Manisha was a girl that we helped rescue out of a sex trafficking situation through our partnership with Our Daughters International. Manisha was rescued on the border of Biratnagar, Nepal, as she was traveling down to India. This is the border station that we help fund. She was taken to the safe house that we help support and in that safe house, she was introduced to Jesus for the very first time. She heard the Gospel of Jesus, and she started just to be overwhelmed by the love that she got from that message as well as what she received from the house moms. In that safe place of the safe house, she gave her life to Christ. She was offered the opportunity to go to a training school and to learn a vocation, and she decided to study cosmetology. She'd always had the dream of starting her own hair salon. Well, church, we came alongside Manisha and helped fund that business for her to start that salon so she would never have to be in a sex trafficking situation again. She was going to go start that business back in her hometown and during the lockdown was not able to, so she starts her business in the same town as the training school. She became so proficient in her trade that Our Daughters International asked her to be the trainer over 17 other girls that are now studying cosmetology. Church, not only is she training them in this vocational skill, she is training these girls in her faith in Jesus Christ. She is mentoring these 17 young ladies as all of them come from a Hindu background. Church, do you see what happens when the heart of our church, to give big, gets behind missions, and we're able to fund this border station that's rescuing these girls? We're able to support this safe house that is teaching them about Christ? And we're able to start new businesses. Just ONE life has been changed by the First Colony Church of Christ is now changing 17 more lives. That is a beautiful story of restoration. A single act of courage is often the catalyst for extraordinary. So church, as we go this week and as we go this year, may we act in great courage to go on God's mission. Your next act to go; your next act to stay; your next act to give big may just create the next catalytic movement for God's kingdom. A single act of courage is often the catalyst for extraordinary. Let's close in prayer, church. Father, I pray that our church to be strengthened today, to be filled with the courage that comes from You and Your Spirit. Lord, give us the courage to stay like Philip when it would be easier to go. Give us the courage to go like Roolite when it would be easier to stay. Give us the courage to give big this year to mission in the face of uncertain times. We are Your, Lord. We join You in Your mission to seek and to save the lost so that one day, Father, we may stand in heaven with all the nations represented, singing in unity. Salvation belongs to our God Who sits upon His throne and unto the Lamb. Amen! And amen, church! Thank you. >> Shane: Amen. Good to hear what God is doing in the world and exciting to hear those stories. You know, that catalytic moment of a courageous act. You know, our Latin students in here, you know the Latin root for "courage" means "heart," cor. When Grant talked about God's heart is a sending heart, He's telling us to go. His heart is to take that courage, that courageous message out, and take heart. So let's see how God -- let's ask, God, what are You sending me to do this week? Brad's got a shepherding prayer for us as before our closing song. >> Brad: Will you pray with me? Dear Father, we praise Your Holy Name and acknowledge You as the Creator of everyone and everything. We know Your guiding hand can touch our lives, and we trust that You will watch over and care for all of us as we walk through the trials of life. We ask Father, You would give comfort to those grieving the loss of friends and/or family members. Help us to rely on You for strength during these times of loss. Be with our congregation this month as we focus on the needs of those working in the mission fields. We pray that You will help us all to provide a generous offering next Sunday that is dedicated to spreading Your Word of hope to a lost and dying world. Be with nose who are suffering from health related issue, those in the hospital, those undergoing cancer treatment, those fighting to recover from COVID, those dealing chronic pain and all other illnesses. Father, we pray for their healing and strength. We also pray for their caregivers that You guide their hand and feet in a way that delivers their healing through them. Father, we ask that You give us calm during the coming week as our country is having an election to select our leaders and representatives. Gives all peace to accept the outcome as Your will that is done in all things. Help us always to be ambassadors of Jesus in the same way as He taught us in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Thank you, we thank You especially for Your Son and His sacrifice on the cross so we can be forgiven of sin. Help us to live our live in a way that bring others to a relationship with You as we shine Your Light to the world. We pray these thing in Jesus' Name. Amen. >> Shane: Thank you, Brad. I have a few things to tell you about before we close with the Scripture and a song. First, as we mentioned, next Sunday is mission Sunday. We're asking everyone to pray: what is God calling you to do to give towards these missions we have been highlighting, okay? You need to know you can give online all month. You can keep giving to the mission fund. Next Sunday is when we take that missions contribution. 100% of the missions giving -- whether it's online or next Sunday at a special missions contribution -- 100% of that goes to these mission effort that we partner with, okay? So let's pray and give back to God's mission next weekend and this whole month. Also these next few weeks, Grant has interviewed some guys -- some of them today if you have not seen them before -- you will hear more about what God is doing in these mission points we partner with. At 12:15 today, you can log -- stay on if you're already watching now -- you can go to our online platform and watch -- it's not on our Facebook or YouTube but on our online website. You can watch stories from Nepal today so there's one from last week that's great, too. There will be more. Today is stories from Nepal. We hope you will check that out today. All right. Would everyone here in the church building stand? We will read this Scripture together. At home, feel free to stand and read this with us as well. We hope you will. We will read this loud and clear together. Our theme Scripture as we close. Read with me. >> Shane: This so true. He's calls us into His mission so it's good to be with you today and so good to have you watching us and just be together in the church build. We love you. Let's go in God's mission now as we enter the rest of the week. >> Richard: Amen! Let's sing! ("Victory in Jesus" playing) >> Richard: Let's sing it again! >> Richard: Thanks for coming today! You are dismissed! Have a great week!