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" on 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 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. >> Shane: Well, good morning, everyone! Welcome to First Colony Church of Christ and welcome to everybody watching online! We're so glad to have you with us today, so good to be together to fellowship and praise the Lord. Let's stand and begin with song this morning. ("Leaning on the Everlasting Arms") ("Blessed Be Your Name") ("I Stand in Awe") >> Kyle: Amen, church. Thank you for your worship this morning. Let's be seated together. >> Shane: Amen. As David and Reece come up to lead us in communion today, let's allow this time of communion to re-orient our hearts and minds towards Jesus, the amazing grace that is ours because of Him, our Savior, our God with us. Guys? >> David: Good morning, church. Please pray with me over the bread that symbolizes Christ's body broken for us. Dear Heavenly Father, as much of the world has spent the last few days and weeks focus on Jesus' birth, we turn now and focus on His life and on His death. We focus on the body that was tortured and pierced and broken for us. He took what we deserve, and we will be eternally grateful. In His Name we pray, amen. >> Reece: Today I will be reading from John 4:21-26. (Reading) >> David: Let's pray again for the cup that represents Christ's blood that was shed for us. Dear Father in heaven, again, we focus our thoughts on Jesus' blood that was shed for us that washes all of our sins away so that we can live with You there are for eternity. I pray now that we remember that sacrifice and that we live for You all the days that we have left on this earth. Thank You for all that You have done for us. In Christ's Name we pray, amen. Let's take the cup. ("How Great Thou Art") >> Shane: Amen. Well, as we take our offering today, I just want to say we partner together with God to get the message of Jesus out and to serve in Fort Bend County and places around the world. I just want to say thank you for your offerings this year; and as we take our offering, you can give online. You can text to give, and there's offering boxes in the back of the room for those of you here. So let's pray together over this offering. Our Father in heaven, we ask that You take these offerings; You use them. Lord, we acknowledge that every good gift comes from You. We ask that You increase in us a generous spirit that reflects Your heart, God, in every way in our lives. We pray this in Jesus' Name. Amen. >> Joel: Amen. Good morning. It's great to be here with you the day after Christmas and as we look forward to the end of the week, we look forward to a new year -- pretty exciting. All right. Curious what you guys can see. Ha-ha. All right. Well, our verse today is talking about the old being made new, and 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; the old has gone. The new is here." Now, boys and girls, moms and dads, you know when people say "Happy holidays" they're often referring to both Christmas and New Year's, and we're actually at -- New Year's is around the corner. And a year will have passed. That year will be gone. And that year will never be repeated again. You may have had a good 2021; you may not have had a good 2021; but that year is totally gone and never to be done again. The question is: What are you going to do with the new year? And the world looks at New Year's and say, "Well, Hey, this is a time when, you know, we'll focus on doing things better," and if you're a kid, maybe, "I'll brush my teeth more often when my Mom and Dad tell me to. I'll make my bed. I'll do my homework." If you're an adult, you may say, "Hey, you know, this year I will get in shape. This is the year I will watch my diet. I will do this." But as a Christian, we need to be in Christ. We need to be in Christ for the new to come and the old to be done away with. And so I thought it would be cool if we could have an illustration where the old becomes new when we're in Christ but, you know, growing up -- well, not growing up but living on the West Coast for so long, we celebrated the 9:00 New Year's, meaning at 9:00 on the West Coast we would watch the ball drop on the East Coast. Then we would go to bed. Here you have to wait until 11:00. It's terrible. I mean, why can't you fix that? I thought we could countdown. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three! Two! One! Wait! What?! How did that happen? Happy New Year! (Laughter) But the key is we need to be in Christ. Think about that. How can you be in Christ this new year? How can you look and say, "Where can I go from here? How can I do better?" Be in Christ. Thank you very much. (Applause) >> Shane: All right. We love Joel and are so glad he's here, right? So great to have him. If you're our guest today we're so glad you're here. It's great to see everybody today. There's a Connection card, a digital Connection card. Even online you can fill it out. It's the QR code in front of you. If you want to learn how to get connected, how to get in a group or how to pray with you, fill out the Connection card. If you would like to visit with us in the "New Here? Start Here" room in the lobby afterwards, we'd love to get to know you. We don't have Main Street Live today. We'll stick together. Ronnie has an extra long sermon -- you're going two hours, right, Ronnie? (Laughter) Kids, Main Street Live will resume next week, okay? Let's stand and greet together another this time of fellowship greeting. ("Our God He Is Alive") (Applause) >> Kyle: Amen, church! Thank you so much for your worship this morning. Let's get seated together. >> Ronnie: Fantastic. Thanks, Kyle and team. Hello. Good morning. Glad to see you today on this last Sunday in 2021. To those of you in the room, Happy New Year to you; and to those of you watching online, we're so glad to have you with us. We have, every week, somewhere around 700 people who are engaged with us online; and they truly are engaged with us online. We thank you for that. We're glad to have you. Some of you are local; some of you actually are global; but we are delighted to have you as a part of our worship experience here. Let me sort of get right into what I want to chat about here today because at the outset, I want to tell you a little bit about what is upcoming here over the next few weeks or so. First of all, next Sunday, very first Sunday of the year, January 2, 2022. We're right back to our regular schedule. We have this on the screen. Here we go. So two worship services, 8:30 and 11:00. 9:45 Bible classes for all ages. Now, our adults and students will be in the gym. Our guest speaker next Sunday for our Happy Region New Year Sunday -- we do around the first of the year -- Jeff Walling. I'm glad to have him back at First Colony. He works the Church Relations Department at Pepperdine University and speaks around the country. I have known Jeff a number of years, and the two most gifted public speakers I know are Joe Beam and Jeff Walling. They have both been here. Jeff's undergraduate training is in theater but is AMAZING, amazing speaker. The great thing is he's a really good person. He's a very, very good man; and what he has to say is strong. In talking to Jeff, I said, "Jeff, I want your two best messages, two very best, as we start the year, as we kick off 2022." What he's planning to talk about, I have heard him speak on these topics before and heard these message. It's exactly what we need. It will be a GREAT beginning to the year, but don't just take my word for it; take Jeff's word for it. Here we go. >> Jeff: Well, Merry Christmas from Malibu, California, and though the weather here is beautiful, I'm looking forward to being in Houston on the very first Sunday of 2022 with the First Colony Church of Christ. I'm looking forward to sharing a message with you from God's Word that I think will be both encouraging and inspiring. We're going to get some advice on how to tackle this new year; how to keep your focus where it needs to be; and enjoy every day knowing that you're looking where you need to be. Now, that's all I'm going to tell you, but let me encourage you to invite a friend to come with you on the first Sunday of 2022 at the First Colony Church of Christ. I'll be not only preaching but also teaching the Bible class with something I think you'll find, uh, maybe just a little bit humorous but a lesson called "Love Speaks." I want to thank Ronnie Norman for the chance to be with you, and I look forward to being in Sugar Land, Texas, in the first Sunday of the new year. Don't miss that Sunday and your record for church attendance will be perfect -- at least for that first week. God bless you, and Happy New Year! >> Ronnie: Okay. So that's next Sunday, everyone. Next, I will put another slide on the screen as we come to the end of the year. Let me ask you again to really consider generosity to our church family in 2022. What I will ask you to do is simply pray this prayer. "Lord, what would You like to do through me to help our church fulfill its mission?" You know what our mission is here, which is to honor God and lead people into a growing relationship with Him. If you'll just pray, "Lord, how might You use me to help our church? How might I take some of the resources You have blessed to me and take some of those resources and use them for Your purposes?” You pray that prayer. I believe God -- it might sound mystical -- I believe He will respond and help you take that step. I want to thank you for your generosity and ask as you come to the close of this year you think it through in a very, very direct way. Thank you in advance. As we come into 2022, you'll be seeing some Bible reading schedules on our church website. We want to help you -- can we put -- there we go. So this will be on our church website. We've got several Bible reading schedules for you to help you have your own chair time in the Scripture. The purpose of this is not just so you'll fill your head with information, although Biblical information is good; not so you'll use this to hammer other people; not so you'll just view the Bible as some suggestions; but you'll have some chair time one-on-one with the Word of God. We've got a lot of different Bible reading schedules for you here. For example, we have things -- can we put that other screen back up there, please? The screen shot. There you go. I mean, you'll see things like "30 days for New Christians." "30 days with Jesus." We've got 30 fascinating stories to read. A lot of different Bible reading plans will help you engage with the Scriptures. Also upcoming, you'll see on our website several prayer and fasting themes as we come into January for you to pray, for you to fast, for you to come before the Lord for yourself, your family, the community, the church; and we just -- you know, we want to help coach you. Just know you have brothers and sisters who will be praying and fasting together, especially in January; but these things will help you throughout the year, okay? Now, beginning on Sunday, January 9, we'll kick off a new message series called "Upgrades" because all of us like an upgrade. We all want to move forward and upright to the key areas in our lives. All our adult classes will resume on Sunday, January 9. Wednesdays will resume on January 12, and we'll have classes for all ages. We'll also have an UPLIFT message series for adults. I'll kick that off with a series titled "Deep Dive." We'll take a look at some thorny questions and topics so that will be what is happening on Wednesday nights beginning January 12. We do plan to have our annual Super Sunday Bring-a-Friend day. We have been doing it for 35 years and probably need to retitle "Invite a Friend" day because with the Digital Age. Our guest speaker this year is Barry Wilmore. Let's leave his photo up for a moment. I became acquainted with Barry -- I've got a long-time friend, Phil Oldham, a doctor, who is the president of Tennessee Tech University. Well, Barry Wilmore -- he's actually in the Tennessee Tech Sport Hall of Fame but his undergraduate degree is electrical engineering. His graduate degree is electrical engineering and another master's degree in aviation systems. He's a strong believer, and Phil was in Houston a couple years ago pre-COVID. He said, "You need to get to know Barry Wilmore, a fantastic person." Yes, he's a NASA astronaut; strong believer; strong Bible teacher; an elder in his church. I want all of our young people to hear somebody -- there's some nonsense out there that says "Faith and science are incompatible." That is NOT TRUE. There's some nonsense that says, "You know, if you're really, really bright, you can't be all in as a Christian. You got to be some jaded cynical at the edge." That's not true. Barry Wilmore is an impressive person. He was a space shuttle Pilate for space shuttle "Atlantis" and spent 178 days in space. He also spent, you know -- he did a mission to the space station. The next NASA-manned assignment is the Boeing Starliner. Barry Wilmore is the commander for that mission, and he will be with us for our Bring a Friend Day and think it will be a REALLY interesting presentation and opportunity for us to, you know, hear from a real, live astronaut. There you go. That's coming up on February 13. All right, everybody. Very quickly, I want to get into just a few thoughts today on a short story. It's one of my favorite stories of the New Testament from Mark 12 -- four verses. You know the story well. Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting the money into the temple million treasury. Many rich people through in amounts but a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. The term is "lepton." They were the -- imagine the least amount of currency in a particular culture. That's these two copper coins. She could have given 50%, but she was all in. That was it. She was ALL in. There you go. Calling his disciples to Him, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth but she, out of her poverty, had in everything, all she had to live on." Often the story is assigned to the topic of money. I think you need to back up. Take a look at the story from the perspective of service, serving the Lord with whatever I have. Let me put an image on the screen. We ALL have time, talent, and treasure. In my exhortation to you today, it's to have that all-in mindset. "Lord, how might I use part of my time, part of my talent, and part of my treasure to advance Your purposes and Your causes?" All right. I've got seven quick points. Here they are. Number one: Christian service is how our redemption in Christ shows itself in the world. Here you go. Christian service is how our redemption in Christ actually practically shows itself in the world. We've been redeemed, filled with the Holy Spirit. We're not old; we're new! We're in Christ! And if we're all in, it shows up in practical ways because at the core of our faith is the belief that Almighty God humbled Himself to serve us and die for us. At the root of our calling is the command to imitate Jesus by serving others. You know, some of us in this room is easy to be moved to tears over some personal issue. Nothing wrong with that, but are you only moved to care over personal pain? Maybe it's time to develop your capacity to care so that you would be moved to act over someone else's medical report; job loss; wayward child; marital breakdown; and maybe go beyond that and to move to actually care and act when God's reputation is on the line. Christian service is how our redemption in Christ actually shows itself. Secondly: serving is not what God wants from you; it's what He wants for you because nothing beats being used by God. When you serve, here's what happens: the lights go on. The lights go on for you in ways that will happen in a unique sense more so than when service does not occur. You'll make strong connections. You'll force bonds with other believers. THE church becomes my church, our church. You make a difference that warms your soul. My dad became a Christian when he was in his 30s, and I'm thankful that my mom became a Christian in her later teens. My dad became a Christian in his 30s, and he was baptized at the West Seven Church of Christ in Columbia, Tennessee. He started serving. Every week he and guys served Sunday Schools. They went to the Sunday School classes and handled some administration. Through that, my dad got to know the teachers and children. He thought, "Well, I want to really encourage these children." So every Sunday he would be loaded with Juicy Fruit gum. In that church of 500 or 600 people, he became known as "The Juicy Fruit Guy." He loved those kids. Those kids absolutely loved him, and when my dad died in 1999, in every single seat at Oaks and Nichols Funeral Home was Juicy Fruit Gum. It started because he said, "I am going to serve." Out of serving you forge bonds. You build relationships. The lights go on in ways they would not go on otherwise. Thirdly: there are a thousand ways to serve. A thousand ways. Some are high visibility ways, others in place of obscurity. It matters not. The book of Romans says, "We have different gifts according to the grace given to each of us." Don't overlook that phrase -- grace from God. God is at work in His church, and He gifts people. We have different mind Septembers. We're different stages of experience and maturity. We're vital to the work that goes on WITHIN the church and the work THROUGH the church. "If your gift is prophesying, preaching, preach in hay core dance with your faith. If you're serving, then serve. If it's teaching, teach. If it's to encourage, give encouragement." Encouragement is actually a ministry and act of service that often gets overlooked, but how many people need somebody to just notice progress? Making progress. Make a difference. You don't have to be the best but made a difference there. And you're paying attention to what God is doing in YOUR life. And then you're telling those God stories. "Hey, this is how God showed up for me. Here's how something happened in our world." When you tell those stories, those God moments, you make such an encouraging difference in the lives of others. If it's giving, give generously. You say, "Wait a minute, Ronnie. I thought everybody is supposed to give." We are, but there are some people uniquely gifted to give generously above and beyond, kind of like Barnabas in the New Testament, who was amazing. You know, I don't know if the name Rex Lamberti means anything to me. He was an All-American record-setting quarterback at ACU. He was a member in our church over 20 year ago, and back in our old building, Rex and I used to get together periodically and throw the football, just pass the football. We'd get in our old building in the corners of the gym, about 35, 40 yards apart, and we'd just pass football. You say, "Ronnie, you can throw a football 40 yards?" 20 years ago, yes. So we would pass the ball to one another. Now, my passes sort of looked like a wounded duck, you know, a lot of air under them, have to get a running start; but Rex Lamberti was so fun to throw football with this guy. He would stand there and just -- I mean, just lasers coming right in. I would never catch the ball like this. (Laughter) Never. You know, move that face to the side and catch the ball. I could pass; he could pass generously. Yeah. I passed. But he could pass generously. There are thousand by as to serve, and Paul says if it's encouraging -- you know, if you're really good encourager, tap in to that. Utilize that. If giving, give generously. Lead, do it diligently. Show mercy, do it cheerfully. Michael Hyatt -- I quoted him last week. He's a former CEO of Thomas Nelson Publisher and nationally known business consultant, leadership consultant. He says, "When it comes to serving, it's very, very important that you not generalize it. Ask yourself: Where am I specifically making a difference? Because,” he says, “if you're not careful, if you're like me, you work in a world where you're always at the 30,000-foot level and you get around people; you get to your family; you get in the church and just want to, you know, compare swat analyses.” He said, “Don't stay at 30,000 feet. Land your plane in a specific action service.” He said, “As for me, I teach second grade in my church.” Your family is the first arena of service. God, how might I serve You by serving my family? How might I serve You by serving my church? How might I serve You by representing You so well in our community? Number four: even a small amount counts in God's eyes. It does. She gave two copper coins, and the Lord praised her for it. Now, let me be very, very clear. Every baseball team needs power hitters to win a championship, all right? You cannot bunt your way to a championship. You got to have some power hitters, and every church needs some four hitters to fuel the work, generosity from refer economic level has fueled the world of God's kingdom -- listen -- just as service from every talent. But God loves and applauds the service of one-talent people just like He welcomes the service of ten talent people. Run your race; dare not to compare; and just look for those opportunities to make a difference any way you can. Here's the wonderful thing: when a one-talent person says, "Here am I; send me. Sign me up. I'm all in." You know what happens? God meets that person. God meets you, and He adds something to the equation. One talent becomes two. Two becomes four. Five becomes ten. Number five: There's a risk to service. If you're looking for predictable outcomes, don't become a parent. If you're looking for predictable guaranteed outcomes, well, a solid itinerary, don't ever get involved with working with people. Don't ever get involved with working with the church. If you ever think you can control other people, you will wear yourself out. People talk about, you know, herding kittens. Herding kittens is for sissies. Try working for people -- in a church? A group of people? It's a volunteer-intensive organization. There you go. Every offering is a free will offering, and if you're looking for something with no risk and guaranteed, predictable outcomes -- no. Real service has a risk. "Well, if I start teaching that second-grade class, can you promise" -- I can't promise you anything. “If I volunteer in teen ministry, can you guarantee” -- can't guarantee anything. God says to Abraham, "Here. Follow Me. I will make you father of a great nation." "Well, where are we going?" "I'll show you later." Jesus says, "Follow Me." Well, what will that look like? "You lose your life for Me and you'll find it." Some of you -- it's time you kiss 2019 good-bye. You say, "Ronnie, don't you mean 2021?" "No; 2019." It's time to kiss pre-pandemic 2019 good-bye. "Hey, when will things get to normal?" Normal died. Kiss 2019 good-bye. When it comes to churches, fewer people are attending churches in person. We're no exception. Current measuring stick is if you have 40% to 60% of your pre-COVID in-person gatherings, that's pretty good. Tom Rainier's group said 2022 is looking iffy and hopefully by the end of 2022 maybe 80% of churches will be, as some say, maybe leaner but more muscular. Those who want to be a part will be a part. "Ronnie, exactly what will happen?" I don't know. I cannot make any prediction or guarantee. I know this: I'm really grateful for our strong in-person gatherings. I'm grateful for our nearly 700 people who are with us online weekly. And here's the reality, folks: Some people have moved. Some will have planted elsewhere. Some will be nomadic. Some will disengage. Some will continue to participate online. You need to grieve and retrieve, maybe grieve some people you will miss; retrieve those who need encouragement. But you got to invest in those who are here and here online and accounted for and actually tap into an optimistic outlook for the future. We're rebooting. Every group is rebooting. Everyone that God needs to do His work among us will be here, and many of them will be online in a very healthy way. You serve and you love the people around you. My friends, we've gone through a crisis. It's not over, but every crisis -- listen -- is also an opportunity for people of faith, and we face our future with facts, but we also face our future with great faith in our Great God and our King. When you serve, there's a risk, but it's worth it. Number six: There's grace for those who serve. Everybody who wants to make a difference for Jesus will say, "You know, I didn't handle that well. I had a season where I was sort of AWOL." There was grace for Peter and Joseph of Arimathea, not quite ready for a prime-time player but stepped out of the shadows and began to make a difference. There's grace for those who serve. And last of all, Jesus pays attention and honors your service. 1 Corinthians 15 says this: "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, you stand firm and let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." Often when I read that passage, here's the phrase that goes through my mind: "You're not crazy for serving the Lord.” You're not crazy. You're not crazy for having skin in the game because you can't bring the life of Jesus into this world and just live for yourself. But when you have that all-in spirit, "Lord, I've got some time, talent and treasure. How can I make a difference for You?" That kind of spirit makes a HUGE, huge difference; and gang if got to tell you: I'm grateful for what I see around here. I am thankful for you. I am thankful for your all-in spirit. I'm thankful for your wonderful attitudes. I'm thankful for your investment. I'm thankful for your skin in game, and I believe God is going to continue to build His kingdom the world over; and I believe God will continue to build His church right here. I want to be a part of that going into 2022. Bless you, everyone. Thank you for being with us today. Herald Eye, a great man. I appreciate Harold and love to see him and love to hear him pray. He's going to come and lead us in prayer. As he's making his way up here, I want to quote Winston Churchill who wanted everyone to know no matter who you are, there's a role for you to play. He gave a speech to the coal miners in England during World War II. They needed more coal. He said, "I want you to imagine when the war is over and a great victory parade occurs in Piccadilly. First will come the sailors who kept open the sea lanes. Then will come those who came back from Dunkirk and defeated Rommel in Africa and then those who drove the Luftwaffe from the sky. Then there will be a long line of people soot covered and sweat stained. Someone will shout, ‘Where were you during the critical days of our struggle?’ And they will say with 10,000 voices strong, ‘We were deep in the earth with our faces to the coal.’" And his point was, no matter who you are, you have an important role to play in God's work. God bless you. It's the way we show our redemption. There are thousand ways to serve, and you're making a difference. All right, Harold, lead us in prayer, please. >> Harold: Thank you, Brother Ronnie, for that timely message. We're remind mid, of course, that God did not give us a spirit of fear but one of power and love and discipline. That's what it means to be all in, to give ourselves. Maybe next year when we think of our New Year's Resolution that all those washed in the blood of Jesus would make one resolution. "Lord, I WILL BE all in for You." Let us pray. Precious Lord God, how grateful we are You have seen us through another tumultuous year. You have given us the strength, courage, and willingness to move forward. Lord, we just pray You will continue to guide us in every way; that we will allow ourselves to be available to Your will; that we love those who are in times of sorrow; that we'll encourage those in times of joy; and that we will walk faithfully with one another before You, O Lord. In 2022, that we will give ourselves all in to give You the very best service we can render. Guide us, Lord, in Jesus' Name. Amen. >> Shane: Amen. Thank you, Harold. As we close today, I have a few things to mention. First is a long-time member of ours, Freida Keizer, passed away Thursday morning. There will be a funeral service in this room on Wednesday, December 29. That will be visitation at noon and service at 2:00 right here in the room on Wednesday. Our deep test sympathy and prayers is with the whole family at this time. I know you guys will be praising for them as well. My second item to know is to remind you again next Sunday we're back to our regular schedule -- 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. worship services. 9:45 Bible class hour inbetween. We have Jeff Walling here, as was mentioned by Ronnie, a guest speaker to start the new year. Would you consider giving a year-end offering? As I have said, there several key things that fuel our ministry. One is the volunteer spirit, that working together that Ronnie spoke so well about in the message but also our prayers fueled for ministry and offerings, regular tithes and offerings are fuel for ministry. We ask you to pray about it and thank you for your partnership again. We just thank you for your generosity as we close out -- 2021. Let's go out as goodwill ambassadors of Jesus. What will Jesus do through First Colony Church in 2022? I can't wait to find out. I think Jesus will do amazing things through this church. Let's sing one more song as we go out into the mission field. ("Days of Elijah") >> Kyle: Amen, church! Thank you so much for your worship this morning. Have a great day, everybody.