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. ¶ >> 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're glad you're here. >> Grant: Well, 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, and I'm honored to have you join us today as we get to worship together and experience the goodness that comes from our God and Him alone so let's do that this morning. Go ahead and stand, and let's ender into this time of worship together. >> Richard: Yes, God is faithful, amen? ("Forever" playing) >> Richard: Come on, sing it out, church! His love endures! Sing it out! Forever! Yes, our God is faithful, amen? (Applause) God is good! Can I just point out the obvious, that we don't have a drummer today? Can I just point out another thing, that this band doesn't care we don't have a drummer because we are worshiping God, amen? (Cheers) This group is sufficient today, amen? So I just want to encourage us to sing out and fill the gaps, okay? Fill the gaps. God is worthy! ("10,000 Reasons/Bless the Lord" playing) Amen. ¶ Yes, I'll worship Your Holy Name ¶ ¶ Lord, I'll worship Your Holy Name ¶ ¶ >> Joel: Good morning! You may be seated. It's so good to see you all here today. If you're watching us online, it's good to see you guys as well. So interestingly, one time I had the opportunity to go on a mission trip, and there was a student. And he, through an interpreter, asked, "Does God hate?" And, you know, it's like, "Wow, that's a pretty heavy question." And you know your Bible. There are thing in the Bible that God says, "These are things that I hate." In Proverbs 19, I believe it is -- excuse me -- chapter 6, verses 16 through 19, says six things the Lord hates, seven are an abomination to Him and there's a list. There's a passage in Psalms 5 that talk about those that persist in wrongdoing. So obviously yes, we know that God hates; BUT we also know, John 3:16, for God so loved the world He gave His One and Only Son so He loved the world. I want to focus on Romans 5:8 that says, "But God demonstrated His love towards us in while we were sinners, Christ died for us." It's interesting God didn't wait until we had our act together; He died while for us while we were sinners, which is very fascinating. I have an illustration here. You read the word "love" in the Bible, and you open your Bible and see God loved this and He loves this; and it's like, "Wow, that's really cool." But the interesting thing about love is that love is an action, and in Jesus' case -- and in our case -- it was a sacrifice. So we know the story: Jesus lived a perfect life; He did nothing wrong; He came to earth fully God, fully man. There came a point in that journey where He was crucified. Did it hurt? Oh, yes. It hurt really bad. And yet because He loved us, He was able to endure beatings and we know as soon we will celebrate communion, we know His body was broken for us. Well, love is an action word, and so what I'm doing is I'm mutilating this little sheet of paper that has the word "love" on it because ultimately, that is what our sins did to God. Now, you see this ball here and you're probably wondering, "Why do you have a beach ball?" Well, it's supposed to be a world so you will have to bear with me; it's a world. It's round. I couldn't a world beach ball. That was kind of what I hoped to find, but you get the idea. So the cool thing about Jesus' love is that the fact that He died on the cross for us; the fact that God demonstrates His own love towards us -- as I try not to trim my finger. I got sharp scissors, but they have a blunted end that you have to get in through a small location. Sorry about the delay there. But -- let's see. We got two more. We can do it. Do you think we can do it? I think we can do it. There's one. All right. This is the hard one. For some reason, it does NOT want to -- and you know what? Sin is like that. All right. There we go. We did it. So we have this sheet of paper. Back to the original question: does God hate? We know there are thing God hates, and we know He loves us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We read in the Bible God loves us, but that is an action word. It's doing something. So what is cool about this is now this love encompasses the entire world. But interestingly, obviously not to scale. Joel is in this picture, too, and Joel has a choice to turn from my sin and follow Jesus and place myself inside His love like the world; or Joel has a choice to say, "You know what? I don't want inside Your love. I will risk it on my own." That's my challenge to you: Does God hate you because of your sin? He doesn't. He sacrificed Himself for you. But when you choose to live in sin, you're basically taking Him and we know what He did on the cross for us when you're continuing to live in sin. It's like you're constantly putting Him back on the cross. Is that what you want to be doing? That's my challenge to you, but ultimately know that God loves you. Thank you very much. (Applause) >> Grant: As always, thank you so much, Joel. As we remember how much the Lord loves us, we get to enter into this special time of communion. John and Ana Maria Ricks will lead us in that. If you're at home, get your supplies. If you're here, get your packets. Let's prepare our minds and hearts for communion today. Thank y'all so much. >> John: Good morning. My name is John Ricks, and this is my wife Ana Maria Ricks. We are blessed to be able to lead you in communion this morning. So if you will, keep it in mind the message Joel just gave us all. Let's go to our Heavenly Father and pray. Father, we thank You so much for the sacrifice of Your Son. For that act of love that saves each and every one of us. We thank You at this time Father, for the bread we're about to take that represents His body, the cup that represents His bloodshed for us. Help each one of us, Father, daily, not just one time Sunday morning, but every day. Keep in mind that sacrifice is what cleanses each of us of our sins. In Your Son's Name we pray, amen. Let's take of the Lord's Supper together. >> Ana Maria: Okay, I will be reading John 3:18-21 New Live Translation. (Reading) Amen. ("Good, Good Father" playing) >> Richard: Why don't we all stand and sing this together? >> Richard: Thank you for your worship today. You may be seated. >> Grant: Well, we are about to pray over our offering, and leading in prayer today will be Steve Williams. Thank you, Steve, so much. >> Steve: Good morning, church. I want to also welcome our online worshipers as well. This is a time where we spend a moment to give back with what God has given us. He has been a great Protector and a Giver, and this is just another way to show our love through action. It's the action that we're doing right now, which is giving back to God, that I know pleases Him. As a church, we make this simple as possible in terms of the offering. There's many different ways to give. One is for online worshipers, you can give on the screen. Just push that little link there. Also, you can give through texting. Also for our in-person worshipers, we can get through the app but also a Giving Box in the back as well. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You. Thank You for this time that we can come together as a family and to show You how much we love You, by giving our first fruits to you. It's not just about giving. It's where our heart is. I pray that our heart is cheerful. I pray that our heart, our heart is pleasing, and I pray that we will do it deliberately, deliberately in terms of giving back to You so we can see the abundance of what You will do with it. That's through ministries, through sharing Your Word throughout the world. So Father, thank You for this time. In Jesus' Name we pray, amen. >> This is my church, and I volunteer on Sunday morning. ¶ >> At our church, services on Sunday mornings don't just happen. They're faithful and dedicated volunteers that assemble each and every week so we can have our Sunday morning experience at First Colony Church of Christ. ¶ >> This is my church. I sing on Sunday morning. >> This is my church. I run lyrics on Sunday mornings. >> I run lights on Sunday morning. >> I run switcher on Sunday mornings because this is my church. >> I run camera Sunday morning. >> I play keys because this is my church. >> I run camera on Sunday morning because this is my church. >> This is my church so I play guitar. >> So I play bass. >> At our church, we are singers; camera operators; we run lyrics; we play drums; bass; and guitar; we greet; and we serve. >> This is my church. >> This is my church. >> This is my church. >> This is my church! >> This is my church. >> This is my church. >> This is my church. >> This is my church. >> This is my church! That's why I serve on Sunday mornings. >> This is OUR church and it takes ALL of us! Sign up to volunteer for OUR church today. >> Grant: Isn't that awesome? Let's give these volunteers applause -- front, back, and everybody inbetween. (Applause) That's a beautiful thing. This is OUR church. This is my church. We take ownership and none of this happens if it's not without the body of Christ. That's a beautiful reminder. So speaking of, this is a great time for Connection Cards. If you are guests, member alike, we would love to have you fill out a Connection card and get to know about you. You can learn about the ministries; ask questions; share prayer requests. If you're online, click the "Get Connected" card to bring it up. If you're with us, get your phone out and scan the QR code in front of you. It will bring it up and you can fill it out quick. If you're a guest today thank you for joining us and giving your morning and coming to spend it with us. We have a room called the “New Here? Start Here” room; so if you're here, head across the lobby. Find us at the “New Here? Start Here” room. We would love to meet you and answer questions, and we have a little gift this morning as well. It's time for our fellowship greeting so let's stand. Say hello to the folks and tell them something you have done fun this summer. If you're online, jump in the chat box. We'd love to know you're joining us for worship today. Oh, and one other thing: first to fifth graders, this is time for Main Street Live. I'm sorry. Mr. Joel is at the back. You can head to the back center for Main Street Live. Parents, if you haven't signed your kids in, head to the chapel and sign them in. ("God So Loved" playing) >> Richard: Here we go! ¶ ¶ Can you see His open arms ¶ ¶ His amazing love ¶ >> Richard: Yes! Hey, thank you for your worship today! You may be seated. >> Ronnie: Richard and team, thanks so very, very much. Good morning, everybody! Glad to see you today. Welcome to the First Colony Church of Christ, and we love those of you who are in the room. It's great to see you. We love those of you watching online. Welcome to you as well. I'd like to recognize someone. I will ask her to stand, Maggie Myers. Would you please stand? Where is Maggie? She is right there. She was recently baptize and want to celebrate with Maggie, Bryan, and the great, wonderful family. (Applause) So this is my third church service today. So you've got something to live up to. The first two were REALLY outstanding, but I'm so glad to be here, glad to see you. We're in a series called "Kinda Different" and will talk about "Different on Purpose." I will teach through a section of Scripture out of 1 Peter 1, verses 13 through 25. Let me start with a question: will this world influence you, or will you influence the world? That's a fair question because as believers, we live in a paradoxical situation where we're called to be in the world but not OF it. My friends, it takes courageous purpose to go against the grain and not go with the flow of the herd. It takes courageous purpose to not bow down to idolatry and to say with vigor and enthusiasm and to live it out, Jesus Christ indeed is Lord. I believe we have to have that mind set that says "I will not bow." I will be gracious; loving; kind; but I will not just listen to the voice of the herd. Now, this Scripture text out of 1 Peter 1, Peter is writing to a group of people, and they're in the minority. They're a Christian minority actually in a very unfriendly culture. He said a lot of people will just think you're really, really odd for God. He uses the word "exile." You're like an exile. You're an alien. You don't really belong there, and his message to you and to me is that this world in which we live -- yes, we are to make a difference here; and yet at the same time this world is not our home. This world, as we know it, is indeed not our home. God's calling you and me to different values, different standards, different passions, different use of resources. We're to be a different kind of mom and different kind of dad and different kind of spouse, not just "Listen to the voice of the herd." That voice is relentless. It is ever upon us. The apostle Peter will give us four action steps today, four action steps about being different on purpose. Here's the first one. "I want you to THINK on purpose." Therefore, he says, verse 13, with mind that are alert and fully sober -- Hey, what's the opposite of sober? Drunk. You ever heard a drunk person speak? You don't have to answer. They don't make a lot of sense. He says, I need you to THINK sensibly. I need you to be alert and fully sober. For those of you who play sports, have you ever said or have them say to you, "Hey, you have to get your head in the game! Come on! What are you thinking? You have to have your head on straight! What were you thinking there?" And Peter says, right out of the chute, you know, thinking impact, your life. What you choose to think about and the information that you allow in to your thinking process. He says -- and you know, he'll camp out on this later -- YOU are unique people because you have insider information. YOU have been born again by the Word of God. Think about this. You know the grand story of things. You know the big picture. Without a knowledge of the Word of God, you don't really know there's a God. Without acknowledging the Word of God, you're not fully aware of Jesus and His love and redemption for you; the Resurrection; the call of God; your life. But you know that, and because you know, you've got the long view -- well, let's just read the whole verse. Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you WHEN Jesus Christ is revealed at His coming. Here's why that is significant and why you can think a little differently. You've got the long view. You've got the big picture of things. We know there is a Coming of Jesus Christ. We know there is a return of Jesus when He sets things right. What that means is we are fully aware that here and now there are pockets of goodness and righteousness and wholesomeness and beauty; and we love that. At the same time, we are not shocked and decimated when we are also fully aware that until the revealing of Jesus Christ, there are also pockets of evil and ungodliness and fallenness and sickness and death and decay. That is the reality in which we live. We think differently, though. We think on purpose because we've been granted the Word of God, and I just commend you today. Just think of what you're doing here today. You have decided that listening to Scripture; that feeding your soul; feeding your thinking; feeding your apparatus that makes decisions. You regularly expose yourself to Scripture. It shapes your values, your decisions, and I just got to -- I commend you for that. And your children growing up under you to be given the blessing of an umbrella of a knowledge of Scripture and to see those values. THAT'S just huge. Let me move on. Secondly, he says, we act on purpose. We don't just act. We don't just react. We act on purpose -- verse 14 -- "as obedient children." Somebody says, “Well, I'm an adult. I'm an executive. I don't know I want to be called an obedient child.” My friends, there are women and men all across the globe in the highest of places who consider it their greatest honor to be an obedient child of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Never consider yourself too elevated; too educated; too sophisticated to be an obedient child. When you have that obedient, yielded Spirit to God, oh, my goodness. You're in a position to be used by Him. He forgives us but can use us so well when we're yielded and trustworthy. As obedient children, you don't conform to the desires you had when you lived in ignorance. You're a different person now. “Just as He who called you is holy so you be holy in all you do for it is written: be holy because I am holy.” You know what the word "holy" means. It means "set apart for God, set apart for a noble purpose, set apart for a higher purpose." My wife in our house has a special collection of tea cups. She's collected them over the years -- you know, saucers and tea cups. They're very delicate and very pretty. She will use them for special occasions. When the grandkids are over and they're gonna maybe eat out back or have a little picnic in the back yard, they're not allowed to use those tea cups. You can't just take one of those tea cups and, you know, use it as a Frisbee. It's a special thing here. THIS tea cup is for special, special purposes. Peter says, that's you. You're created for high purposes and noble purposes. Be holy because I am holy, he says. Holiness causes us to set apart our eyes, our ears, our money, our mouth, our motivations unto Christ, the Lord. Now, let me tell you what this passage does not say. It does not say, "Be happy." in American culture and Christianity, we have somehow bought into the myth and falsehood of "God wants me happy. Therefore, anything that sort of frustrates my happiness certainly cannot be of God." There are times when you must intentionally stiff-arm the myth of "God just wants me happy." Those are times when you're tempted to do something that is just obviously wrong and sinful or it's absolutely foolish and stupid. You know, please don't mishear what I'm saying. I'm not saying God is an ogre and doesn't want you to have joy. That's not true. He wants you to have a deep and lasting joy. He wants you to know the peace that passes understanding. He knows that right now in this moment there might be sadness in the evening, but there can come joy in the morning as we push through and see what God brings about. We are people who think differently -- why? We have been exposed to the Word of God. We act differently. We have been set apart. We have been set apart for high and noble purposes. Some of you desperately want to fit in. And you want to fit in too much. God never called you to fit in. He called you to be set apart, to stand out. And some people think Tim Tebow, and some people will look at you and they'll really respect that. Others will look at you and they will actually be inspired in their own Christian walk because people are looking for a leader. And there will be plenty who will look at you and say, "You're just too odd for me. You're odd for God." You think differently; you act differently. Peter says thirdly you actually hope differently. Let's look at verse 18. He says, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors." You're about to read one of my favorite sections of Scripture. He says, "You have been redeemed and set apart, and you have been purchased for this not by decay-prone, tangible things such as silver or gold. Here's how your redemption came about. You have been purchased by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect. And Jesus was chosen before the creation of the world, but He was revealed in these last times for your sake. And through Him, you believe in God. Through Jesus you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are -- where? Where's your hope? It's in God. It's not in philosophy or politics. For crying out loud, people say politics is a new religion. If you will have a solid and lasting hope, it needs to be in God, and that's the Good News. You have been redeemed and set apart. He just said, I need to be holy. Throughout the Bible, there's this beautiful push/pull. There's this beautiful duality. I'm called to be holy. Now, that's not an invitation to perfection. That's not gonna happen. It IS an invitation to move towards perfection, to move in that direction; but here's the beautiful message of Christianity. Every Sunday when we take communion, it's a reminder. "God, I'm re-upping. I'm promising to be Your obedient child." He re-ups with us every single day and He says, "And I promise to be gracious and forgive you when you falter and miss the mark." I'm called to be holy; and at the same time I have been redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. Is there -- you know, one little girl asked her grandfather one day, "Is there anything God can't do?" He said, "Yes, there's something God can't do. He said he cannot see your sin through the blood of Jesus Christ, and the darkest stain on your soul and mine can be forgiven by the wonderful grace of God." My friends, God is not fair. He will be more than fair, but that's not an invitation on my part to be cavalier and dismissal of His nature. He opposes the proud, but He gives wonderful grace to the humble. You're kind of different. You think on purpose; you act on purpose; you have a hope that is rooted in the grand purposes of God and the Resurrection of Jesus. Last of all, you love on purpose. Now, we're about to read a passage of Scripture where Peter is going to invite us and remind us of the beauty of Christian love for one another, okay? You're gonna go there and to that. But before we read that section, I just want to remind you that it's perfectly permissible to love people who are not yet Christians, okay? It's perfectly permissible for you to love people you go to school with or work with. In fact, it's a beautiful ministry opportunity. Can I just remind you that YOU be a person that does a good job; YOU be that person that shows up on time; YOU be the person who is not the office gossip; YOU be that person that brings light and positivity; YOU be that voice of encouragement and that blessing; and you see somebody who has a need? You try to help. If somebody really is broken, maybe you can quietly just ask, "Might I pray for you?" You have that opportunity. That's who we are. All of us are on call every single day to be God's women and God's men and God's ambassadors. You're kind of different, and when you know who you are, you see so many Holy Spirit prompted opportunities. All right. Let's get back to what Peter will coach us in. He's about to tell us that Christian love has two beautiful qualities about it. You ready? One quality is it's pure. Not a lot of ulterior motives. Second quality is it's durable. It doesn't quit easily. It's not easily breakable. It perseveres. Now, some of you when you think of love, you think of something that's pretty easy. I've lived long enough to know love is a challenge. You got to be resilient. You got to be tough. You got to persevere. And sometimes you'll have to carry a heavier load than you think you should have to carry for a while. Peter's about to tell us that Christian love is both pure and durable, and he's going to use two theological illustrations. Here's the first one. "Now that you have purified yourselves, now that your souls have been purified by obeying the truth so you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply from the heart." He says, just like your soul has been cleansed and is pure, let your love for one another be so clean and so pure and so sincere. I love that! And then he's going to say, just as the Word of God is living and enduring and will never pass away, let YOUR love be enduring and strong; and let it be a stalwart. Verse 23. For you have been born again -- you. All of you. Me. How have we been born again? Not of perishable seed but imperishable through the Living and Enduring Word of God. Look at your app or Bible and any time you read Scripture, you hear and think, "This is not a message that's flighty or weak. This is not a message that goes away. This is the Living and the Inviting and the Enduring Word of God; that what God says in time lasts for eternity." For all people are like grass. You and me, we're like grass. And all people are like flowers. You're like a flower; I'm like a flower. How? The grass withers; the flower falters. In other words, you have a shelf life; I have a shelf life. But the Word of the Lord will outlive my earthly life and yours. The Word of the Lord endures forever, and this is the Word that's been preached to you. His last exhortation is just as your soul has been cleansed and is clean and is pure, let your love for one another be that way, clean and pure and wholesome. And just like the Word of God is not going to fall away, just like the Word of God was true yesterday; it's true today; it's going to be true tomorrow. Let your love for one another be that durable and strong. You're kind of different people. You are. You think differently because you're rooted into the Scriptures. You act differently because you know you have been set apart in holiness. You hope differently because you know the grand story and your hope is rooted in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. And you love on purpose because your love is rooted in God's grand purposes. Gang, you're a part of a creative minority. Peter will remind us, it can be crazy out there. It can be ungodly out there. Let's not bring what's OUT there IN here. Let's bring what's UP there in the kingdom of God IN here. Now, I want to tell you a little story before I close. You know, the second most popular book in the English language is "Pilgrim's Progress." It's written by John Bunyan, who actually spent 12 years in prison for preaching the Gospel in England and refused to be part of the Church of England. He died August 31, 1688, while in London on a preaching assignment. He was buried in Bunhill Fields, used to be called Bone Hill Fields. You can go to the cemetery today. When he was buried there -- there are other well-known names buried there. It was outside the city but now it's just a part of the city. In fact, there's a little sidewalk that goes to the cemetery. It's a shortcut in a neighborhood. People walk right by John Bunyan's grave. He died in 1688, but in 1862, folks said, "This is a great man. He needs a tomb. He needs some decor." To this day you can see John Bunyan's statue. He's lying there and holding in his hands and arms a book, the Bible. He preached without apology the Word of God. There are two etchings on each side. There's one etching on each side of Bunyan's tomb. On one side there's an etching of a character, the character Christian from the book "Pilgrim's Progress." You remember how Christian was at one time weighed down and bent over because he had such a heavy load on his back. It was the burden of a guilty conscience. You wake up with it. You go to bed with it. But on the other side of that tomb, you see Christian in a different posture. Now he's standing straight. There behind him, that burden has been placed on the ground; BUT Christian's holding onto something. What's he holding on to? He's holding on to the cross, to the love of God for him. John Bunyan is still preaching every single day. People can walk past that tomb and have a reminder. There is a book; there is a message; there is a Word from God that's living and abiding and enduring; and it points you to the grand solution for the heaviest burden you'll ever know, which is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for your sins; was raised again; and is coming back to set things right. My friend, do you today need to take an initial step to the Lord? In humility and repentance and baptism? Have you been baptized in Christ? Or is today a day you need to take a fresh beginning, a fresh turn to the Lord? Maybe, you know, we all re-up. We re-up every week. That's why we come to church. We re-up. Is there a point of action today that the Holy Spirit is nudging within your soul within your heart that you need to take? You'll be glad you did because you want something more than superficial happiness. You want the peace that passes understanding. You want the joy of the Lord. You want that sense of being in His hands. Nothing beats that. To those of you in the room and watching, just know I love you and care for you. I'm praying for you today for your faith and hope and love. Brother Steve, lead us in prayer, please. >> Steve: Let's pray. Father, we thank You so much for this wonderful message, this message that was breathed and lived by You. As we intentionally come closer to You, we pray that our minds are fixated daily by believing and knowing You sent Jesus as a sacrifice for each of us so we can be saved from sin. We pray that in return we live pure and righteous lives; that others will see Your goodness by our willingness to choose obedience over evil. Most importantly, we pray that we show our love for You by loving others through forgiveness and patience. In God, we ask for forgiveness when we fall short. Father, as we start a new week, we are mindful of the people You place to govern our nation. We ask that their hearts be softened so that Your commands be our true guidance. God, we pray that we are bold and have the courage to verbally and physically be a Godly example to the world and in our daily relationships. God, as this school year fastly approaches, we are aware of the importance of education and impact it will have locally and nationally. We pray that each student find true identity in Jesus where You are glorified and they thrive in healthy, Godly relationships. We also pray for the administrators and teachers as they lead our young leaders. Give them boldness and wisdom as to know how to reach out and teach each student. So Father, as our God we begin a new day, and we give You thanks for making us into a new person. The old self is no longer. We leave here today with a desire to obey. You Are our God. In Jesus' Christ we pray, amen. >> Grant: Amen, amen. Thank you so much, Steve. Church, we have got a lot of great things happening to stay spiritually fit at the First Colony Church of Christ so let me make sure you're aware of those. Every Sunday, 9:45, we have Bible classes for all ages. This is a great place to be. If you're online with us, we've got class at 10:00 a.m. live and we have a live broadcast at 12:30. That's every Sunday. Holley Elementary is a school we partner with and the Lord has given us a heart to be Jesus to these teachers and students. Right now we're in the middle of our back-to-school drive and are serving by giving $5 gift cards and $25 gift cards. You can give as many as you want. We'll bless them with school supplies and throughout the year. Mail the cards into the church or drop them in the Giving Boxes these next couple of Sundays. But let's do that as the body of Christ to bless that school. Zoo Camp is coming up at the end of this month and so this is a great event for families, specifically if you've got 3-year-olds through the end of first grade. This is going to be a Friday night through Saturday morning overnight camp-out under the stars. We'll be in the gym in the A/C; don't worry. It's going to be fun. We'll lassoing bulls and riding horses and panhandling for gold; all right. We will also hear how awesome our God is in this creation so a great time. Sign up on the website. It will be a great family event. Meet, Greet, and Eat. You can sign me up already. I'm in. So coming up, you'll hear more about this September, October, November. These will be just fun events for us to help get connected. If you are looking to make some new friends. If you're not in a Connection group and want to meet some of our elders or leadership or just have fun with church members, these are gatherings you want to be a part of. If you want to make sure to get an invitation, sign up online. You can also go to New Here? Start Here and you will be invited to the gathering. It will be a lot of fun and we will meetin', greetin', and eatin'. All right, church, love you guys. Know that our staff is gonna be praying for each of you this week. Let's stand as we close with one more song today. >> Richard: Amen! ("God So Loved" playing) ¶ His amazing love ¶ >> Richard: Thank you for worshiping with us today, church! You are dismissed!