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>> And our podcast, Anchor Point. You can download our church app. Just search for "First Colony church of Christ" in the App Store or Google Play. The app is a great resource where you can stay connected to First Colony Church. Thank you for joining us today. We're glad you're here.

>> Thank you for joining us today. We want to let you know about a few items of interest. First, go to our website, firstcolonychurch.org, and go there often. You'll find links to our worship services; Bible study options; online giving; and our 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. The app is a great resource where you can stay connected to First Colony Church. Thank you for joining us today. We are glad you're here.

>> Grant: Well, welcome to the First Colony Church of Christ, where our mission is to honor God and to lead people into a growing relationship with Him. So excited that you are here to join us in worship today. We center on the Biblical themes of faith, hope, and love. Let's all stand and join in worship as we get to enjoy worshiping the Lord this morning together.

>> Richard: Yes, we'll exalt the Lord Jesus today! There is nobody like our God, amen?

("The Lion and the Lamb" playing)

>> Richard: Here we go!

>> Richard: ¶ Every knee will bow ¶



>> Richard: Yes, do you believe that this morning? Every knee will bow before Him! The King of Heaven.

("Reckless Love" playing)

>> Richard: You may be seated. You may be seated.

>> Joel: Amen! Well, hey, it is awesome to see you all here today, those of you that are in the sanctuary. Those of you that are home, welcome. Just a reminder: all children's programming is now open so we look forward to seeing you back. Those of you in the service, remember after the fellowship greeting you will have a chance to go to Children's Church, Main Street Live.

All right, today we're talking about hope; and I have the wheel of hope. You probably won't be able to read where you're at so I will explain it to you. The world has hope, and the way the world defines hope is kind of like a desire or a wish. Now, when I was a kid, we would ask each other, if you could have one wish in whole wide world what would be the one thing you would wish for? Of course the one I came up with is "A million more wishes, of course." But I have picked some I think kids may like. I will set this down so if you can zoom in on it, you can see it; but I will review them.

So number one, this wish would be to be the most popular kid in school. Adults carry this out. You could be a movie star, someone famous.

All right, then we have the star of my team. So like the ultimate athlete that just is awesome at whatever you do. You could be that guy or girl.

Then, you know, kids are like, "Hey, Mom and Dad have credit cards and basically that's free money, right? So I want one of those because you can buy whatever you want."

Then we have a sports car, and imagine if the day you turn 16 you could get any car you wanted. Your mom or dad is like, "Sure, we'll get that for you."

Then you have straight As, or in an adult world, you would be Dr. Google and know the answer to every question.

All right, so Brock, I see you sitting in the front row. I will say, if you could pick one of these, which would you pick?

Dr. Google. All right. So that is straight As. I will tell you what: I can't actually grant that wish but if you get it, I'll give you a dollar. Sound good?

Oh, so close! So close. You landed on the car. Sorry, Mom and dad; that's on you.

(Laughter)

So we have what the world views hope as, but we also have what the Bible views hope as; and I see hope as an inspiring confidence, something that lifts you up as you look down the road. Well, we look down the road and we see Jesus. The verse I want to share with you today is Colossians 1:27. It says that God decided to let His people know just how rich and glorious that truth is, the secret truth, which is for all people. And this is it, that Christ lives in you, the Hope of Glory.

Now, as a believer, we have hope in Jesus Christ; and what is cool is He's Dr. Google, the most pop you already guy. He has the unlimited credit card and could be the ultimate athlete, which is kind of cool.

I want you to pick a color -- not a color, a cross. The cool thing about our hope is it's guaranteed as a believer. You won! Way to go! I happen to have a dollar for you. Bottom line, I want YOU, as believers, to hope in Christ; and if you're not there, what's the next step you can take? God bless.

(Applause)

>> Grant: Fantastic. Thank you, Joel. As David and Reece Avera come up, they'll lead us in time of communion. If you're at home, you can get your supplies. If you're here, get your back its out. If you don't have one, extras are in the back. As always when we finish up, you can put the packet in the plastic bags and in the baskets at the end of the aisles and on your way out. You can put those in the trash. At this time, let's enjoy this time of communion with our Lord. Thank you, David.

>> David: I didn't know I would be on the hook for a new sports car when I showed up.

(Laughter)

Thanks, Joel. Good morning, everybody. My name is David Avera and our youngest son Reece. We're so thankful to be leading you in the Lord's Supper today. Please pray with me over the bread, which represents the body of Christ given for us; as well as the cup representing the blood that He poured out for the forgiveness of our sins. Let's pray.

Dear Heavenly Father, we, as a body of believers, both in this room and around the world, come to You now with hearts full of gratitude. We thank You for creating this world and for all the wonderful blessings You shower down on us each and every day; but at this time, we turn our minds to the most wonderful of all Your blessings, the Gift of Jesus Christ. We thank You for if life He lived and for the life He sacrificed. As we partake in this bread and this cup, we thank You for the body that was broken and for the blood that was spilled that covers ALL of our sins so that we look as perfect in Your eyes as Jesus does. Thank You, Father, for going all the way for us. In Christ's Most Holy Name we pray, amen. Let's partake together.

>> Reece: Today I will be reading from 1 Peter 1:13-16. The Scripture will be on the screen for you to follow along.

(Reading)

("The Way" playing)

>> Richard: Why don't we all stand together as we continue to worship?

>> Richard: You may be seated.

>> Grant: All right, church. We are about to collect our offering, but before we do, let me just remind you giving online is safe, secure, and it's easy to set up. My wife and I do it each month on an auto-draft, and that way I just have to log in November for Missions Month and give to missions. It's a very simple way to do it. Let me just stop to say thank you all for your tithes and offerings because it makes a HUGE impact in our local ministry, also in our community, and in our international work. So thank you.

Let's bring this before the Lord and pray over the offering today. Father, You are good and Your love endures forever. As we think about giving, we know You have blessed us with all we have so we are simply giving back what You have already given to us. So, Father, we practice this and get to experience the joy of giving, just enjoying the Presence of the Lord, the gifts You have given us, and we offer them back. Father, take them, multiply them, and bless those who need. Father, we pray there in the Name of Jesus. Amen. Amen.

Well, all right, this time we're about to do our fellowship greeting. Last week we started a new tradition. I'm an Aggie so if you do something twice, it's a tradition. This is a new tradition, second time. We have our Main Street Live we will take our first to fifth graders. They're invited to go to the chapel. If you look to the back middle, you see Mr. Joel and Mr. Corey and the kids can go back there. They will take them across the hall to the chapel for Main Street Live. If you're not familiar, it's a great worship service that has age-appropriate teaching and activities for the kids so a great way for them to spend the next half hour.

So as we stand, they can go that; but parents, I want you to know you need to have your child signed in for that. You can do that before service -- so if you have already signed them in, great. If you haven't done it, it's not a problem. You can follow those guy to the chapel and they will show you where to sign them in.

All right, at this time, let's go ahead and stand for our fellowship greeting, say hello to the folks around you; first to fifth graders head to the back. Those of you online, this is a great time to jump in the chat box to say hello.

("Jailbreak" playing)

>> Richard: We are free!

>> Richard: Yes, give the Lord a praise offering! You may be seated!

>> Ronnie: Richard and team, thank you so very, very much. 

Good morning, everyone! Welcome to our second service at First Colony Church of Christ. To those of you in the room, it's great to see you. To those watching online, we welcome you, whether you're joining us by way of livestream or watching us later in the day or later this week or maybe months down the road; but we're glad to have you with us in this service.

We'd like to pray with you. You can communicate with us via a Connection card on our church app or there on your screen. In fact, we've got folks standing by to visit with you and pray with you right now during this service, and you can indicate so as you join us online.

Now, let me mention that coming up a few days down the road on Wednesday, January 27, we're inviting everyone to participate that day; and a day of fasting and prayer. Now, we'll not have an official gathering but have a prayer guide for you. You can access that online. We'll e-mail it out as well, and we're inviting our church family to spend a day together to fast; skip a meal; skip two; fast all day -- your choice -- and to pray together over several areas of life for you, for those you know; for our nation; for our church; and a time of intercession, okay?

Today we continue with a series that I intentionally have chosen during this post-election and transition season. I thought we needed to revisit these three theological virtues that remain for all time. "These three remain: faith, hope, love." 

Think about it. Faith, welcoming the invisible and yet very real Presence and participation of God in our lives. Hope, that inspiring confidence as we look down the road, believing in God's good future. He wins, but even right now, Jesus lives and reigns and all things are possible. And love, that which binds us together under God's favor.

But hope is one-third of this magnificent trilogy. I borrowed the title of today's message from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day, and he calls faith, hope, and love this magnificent trilogy of durability. Hope in God, who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. 

Now, Martin Luther King Jr.'s actual birthday is Friday, and he was such a formidable force for so much good. He had a Ph. D. in systemic theology from Boston University, and at age 35 in 1964 he won the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through non-violent resistance.

You know, over the last few months we have seen many non-violent gatherings, even here in Houston, very peaceful protests in Houston a few months ago. Peaceful protests are very welcomed in our democracy, and yet we have seen the other kind as well, most recently the vibrant breach upon our nation's capital that resulted in the loss of life and many injuries. It was wrong; it was ugly; those responsible should be held accountable. This week, hopefully, we will have a peaceful transfer of power nationally as President Trump and Haven't Pence hand over national power to President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris.

Now, today I want to speak to you today about hope and some comments about politics. Rest assured, I will be an equal opportunity offender today.

(Laughter)

I will also be hopefully equal opportunity encourager. So just listen and hang with me, okay? I'm no political expert; I don't claim to know the story behind the story. You know, the easiest church to be a part of is the church where everybody just votes like you; and there are churches like that. They may as well have a sign that say "We are blue" or "We are red." That is not us. We don't -- I don't endorse a candidate; we don't endorse a candidate, and we have people here who vote across the board. Robert Beasley is one of our elders, and he's written a book called "The Judge and the Left-Footed Leaders: Judges and Ruth for Postmodern Times." It's absolutely a great book. His chapter on here in politics is worth the price of the book itself.

I want to read you just a little bit from this chapter as soon as I get out my Costco reading glasses, okay?

(Laughter)

Robert says, "I don't visit thick books for fear of blistering commentary I will have to read; and if I politely disagree, I will be befriended. Many believe the stakes are just too high, and political compromise, it's just not an option. It is winning at all costs. Why? Because we've come to believe that what happens politically is the only way to achieve our desired ends, whether on the right or the left. And politics now is a place we look not just for governance but for belonging; righteousness; meaning; deliverance. Politics has in essence replaced religion." 

You know the term "political" simply means how we're governed, how resources are distributed. For some of you, you're listening right now -- for some of you watching online, politics is the least important issue to you right now. You're saying, "I don't have the bandwidth for that. I'm dealing with something in my family with my health. I have a spiritual crisis. I have a personal crisis." Either for you or someone really, really close to you.

And you've got people around you going, "Don't you care about what is going on politically?"

And you're going, "I don't have the bandwidth for that. I just don't." You know, "I'm sorry. You don't know what is going on in my world, and, no, I don't care about it as much as you do."

Some have been hit by a sledgehammer recently. We have been hit by a sledgehammer at some point and knocked the breath out of you. The end of a marriage and a diagnosis and you waited two weeks of waiting. That life-scarring choice made by somebody in your family. Maybe that decision you made a couple of years ago still haunts you. Or you're a caregiver in a care giving role and it's just -- it's sapping every bit of emotional energy you have.

When you talk about hope, you need something muscular; you need something durable; no wishful thinking; no wish upon a star; no nice slogan from a positive-thinking speaker.

Do you have anything that can inspire confidence? I believe you do. It's rooted in the bedrock of Jesus Christ. That's not a Hallmark statement. I will get there in just a moment.

Now, I've got three main points today, and here's the first one, and it's very simply, I have very little hope in the foundation of politics. Don't get me wrong. The Bible teaches us the importance of government, and politics involves how we govern and how resources are distributed. That is significant; it's important. Politics has a place, just not first place.

Quite honestly, it seems lining there are lot of folks that put SO much hope and energy in their politics and their political party that it's become a god to them; and Christians can sometimes view political leaders and their platforms with a degree of faith and energy and enthusiasm that should only be reserved for Christ and His kingdom. Seek ye first the kingdom of God. And sometimes they will display a degree of hatred and scorn that should be reserved for Satan and his demons.

Now, I'm not saying it's not important and touches on issues that impact us all, but I don't place a great amount of my hope in the foundation of politics. I realize for some of you go up and down all the time, and I'm not necessarily trying to be critical. I just want to remind you that in heaven, as Corrie ten Boom once said, “In heaven there's never any panic. There's no panic now or panic four year ago or panic four years from now. There's no panic in the 1500s. There ain't no panic in heaven, only plans, and the Providence of God.”

Now, secondly, I do have great hope, though, in those who live by the Scriptures. Those who welcome the Scriptures. Because when you welcome the Scriptures -- not little verses for a Hallmark card but you actually welcome the Scriptures to shape your thinking. You become a person of discernment, and the Bible says discernment is where you can discern good from evil and you can discern what is good from what might be better because life is full of decisions and nuances, and we have to learn to think; and you do know, don't you, that what you think naturally is not necessarily what God thinks? Let me say that again: what you think naturally is not necessarily what God thinks. Sometimes our thinking has to be recalibrated, just like my little Fitbit watch here. It can get off. Right now it says it's 11:23. I'm kidding -- it's 11:37.

(Laughter)

You were going -- "He's gonna go really long." 

But, you know, like this summer, when we were meeting, nobody was here, and we'd start the service. You know, a particular time, we'd go live and I would be here -- I'd start it, give the welcome, and then turn it over to the Worship Team.

One Sunday I'm standing in the back and Richard Bowling goes, “Ronnie, you have to get up there.”

I said, “It's 8:27. I've got three minutes.”

"No, you have ten seconds and you're on."

My watch had to be recalibrated.

Our thinking has to be recalibrated. Romans 15 says this: “For everything that was written in the past, it was written to teach us.”

Now it's talking about Old Testament Scriptures itself and, but it's true for all Scripture. Everything written in the past is not just history but salvation history. This is how God think and what God is up to, so that through the end down taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

We become people who -- we touch the mind of God. We hear what He loves; what He hates; what He values; we get God's perspective on thing.

Now, let me apply this in some practical ways. As we become people who continue to be Scripture saturated, we can call fouls on our own political party. We can do that. You know what it's like to play a game of pick-up basketball and there's no official referee there. You call fouls. And you have to acknowledge -- okay, yeah, I did.

As we become people of discernment, we hold ourselves accountable and people around us. Everybody believes in accountability; everybody does. If you're in business and manage a department, you hold people accountable. You just do. If you're a parent, you know you're gonna hold your children accountable. You don't turn a blind eye to their misdeeds. Sometimes politically people are so afraid of acknowledging fouls they want to create this mind set of "Everybody in my jersey; we're all Virgin Marys. Everybody in YOUR jersey, you're all Judases." We're Virgin Marys; you're Judases.

But you know what? A person of discernment, you can all fouls and you can also acknowledge good shots as well. If ever you say, "Well, I just cannot understand how a Christian can maybe have that perspective," just acknowledge I can't understand it. Maybe I need to hear what that person is thinking and have a conversation. But we're not first and foremost political people. We're first and foremost kingdom people, and that should influence our particular perspectives.

There is no party that is entirely good or entirely bad. Why? Even in your school, your student body president is a fallen person. Again, that's not to say that there aren't things right and wrong with various perspectives; and why is it that sometimes -- well, Jonathan Leeman had a book called "How to Love a Church Member Who Disagrees with You Politically." He said, “All Christians, they all care about justice passionately and will disagree about how to identify injustice and right those wrongs.” 

Sometimes it's really, really important just to look in the mirror and acknowledge to ourselves, "Hey, I don't have as much wisdom as Solomon. I don't have as much wisdom as Jesus Christ."

Since I don't have as much wisdom as Solomon, as much wisdom as Jesus -- well, that should at least create a LITTLE room for some charity and some forbearance.

People of discernment, people who welcome the Spirit and Scriptures, we can all fouls and acknowledge good shots.

Secondly, we can embrace the local church as a social strategy. Robert, in his book, refers to another book called "Resident Aliens" written by Stanley Hauerwas and Will Williman, a fabulous book. In that book, they talk about politics and the church and how the church doesn't need a social strategy. The church IS a social strategy.

Let me read this to you. "Politics is not the hope of the world. The church, saved by, and submitting to Jesus Christ, is the hope of the world. And the church doesn't have a social strategy. The church IS a social strategy. The most creative social strategy we have to offer is the church. Here we show the world a manner of life the world can never achieve through social coercion or governmental action. The church is God's way of showing the world what a group of people should look like. It is the community where the grace of God changes lives, changes families, and where the world can see the face of Jesus Christ. The primary task of the church is not to transform the world out there -- that's not to say you don't influence -- the primary task of the church is to be the church."

He says, "Many of us need to switch our primary political loyalties to our local church, and instead of making pronouncements on political issues from afar, you begin to see real needs of real people in my church in my community, and I ask: what am I doing? What can I do? The church is the place where God works on my heart, making me sensitive to the needs of people in my community and opening me up to new possibilities for change."

Thirdly, will not needlessly divide what Jesus died to create. People shaped by the Scriptures, we know the story. We know what Jesus died to create, His church. Every person welcome on the basis of grace, faith, and repentance.

Someone told me after the first service they saw something recently that said, "Don't let a donkey or an elephant make you forget that we belong to the Lamb."

Romans 14 says this: "Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters." What's interesting is the apostle Paul on dealing with some issues, he wouldn't come down and tell you what he thought. He said, these are disputable matters. It's not a clear right or wrong and you have disputes. He said, rather than you quarreling about it, you accept one another -- verse 4 -- who are you to judge someone else's servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall and they will stand for the Lord is able to make them stand. Verse 13: therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put a stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.

He says, you be stricter on yourself than you are on another, strict on yourself and generous and gracious to the other.

1 Peter 3. Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, one love another, be compassionate and the humble. Do not repay evil for evil or insult with insult. Do I need to re-read that? To not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

Jonathan Leeman on that book on how to love church members with whom you disagree politically: "When I went to ministries I thought my job as a pastor would be to focus on getting my church members to encourage one another to do what the Bible commands. Instead, I found out that much of my job is keeping my church members from demanding things of each other that the Bible never does." 

Martin Luther King, Jr. said this: "Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity." "It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true."

I have little hope in the foundation of politics. Politics are important, how we foreign, our resources are distribute -- that's important; but that's not the foundation of my hope. I have great hope in people who welcome the Scriptures, the wisdom of God for discernment; but I have a sure hope in the God of our salvation.

Psalm 43:5.

(Reading)

You know, knock changes you -- nothing changes you like praise; and we have 1001 reasons to praise our great God. From Romans 8 -- I know I have been talking a while here, but don't lose me.

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly.”

In other words, we live right now in an environment that's not ideal, and we deal with frustrations and pain and inconsistencies and imperfection. We phone inwardly as we eagerly wait for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

What's he saying? He is saying the greatest part of your salvation is yet unrealized. The greatest part of your salvation, the greatest part of you being a daughter of God, a son of God, is yet to come. It's as of now unrealized. That's not to say that we don't have so many WONDERFUL things we enjoy in the Lord. Worship and praise one another. I love you folks. I've known some of you for over 35 years. I still love you. I still like you. And it's a beautiful thing to be a part of the family of God, watch little children grow up and to worship and praise and so many good things we get to enjoy from the Lord now.

But the most beautiful blessings of our hope in Christ, they're yet to come, and when you get there, when you taste the destination, you'll go, "I get it. That was just a measly appetizer to the wonders that God has for me."

You know, a person without hope beyond this life -- that's misery. That's why a lot of people to now, that's why a lot of folks I think right now, try to put thoughts of heaven and hell. "I'm not sure if I believe in heaven and hell." They try to put that out of their mind -- why? Because they're not sure they have any hope.

The death of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection gives to you and me hope beyond this life that's absolutely sure. It's verified and substance waited by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Himself. What that means is for Christians, you really have no fear of death. You have no fear of death. Now, I didn't say no near of dying. There's a lot of different ways I don't want today, but you have no fear of death. Anybody here afraid of heaven? 

Anything about heaven that is scary to you? No. And death is the doorway to glory.

It's a releasing for you to be the person ultimately you were created to be and so Colossians 3 says, since then, you have been raised with Christ. You set your heart on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. You set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.

1 John 2: “This world and its desires will pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

Now, sometimes people will say, "Oh, you Christians, you just think about the sweet bye and by and don't think it's important and invest in the here and now."

Well, that's not true at all. What you do here matters a lot, but we have an ultimate, Eternal Hope. But listen, we also have a hope that a life lived for Christ leaves behind it a wake and a legacy that others follow.

What does the Bible say? Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. They will rest in their laborers. But you know what? Their works follow them. They leave behind such a beautiful legacy.

Someone wrote this one time. They said, "To be young is to study in schools you did not build. To be mature is to build schools in which you will probably never study. To be young is to swim in pools you did not dig. To be mature is to build pools in which you will probably never swim. To be young is to enjoy the branches and the shade of trees you did not plant, but to be mature is to plant those trees whose branches and shade you may never personally enjoy. To be young is to dance to music you didn't write. To be mature is to write music to which you will probably never dance. To be young is to enjoy the programs and the ministries of a church you did not build or pay for, but to be mature is to build churches whose programs and benefits you may not enjoy for long, but it will inspire and bless generations after you."

Before I close, I want to put a photo up here on the screen, a photo of Alveda King, niece of Martin Luther King Jr. I'm embarrassed to say I really didn't know a lot about her until a few days ago. I wasn't completely ignorant but didn't know a lot about her until a few days ago, and something came across my news feed from a Catholic paper I think called "The Catholic Register" in which she was interviewed. She leads a ministry called Civil Rights for the Unborn. I mean, I love that and believe in that: Civil Rights for the Unborn.

She was asked -- she was just interviewed on a variety of topics and gave her thoughts. She said, "Here's what I believe people across our nation need to be doing right now."

She fan to talk about prayer, and as soon as I say that, here's what some of you are going to do. And some of you watching will do this. "Oh," and you can expect secularists to go, “Prayer? Why do you keep -- it's a posture of passivity. That's all it is."

Do you actually think that anything you say or write has more power than your prayers? Nothing does. Some of you think that if prayer doesn't remove ALL imperfections and ALL fallenness, then it doesn't work.

Listen, all fallenness doesn't get removed until you get to glory; but the single most important action step you can take is to invite God in His mysterious wisdom to act; to prevent; to orchestrate; to protect; to guide; and sometimes He will discipline. It's called the Providence of God, that hidden guidance of God, and it's not to be forgotten feature in His arsenal.

So Alveda King said, as Christians, though, we have a responsibility to fulfill and that's to pray. We should pray first for peace within our country. Secondly, we should be praying for all government employees who tirelessly serve our nation, state and local communities. Pray these persons will be convicted by the so almost oaths they take to uphold the responsibilities of their position. Pay for their resolve; their wisdom; their strength to be able to stand up to tyranny, injustice, to peacefully and lovingly fight for righteousness so please pray that the righteousness will pour out upon our land and that the righteous ways Jesus Christ will begin to prevail within us all. It is truly the only thing that will save us."

One of our elders, Kim Brigham, is about to lead us in prayer. Let me point you to a Scripture, 1 Timothy 2. I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people -- for kings and all those in authority -- why? So that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all Godliness and holiness. God bless you. Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you know Him? Have you acknowledged that you don't have the wisdom of Solomon; you don't have the wisdom of Jesus; you don't have the righteous of Jesus; that you're fallen; that you need grace? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son to have God who died for your sins and rose to life again; that He can be your Savior? Are you ready to acknowledge Him; to be confessed to Him, to baptize and follow Him in humility? We are Christ followers. If not, we can help. We'd love to help so you let us know how we can help you take your next step as a follower of Jesus Christ.

All right, everyone, let's bow together as Kim leads us.

>> Kim: Good morning, church. Would you pray with me? Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name. We humbly bow before You today to honor You and give thanks for Your constant care. As we look back over the past year, we are honored how You brought us through our many trials to the people and as a country. Heavenly Father, Your grace and mercy flows in abundance and regardless of our difficulties, our one constant has been You.

In a few days, Father, we will inaugurate new leaders in our country. As we do with all leadership, we pray for this success as leaders. We pray for their ability to unite us all; to govern fairly and justly. We also pray for their safety and that they seek Your counsel in all they do. Father, Your Word tells us that You are love, and he who abides in love abides in You. Help us to love one another, regardless of our viewpoints. Help us to understand and respect each other. Your Son taught us to think of others more highly than ourselves so touch our hearts. Help us be as one. Help us show others that love can break down all barriers. Our hope is in You, Heavenly Father; so forgive us of our sins; and we look forward to the day when You make all things right. In Jesus' Name, amen.

>> Grant: Amen, amen. Well, church, there are ton of great ways to get connected and involved right now so let me make sure you know the pillar of events happening at First Colony. Ladies, two great ways to connect. One coming up this weekend is the Women's In Apologetics Conference, only $10 to attend with great content for you. What's awesome is the theme is faith, hope, and love; so their conference ties in to what we're teaching and learning right now as well.

Another great connection point for ladies are all of the women's Bible study groups and encouragement groups. You might have heard of them as E-groups. These start tomorrow. Many of them meet at the building Tuesday mornings, but there are many options -- in-person, online, all days of the week. Go to the website, sign up today, and those will be getting started this next week.

If you are a Connection group leader, make sure that this Wednesday night from 8:00 to 9:00 is on your calendar. Ryan Bien has a great meeting for you, a Zoom meeting. To RSVP, go to the website and all you need to do is go to firstcolonychurch.org/kickoff. That is for the Connection group leaders.

And then our whole church is getting started back with the new year with our Bible classes. We have a ton of great opportunities online and in person. Right here at 9:45 every Sunday morning, we have classes for all ages. Our adults right now, we are in the gym, and Chad Baker is teaching a phenomenal class. It is so worth your time so if you missed it this morning, please join us next week. Just very centering and just a great way to start the new year of 2021.

And then all of our kids, we are down in their normal classrooms. They're going as well in person, but then we also have a great online option. Kyle Strickland is teaching a class at 10:00 called the Conversation. If you're on the livestream, you stay on and goes straight into the class. If you missed it this morning and want to watch this week, go to our YouTube channel and watch it on demand there. Like I said, church, lot of great things; don't miss out on these opportunities for you, your family, or kids to take advantage of what is being offered. 

Let's go ahead and stand and end with one more song today.

("The Way" playing)

>> Richard: Let's sing it out!

>> Richard: Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life! You have a great week! You are dismissed!