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.  

 



>> 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: Good morning, and welcome to the First Colony Church of Christ, where it is our mission to honor God and to lead people into a growing relationship with Him! My name is Grant Wright, Outreach and Missions Minister here, and we're honored to have you join us for worship today. As we think about the promises of God, one of the most beautiful ones is found in one of the most common passages quoted in Scripture, John 3:16-17: "For God so loved the world He gave His One and Only Son; that whoever should believe in Him shall NOT perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him."

This morning, we get to stand on the promises of God. We get to stand on His Son and His Resurrection and salvation that He has given us, so let's do that this morning as we enter into the worship and enjoy the Father's heart and His love for us!

("Fires" playing)

>> Richard: No matter how dark the valley, amen, God leads us through. We don't stop and hang out.

("Reckless Love" playing)

¶ Yea ¶

>> Richard: Thank you for worshiping with us today! You may be seated.

>> Joel: Well, good morning, everyone. It is so good to see you all out there. It's wonderful to see you out there! My name is Joel Smith; I'm the Children's Minister here. If you're watching us online, we're glad you're here as well.

You'll have a pretty good view because you can see what is going to happen a little close up.

All right, well, this is the kids' spot where we want something observable, specialized, observable teaching; and I like to have a Bible verse. My Bible verse is Philippians 2:13 that says "For it is God who works in you to will and to act. In order to fulfill His good purposes." 

God is working in you.

I will ask you a question: Is God working in you today? That's the question we can ask.

And so in order to have this as an illustration, I have a turkey baster, a beautiful vase. I have water. Let's pretend that this vase represents your life: when you are born; when you get to school; when you get older; go to college; get married -- wherever you are in your life, this is your life. The amazing thing is that God is always there. God is there, period. He is around us, even in the rain outside. We know that God is here. God is blessing us with rain.

THIS represents you. This is you. You're a turkey baster. Who knew? I didn't even know but you're a turkey baster.

All right, so the principle is this: God is around, but what are you doing with God? You'll see that when there's no water inside the turkey baster; and I stick it in the water, guess what it's going to try to do? It's gonna try to get out of the water and it's gonna try to look rather awkward. So object lesson number one, putting the turkey baster in the water, and it tries to get out. It's like, "Aah! Let me out!"

In our lives, we'll encounter difficult things. God is there, but when you are not living with God inside of you, you're just like, "Aah! Stop it! I want to escape!"

The interesting thing is we all look for way to escape. America, the world, we're all looking for ways to escape the environment that God has placed us in.

Well, you know where this is going. The verse says, "For it is God who works IN you."

Do you have Jesus in your life? When you come to a sermon like we are about to today, do you have God inside of you? Are you allowing Him to work inside of you? Have you responded to Him?

OR are you trying to resist and get out? I am trying to get as much water as I can inside, and what is interesting is that believe it or not, as we walk our Christian path, there are challenges that we go through; and in those challenges we aren't instantly filled.

If you can see it on the screen, it is totally balanced and it's floating there just like this. It's cool because God is, yes, He's around us; but He's working in and through us. When you listen today to the message and ask yourself, "Okay, how can I fill myself with Jesus from this message and how can I go forth and act in the way He would want me to?"  That's my prayer for you. Thank you very much.

(Applause)

>> Grant: As always, thank you so much, Joel.

Well, at this time, Jason and Lindsey Campbell will lead us in communion; so if you're at home, go ahead and start gather forget your supplies. If you're here, get your packets. Let us prepare our minds and hearts for the sacred and special time of communion. Campbells?

>> Jason: Good morning, church. Good morning, online family. My name is Jason Campbell, and this is my wife Lindsey. We're so thankful to be leading you in the Lord's Supper this morning. Please pray with me over the bread, which represents the body of Christ, given for us; and the cup, representing the blood He poured out for the forgiveness of our sins. Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we come to You now, humbled and forever grateful for this Lord's Supper, this representation of Your Son's broken body and spilled blood for the forgiveness of our sins. May we forever remember the great exchange that took, that You took our sins with the penalty that was death and gave us life because You chose the cross. May this be a daily reminder to take up our own cross and follow You. Thank You, Father, for giving up Your Son and loving us so much. In Jesus' Name we pray, amen.

>> Lindsey: I will be reading today from John 12:45-47.

(Reading)

("How Great is Our God" playing)

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

>> Richard: One more time, church. Sing it out. "How great is our God."

>> Grant: Amen and amen. That is beautiful! You may be seated. We're about to enter into our time where we're praying over the offering, and Mr. Billy Granville will lead us.

>> Billy: Thank you. How great is our God! Good morning, church family. How are you? We're about to enter into the time of offering and want to encourage you as a church family your offerings and giving is not unnoticed. God also honors your generosity. In the Old Testament, He said the old lions may be weak and hungry but the Lord promises we seek first his kingdom and righteousness all these things will be added unto us. He said my God shall supply all our needs according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus. Paul said to the Corinthians that God is able to bless you abundantly. He's able to make all grace abound towards us so in all things at all times, having everything we need that we will abound in every good work. He's able to enrich us in every way so we can be generous on every occasion. So continue with your generosity. We want to excel in His grace and grow in this grace. 

Before we pray, I want to remind you about online giving. It's secure and safe. It's simple, easy to administer. Also I want to encourage y'all to click on the link, those of you online or Facebook. Click on the link in the chat. You may also text to give. For those in person, there are marked giving boxes at the exit of the Worship Center. 

Please pray with me.

Father, we just thank You for our beautiful church family and so encouraging to see the body of believers together. Thank You for the opportunity to honor You with our gifts, Lord God. May we continue to grow in His grace with generosity, knowing that You honor our faithfulness, Lord. We ask Your blessing in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

>> Grant: Amen. Thank you, Billy.

All right, well, at this time it is time for Main Street Live; so if you're first to fifth grade, head to see Mr. Joel. Parents, if you haven't signed your kids in, it's not too late. Head to the chapel. You can sign your kids in for a fantastic Main Street Live service.

We would love for everybody here today to fill out a Connection card. If you're online, it's easy. Just click the Connection card button. If you're in the room, it's easy. Get out your phone, point it at your seat back for a QR code to bring up the Connection card. This helps us in two ways. One, we get to hear from you, what you're interested in, what ministries you want to learn more about; but two, it's where you can submit your weekly prayer requests. As a staff, we're honored and privileged to pray for you by name so fill out those cards so we can be in communication and be praying for you.

If you're a guest with us today, thanks for joining us. We have a special room called New Here Start Here right across the lobby. We have a team that would love to meet you after service so walk across the hall. We've got a little gift just to welcome you and say thanks for joining us this morning.

All right, for everybody, it is time for our fellowship greeting. Go ahead and stand, say hello; and if you're online with us, jump in the chat box and say maybe what you're cookin' up next week for Memorial Day weekend or fun activities going on.

("Lay Me Down" playing)

>> Richard: Thank you for worshiping with us today! You may be seated!

>> Ronnie: Oh, yeah, I mean, give our Praise Team an encouraging round of applause.

(Applause)

Fantastic! Thank you, Richard and team, for leading us so very, very well. So very good to see you today, so very good to see you in the room. Good morning. Welcome to our second service here at the First Colony Church of Christ. To those watching online, and there are hundreds of you, we welcome you. So glad to have you with us as well.

We continue today with a little series called “When in Doubt,” and the title of today's message is "Why not Believe?" We'll talk about a couple of challenging teaching and doctrines, one of which is not particularly fun to discuss.

I mentioned a few weeks ago when I started this series that doubt is not so much an intrusion to be stiff-armed as an invitation to follow through and to a fuller trust in Jesus; Christ and the Word of God will always have points of confusion and uncertainty. We ask questions, but we're not going to allow the periphery questions to override that which is central and core and where we place our weight.

You know, the Christian faith, the Christian religion, is the most dominant religious world view the world over. Ivy League professors are Bible-believing, conservative followers of Christianity. Nobel Peace prize winners, Pulitzer Prize winners, very, very well-educated people believe and follow the historic teachings and doctrines of Christianity; and yet as well the world over, a number of uneducated people have, as Jesus would say, the faith of a child. 

You know, you're not really gonna go into the kingdom of God head first. You go in faith first. The faith of a child in honoring the Lord. Everybody from, you know, butchers, bakers, candlestick makers, and everybody inbetween, because these people -- and I include myself among them -- believe there's compelling, plausible, historic; ethical; experiential evidence to support the doctrine of Christianity. So why not believe? You know, we have talked about some reasons in this series, one being the problem of evil.

Let me mention a couple of doctrines today that, you know, raise a few eyebrows. Here's the first one, the doctrine of hell. It's a subject no one really enjoys talking about. The late theologian R.C. Sproul was asked, "What's the doctrine you struggle with the most?"



He said, "Without question, it's the doctrine of hell." He said, "I’d gladly and willingly remove it from Christianity if I could."

Listen, the doctrine of hell is not just some dusty, theological hold-over from the Middle Ages. It's not something that some 1952 preacher invented for world revival meetings. Jesus spoke more about hell than anyone else in the Bible. He actually talked more about hell than He did heaven; and the Bible loves us into eternal life and warns us about the possibility of eternal death as well.

Jesus said in Luke 12, “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”

You know, the book of Romans said if you want to take a look at the rationale behind a society or a culture that's going down the tubes, here it is. They no longer have a fear of God. There's no fear of God, no sense of respect for God. He's just this big marshmallow.

Some of you are familiar with the name Christopher Hitchens. He died -- I want to say it was 2011 -- a well-known, articulate atheist along with Sam Harris, very popular. What many of you may not know is that Christopher Hitchens has a brother by the name of Peter who was a strong, strong Christian. Peter was raised in the Christian faith and then wandered away, left it like his brother, became an unbeliever one day. Peter Hitchens said I took my Bible in the field, threw it down, and actually lit hit on fire.

One day he was vacationing in the Burgundy region of France. He said, "I stood before a 15th century painting that was depicting the Last Judgment." He said, and I quote, "I simply had no idea that an adult could be frightened in broad daylight -- and after a really good lunch, by the way -- by such things as I'm seeing in this painting."

And a large catalog of my own misdeeds raining from the embarrassing to the appalling replayed themselves in my head; and I thought to myself, if anyone would ever be condemned, it would certainly be me."

And that began his journey back to Christ.

As I mentioned earlier, the New Testament actually says more about hell than it does about heaven. Some things it says -- it's a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, unquenchable fire, a place of darkness; a place of eternal condemnation. It's a place where God's wrath is poured out. It's a place of everlasting destruction. If you want to get information about hell, about Gahanna, don't listen to comedians because they love to make fun of it. I never tell hell jokes. It's the most unfunny topic imaginable. You'll never hear me tell a story.

"Hey, these two guys were in hell ..." 

It's the most unfunny subject I can think of.

Some church analysts have said you could go to a church of the last 30 years and hardly ever hear words like "sin" or "repentance" or “judgment" or "heaven" or "hell." Why? Marketing surveys say they're not popular and if you're going to be marketing-driven and consumer-oriented, these are topics to ignore.

How many of you when I said, "Hey, today I will chat about the doctrine of hell" went, "Oh, yes!"?

Somebody said, "When you read those description in the New Testament, are those literal descriptions or metaphorical, figurative?" I really don't know. Was the flood in Noah's day figurative? Was it figurative fire and brimstone that rained the on Sodom and Gomorrah? Were the plagues in Egypt figurative and metaphorical?

Love inspires and draws; and the fear of God corrects when the love of God has gone underground and when the hearing has become dull. And it is a serious mistake we make when we imagine that we are improving the message of Scripture, when we are improving the Gospel message; and we omit the bad news. The bad news is actually the backdrop over which the Good News can be cherished and appreciated. And ironically, it's in this effort to make God sound more loving where we get rid of the idea of judgment and repentance and the need for Christ where we actually make Him LESS loving.

David Martin and Lloyd Jones told an interesting story. He said, "Imagine that a friend of mine comes to see me."

He said, “Hey, David, I was at your house the other day -- and I got nosy. I started snooping around and I looked at your mail. A bill came due so I opened it and I paid it for you."

And Lloyd Jones said, “I have no idea how to respond to that unless I know how much he paid for the bill. If maybe it was just postage due, less than a buck, okay, that's one thing; but if he said, "Oh, by the way, I opened the bill and it was from the IRS, they made a mistake and you now owe $250,000 -- and by the way, I paid it for you."

He said, "Once I know the size of my debt, now I know whether just to shake his head or fall at his feet and kiss his shoes."

C.S. Lewis said, "We pressure the mountain of salvation, we treasure the mountain of salvation because we are fully aware of the valley of judgment."

The Good News is better news than what some of you given it credit. Jesus -- we talk about Jesus saving us. He didn't just save us from faulty self-esteem, even though the Gospel helps our self-esteem. We have been redeemed and saved and reconciled and made new. We have been given eternal life, the forgiveness and the salvation of our souls.

In His Incarnation, Jesus lived a perfect life. Somebody said, "Well, I'm doing your best." Your best is not good enough. What you need is perfection; and you get that from Jesus. He lived the perfect life. His perfection can be credited to you. And on the cross -- and again, this is part of the Christian message that, you know, billions of people believe it; but it's strange -- there's forgiveness by the shedding of blood. Christ did that. And then the exclamation point on His passion, His Resurrection. The doctrine of hell. You start to read the Bible and if you don't go, "Whoa!" something is missing.

But everybody in this room, you want wrongs to be righted; and everybody in this room has a sense of justice. One of the questions people have is: Why doesn't God do something about the evil in the world? Answer: He will. He is. The very concept of heaven and hell provides a solution to evil in the universe. He will do something about it. It's just not that day yet. So we wait and we're patient. God's response is coming but not on our timetable.

AND there's a -- from Croatia, a professor, creature teacher by the name of Miroslav Volf, he gave a paper in Berlin, Germany. That was during the time of the Balkan War in the 1990s and is talking about how, as Christians, in the midst of this brutal war where so many believers have seen female family members treated horribly; where they have seen villages wiped out -- he said, "How can a Christian deal with that sense of wrong and personal outrage?"

And he says that the cycle of retaliation is often fueled by a lack of belief in a God of judgment. He says that the practice of nonviolence requires a belief in divine vengeance. He says, otherwise, if you don't believe that God is going to right the wrongs; that God is going to handle things; then you think, "Well, I've got to take this into my hands."

(Shakes head no)

What does Romans 12 say? Don't get sucked into this ever-escalating cycle of one-up up man ship where "You do me wrong? I there do you wrong even more."

He said, what do you do? “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.” If somebody is a Christian, you forgive them with the same grace God has shown you. If somebody is not a believer, you say Christ will deal with that in His judgment seat. But the practice of non-violence requires a belief in divine vengeance. Hell exists because God has committed Himself to solving the problem of evil.

Francis Chen wrote a book with Preston Sprinkle called "Erasing Hell." He said a couple of things in that book I think are very, very potent. He said, first of all, we need to stop apologizing for God. He said we're like the nervous child who tries to keep his friends from seeing the awkward uncle. He said, I've tried to hide God at times, apologized for Him. Oh, you know, I know there's certain things in the Bible that sort of embarrassing and we need to -- stop apologizing for God.

He said, who do I think I am? The truth is God is perfect and right in all that He does; and I'm a fool for thinking otherwise. He does not need me; and He does not want me to cover for Him. There's nothing that needs to be covered. Everything about Him and all He does is perfect. Stop apologizing for God.

He said we need to start apologizing to Him. It's incredibly arrogant to pick and choose which incomprehensible truths we embrace. No one wants to jettison and ditch God's plan of redemption, even though does it really make sense to you? Neither should we erase God's revealed plan of punishment because it doesn't sit well with my own personal sensibilities. As soon as we do this, we're putting good action in submission to our own reasoning, which is a ridiculous thing for the clay pot to do to the Potter who created us.

All right, now, very quickly, let me address the scandal of particularity. How many of you have coffee drinkers, by the way? Raise your hand. There you go. Billy has two hands up down here. I'm a coffee drinker; I was talking to Jeff Calvert after the first service. He said that first cup of coffee in the morning is a glorious, heavenly moment if you're a coffee drinker; I don't know that. I don't know how you take your coffee. My sister Carolyn drinks -- well, she's got a pot of coffee going all day long and she will even have a cup of coffee before she goes to bed, regular coffee, before she goes to bed. I don't know how she does it. Well, does she -- iced coffee, put a little cream? No. Nothing like that. Black Folgers. That's it. Black Folgers.

I'm told that of -- at a Starbucks that there are 80,000 variations of coffee. 80,000 possibilities. How do you like your burgers? You know, people want to compare the best burger, fast food In-n-Out. No, Whataburger.

How do you like your burger? For me, I like mine medium well; steak, medium; burger, medium well. Decorations -- mustard; lettuce; onion; jalapenos, of course; and a fancy burger place, though, I love to have a fried egg on top. Ever had a fried egg on your burger? Hello.

(Laughter)

It is life-shaping. It is WONDERFUL, over medium, little runny. There is no one way to have a burger. No one way to have a cup of coffee. Have it your way.

Well, in a pluralist society, how about truth? You have a menu of options; I have a menu of options; your truth; my truth; but there is a scandal, a religious scandal, and God is the source of it. It's very offensive to a lot of folks. It's the scandal of particularity, and God's not secretive about this. He's not trying to hide anything. He is specific. He is so specific, in fact, that it almost sounds exclusionary. His love is not exclusionary. His love is anything but. His salvation is for everyone. We just finished talking about the doctrine of hell? The Bible said He's not willing that ANYONE should perish. He wants no one to perish. Christ came for ALL.

But listen: God loves you in Christ. God forgives sins in Christ. In Christ alone we sing, and that's the scandal. It's the scandal of particularity. As opposed to generic Godspeak, there's specific, particular ways of coming and accessing God's grace. You look to that one Man, Christ, and His death on the cross. Again, this might sound like circular reasoning, but I believe in Scripture. John 3:36. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them.

John 14:6: Jesus answered, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

Acts 4, a sample of the earliest preaching of the apostles: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved."

Tim Keller in his book "Reason for God" tells of a time where he was representing the Christian faith; and he was there with a scholar from the Islamic faith and one from the Jewish faith. They were very respectful to one another but very clear. When it was all said and done, it was simply acknowledged that we have differences that cannot be reconciled. It's not that all paths lead -- it's not like we're all saying the same thing. There are significant differences here.

When the Bible talks to us about finding salvation, it's particular. It's specific. When people ask the question, "What must we do to be saved?" they weren't given something generic. Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ, for forgiveness of your sins.

Now, I realize that any exclusive faith claim is seen by some as unsophisticated; intolerant; arrogant. How can you claim to be that particular one? And yet we would all say -- are you saying that branch Davidians is a healthy approach? Where do you draw the line? Actually, this is why: As Christians, it helps us to understand the Great Commission. If we believe this is the way to God, to salvation; to reconciliation; to renewal; and we do believe that, that's why we have a heartbeat to take the Gospel message, for it to be strong here but strong abroad. That's why we spend money and we go to Central America and South America and Africa. That's why we go to Haiti, to Nepal, because we believe this.

Let me put this statement on the screen. Is it possible that particularity is really clarity? Instead of confusion, here is the Way, Truth, and Life. Both doctrines today, the doctrine of hell and the doctrine of particularity, they both point. They both glorify Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. For the wages of sin are death, BUT the Gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  And even on the cross, that thief on the cross said, "Could you just remember me when You come into Your kingdom?" And Jesus didn't go to the cross to make it virtually impossible. He said, "This day you will be with Me in paradise."

Our God is rich in mercy and grace, and Jesus Christ IS the Way.

John 3, one verse you know very well. You have seen it publicized at ballgames. For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not PERISH but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him.

In other words, the world is condemned already. Jesus came on a rescue mission for us; and whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they've not believed in the Name of God's One and Only Son.

Let me highlight four little statements for you. The first one is this: all people who are Saved -- I believe this -- will be saved through Christ and Him alone.

Secondly, God does not want ANYONE to perish, but ALL to come to salvation. Thirdly, Christians are under a mandate to get the Message out, locally and globally.

Somebody said, well, you know, what about that person who never heard in the village somewhere -- you know, how's God --? I can't answer those questions. All I know is God is a God of grace and mercy; but we are under a mandate to get the Message out. 

Here's what is sad to me: a lot of churches these days are leaning into just generic Godtalk, not being specific and particular and not embracing the mandate because we think, "Well, God is -- whether they have heard or not, God will be kind and nice." We're under the mandate of the Great Commission to get the Gospel out; and you know what? We live in a day where there are financial resources available. If you're not giving to make it happen, why aren't you? If you're not giving to missions, why aren't you? We have technology to get it out there.

All people who are saved will be saved through Christ. God doesn't want ANYONE to perish. He wants ALL to come to repentance and we are under a mandate to go and the final analysis, though, the questions that we want answered, God is 2 Judge. I'm not; you're not. God will be the judge.

It's ironic that Jesus and His followers are sometimes called intolerant because Jesus opened the door to everyone; to the down-and-out; people who were excluded by everyone else. They found a home with Christ. He never turned anybody away who's penitent. Jesus said, if I am lifted up, I will draw all people to Me. The Christian church is one place where all should be accepted in faith in penitence. It's the place where race; money; status doesn't matter; for God so loved the WHOLE WORLD that He gave His Only Son.

Some of you are out there listening today and saying, “Ronnie, I'm not sure I'm the kind of person that God can even use. You don't know where I have been; you have no idea what I have done.”

I don't have to know what you have done. I don't have to know what you have done. I know what God has done for you. I know what Christ has done for you. And what He's done for you, His grace is greater than your felt.

If you think God can't redeem or use you, you don't know the story of the most wicked man in the Bible, Manasseh, King of Judah. He was supposed to lead God's people in a good way. He was a murderer; he was into sorcery; witchcraft; pagan worship; offered his own sons as sacrifices. God tried time and time again to get his attention to no avail.

Here's the story 2 Chronicles 33. He led the people of Israel astray so they did more evil than the nations the Lord destroyed before the Israelites and, Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid absolutely no attention. So what does the Lord do? He brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria and they took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon. In his distress, Manasseh sought the favor of the Lord.

“Well, I guess so. I guess he did.”

If you were God, what would you do? If you were God, would you show grace to Him? If you were God, would you show mercy to Manasseh? In his distress, he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself before the God of his ancestor and when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty, listened to his plea, and brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. And then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.

My friends, God's mercy is so vast, it is beyond our comprehension, that he responds to a mustard seed of faith and to an ounce of repentance. And the same can happen for you.

And you say, “Well, Ronnie, you sure God can love someone like me?” I know He can. I know He does. But it's hard to describe because it's even beyond a human love. No human love can compare to divine love of God for you and me.

And Jesus being God on that cross centuries ago could look down and see you. He sees you today. I see that hypocrisy. I see the immorality. I see the brokenness. I see the rebellion. And I'm staying here and I'm paying the debt and I'm paying the penalty so you don't have to. That is our great God, and that is the message of the Gospel.

If you have yet to come to Christ, there's not a wispy response. It's not a generic response. You put your faith in Jesus Christ. You repent. You stop trying to keep one foot in the world.

You repent and say, "Lord, I will follow You full throttle and will cost me. That's okay. I'm following You."

Repent and then you're baptized, not generically; in the Name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit.

Some of you need to start afresh today. You can. The Lord loves you. Sometimes we all need to come back time and time again, get our feet washed by Jesus, because we walk around in the dirty world. God bless you, everybody. The Lord loves you and cares. I love you. I care. Billy, come up here and lead us in prayer, please.

>> Billy: Praise God. Wow. Powerful message. Let's take a moment to let it sink in. Sometimes we hear messages and let it sink in. I want to lead us in prayer today, but I'm leading in prayer. I'm not praying at you so I want to encourage you to pray with me as I lead you in prayer. Just open your heart and, you know, extend your faith as we go to the Lord in prayer.

Wow, Lord, what a convicting message. Thank You for Your love for Your people. Thank You in these last days You're doing something new and fresh. We even know as a people we go astray; but Lord, we pray You would restore our hearts back to You and so, Lord, we pray this morning just heal our union with You; restore our fellowship with You. Lord, for those of us that have developed a hardness of heart, just take out of us that stony heart and give us a heart of flesh. 

David said in his prayer to the Lord -- he said a broken spirit and a contrite heart you will not despise so God, we pray for that brokenness and pray for a grace of repentance and pray that You restore the fear of the Lord in our hearts, that we would walk with a greater awareness of Your Presence that will walk with a greater sensitivity to the Spirit of God and that we would be more diligent just to walk in Your Truth and to walk in Your commands; that we would seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness.

Church family, those of you who are going through stuff or have family members and friends, we just put those needs before the Lord right now. So just pray with me, pray in your heart there's specific people, specific situations.

Lord, we thank You that You invite us to engage You in prayer with all types of requests. Lord, we just pray over our church family for those that are in need. We pray for those who are suffering with sickness and disease; and we pray that You will come into those situations. You're the great Great Physician and pray for healing grace and restoration there. We pray for those in our church family who are struggling perhaps with discouragement or depression.

Lord, You came to heal the broken hearted so we pray You bring that inner healing; that You would bring encouragement; that you would bring and restore faith and hope and love to Your people. Just as a body of believers, God, we just pray that You would just help us and give us the strength to live for You in a day where there's so many world views or so much resistance, a spirit of Antichrist coming against us. Give us, God, the strength. Give us fresh strength and boldness to live for the glory of Your kingdom and so we commit all these things to You in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

>> Grant: Amen, amen. Thank you so much, Billy, for your prayer and leadership this morning as we hit a very hard topic because all of us at some point in our journeys have struggles with doubt; have questions; have uncertainties; and that's the beauty of the body of Christ because what do we need more than anything? We need elders and deacons to come and speak truth. We need to be disciples and in the Word of God. We need to be in the body of Christ that is life-giving.

So as we do that, don't miss out on all that First Colony is doing. There's fantastic opportunities to plug in during our Bible class hour every Sunday. Dive into the Scripture. Be mentored. 9:45, whether it's birth all the way through adults, there's something for everybody.

Guys, if you're in Women's Ministry, great opportunities this summer whether it's Bible studies or book clubs. They even have their Zoom series right now, Women in Apologetics, some great opportunities to plug in. Go to the website. You can find out more information there.

This morning we talked about the opportunity to be used, to be disciple-makers. Well, parents, we've got VBS coming up so June 14 through 16, whether you're a parent or a seasoned vet here in the church, we want you to come and invest in the kids of this church. This is the future generation.

Come as a missionary. Come love on these kids. Sign up your kids to be in there because they will have a blast, learning a lot about God and Jesus, and we get to be used by God pass we do it.

The end of VBS is a fantastic event called Fam Blitz. I have been at every one, and this auditorium is nuts. It's divided up into two teams. This stage is like crazy awesome, things I have never seen are up here; and you either look like a fool or look like a hero by the end of the night. But it's an absolute blast! So put it on your calendar, June 16, whether you have kids or not. You're gonna have a great time, but one of the most parts of the night is the theme of the Gospel is preached throughout as we have crazy fun. We remember about who we are and our identity in Christ so come be reminded; brings your kids; bring your family for a great night at Family Blitz June 16.

Students, we've got Camp Eagle this summer, too. Fun-packed weekend with student ministry. There's zip lines, tons of activities, gonna be a blast. Sign up online for that.

All right, guys. Just, again, as a reminder of who we are and where we stand before the cross, I'm just reminded, again, of how little I bring to the cross, how unworthy we really are; but when I stand before the wounded stripes of Jesus, He clothes me with His righteousness; and He invites me to come before Him and the Father; and we are reconciled. So as we come with our doubts and our struggles, we stand on the Promises of God. So as we stand now to worship and close, let us remember our Lord is God. Let us stand on that truth this morning and worship Him.

>> Richard: Amen!

("Lay Me Down" playing)

>> Richard: Thank you, church, for your worship today! You are dismissed!