The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
Hebrews 10quoted in announcements portion: 'let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith'
1 For the law, having a shadow of the good to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect those who draw near.
2 Or else wouldn’t they have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sins?
3 But in those sacrifices there is a yearly reminder of sins.
4 For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.
5 Therefore when he comes into the world, he says, “Sacrifice and offering you didn’t desire, but you prepared a body for me.
6 You had no pleasure in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (in the scroll of the book it is written of me) to do your will, O God.’”
8 Previously saying, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you didn’t desire, neither had pleasure in them” (those which are offered according to the law),
9 then he has said, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He takes away the first, that he may establish the second,
10 by which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 Every priest indeed stands day by day serving and often offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins,
12 but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God;
13 from that time waiting until his enemies are made the footstool of his feet.
14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,
16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them: ‘After those days,’ says the Lord, ‘I will put my laws on their heart, I will also write them on their mind;’” then he says,
17 “I will remember their sins and their iniquities no more.”
18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
19 Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
20 by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21 and having a great priest over God’s house,
22 let’s draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having our body washed with pure water,
23 let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for he who promised is faithful.
24 Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good works,
25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as you see the Day approaching.
26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which will devour the adversaries.
28 A man who disregards Moses’ law dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses.
29 How much worse punishment do you think he will be judged worthy of who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance belongs to me,” says the Lord, “I will repay.” Again, “The Lord will judge his people.”
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 But remember the former days, in which, after you were enlightened, you endured a great struggle with sufferings;
33 partly, being exposed to both reproaches and oppressions; and partly, becoming partakers with those who were treated so.
34 For you both had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and an enduring one in the heavens.
35 Therefore don’t throw away your boldness, which has a great reward.
36 For you need endurance so that, having done the will of God, you may receive the promise.
37 “In a very little while, he who comes will come, and will not wait.
38 But the righteous will live by faith. If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”
39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the saving of the soul.
quoted during offering: 'because of the Lord's great love, we're not consumed for his compassions or his mercies never fail, they're new every morning'
1 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
2 He has led me and caused me to walk in darkness, and not in light.
3 Surely he turns his hand against me again and again all day long.
4 He has made my flesh and my skin old. He has broken my bones.
5 He has built against me, and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
6 He has made me dwell in dark places, as those who have been long dead.
7 He has walled me about, so that I can’t go out. He has made my chain heavy.
8 Yes, when I cry, and call for help, he shuts out my prayer.
9 He has walled up my ways with cut stone. He has made my paths crooked.
10 He is to me as a bear lying in wait, as a lion in secret places.
11 He has turned away my ways, and pulled me in pieces. He has made me desolate.
12 He has bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.
13 He has caused the shafts of his quiver to enter into my kidneys.
14 I have become a derision to all my people, and their song all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitterness. He has stuffed me with wormwood.
16 He has also broken my teeth with gravel. He has covered me with ashes.
17 You have removed my soul far away from peace. I forgot prosperity.
18 I said, “My strength has perished, along with my expectation from Yahweh.”
19 Remember my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the bitterness.
20 My soul still remembers them, and is bowed down within me.
21 This I recall to my mind; therefore I have hope.
22 It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail.
23 They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
24 “Yahweh is my portion,” says my soul. “Therefore I will hope in him.”
25 Yahweh is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
26 It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Yahweh.
27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone and keep silence, because he has laid it on him.
29 Let him put his mouth in the dust, if it is so that there may be hope.
30 Let him give his cheek to him who strikes him. Let him be filled full of reproach.
31 For the Lord will not cast off forever.
32 For though he causes grief, yet he will have compassion according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.
33 For he does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.
34 To crush under foot all the prisoners of the earth,
35 to turn away the right of a man before the face of the Most High,
36 to subvert a man in his cause, the Lord doesn’t approve.
37 Who is he who says, and it comes to pass, when the Lord doesn’t command it?
38 Doesn’t evil and good come out of the mouth of the Most High?
39 Why does a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to Yahweh.
41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands to God in the heavens.
42 “We have transgressed and have rebelled. You have not pardoned.
43 “You have covered us with anger and pursued us. You have killed. You have not pitied.
44 You have covered yourself with a cloud, so that no prayer can pass through.
45 You have made us an off-scouring and refuse in the middle of the peoples.
46 “All our enemies have opened their mouth wide against us.
47 Terror and the pit have come on us, devastation and destruction.”
48 My eye runs down with streams of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 My eye pours down and doesn’t cease, without any intermission,
50 until Yahweh looks down, and sees from heaven.
51 My eye affects my soul, because of all the daughters of my city.
52 They have chased me relentlessly like a bird, those who are my enemies without cause.
53 They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and have cast a stone on me.
54 Waters flowed over my head. I said, “I am cut off.”
55 I called on your name, Yahweh, out of the lowest dungeon.
56 You heard my voice: “Don’t hide your ear from my sighing, and my cry.”
57 You came near in the day that I called on you. You said, “Don’t be afraid.”
58 Lord, you have pleaded the causes of my soul. You have redeemed my life.
59 Yahweh, you have seen my wrong. Judge my cause.
60 You have seen all their vengeance and all their plans against me.
61 You have heard their reproach, Yahweh, and all their plans against me,
62 the lips of those that rose up against me, and their plots against me all day long.
63 You see their sitting down and their rising up. I am their song.
64 You will pay them back, Yahweh, according to the work of their hands.
65 You will give them hardness of heart, your curse to them.
66 You will pursue them in anger, and destroy them from under the heavens of Yahweh.
read from New Living Translation to describe the responsibilities of pastors, teachers, and God's people to equip and build up the church
11 He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers;
12 for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ;
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
read to describe believers as living stones and holy priests offering spiritual sacrifices to God
4 coming to him, a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God, precious.
5 You also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
quoted to emphasize that God rewards those who sincerely seek him
6 Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.
read from Steve's journal notes, describing kings and rulers hiding from God's wrath at the end of the age
1 I saw that the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as with a voice of thunder, “Come and see!”
2 And behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow. A crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.
3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!”
4 Another came out, a red horse. To him who sat on it was given power to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. There was given to him a great sword.
5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come and see!” And behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a balance in his hand.
6 I heard a voice in the middle of the four living creatures saying, “A choenix of wheat for a denarius, and three choenix of barley for a denarius! Don’t damage the oil and the wine!”
7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see!”
8 And behold, a pale horse, and he who sat on it, his name was Death. Hades followed with him. Authority over one fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword, with famine, with death, and by the wild animals of the earth was given to him.
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed for the Word of God, and for the testimony of the Lamb which they had.
10 They cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
11 A long white robe was given to each of them. They were told that they should rest yet for a while, until their fellow servants and their brothers, who would also be killed even as they were, should complete their course.
12 I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood.
13 The stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when it is shaken by a great wind.
14 The sky was removed like a scroll when it is rolled up. Every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 The kings of the earth, the princes, the commanding officers, the rich, the strong, and every slave and free person, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains.
16 They told the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,
17 for the great day of his wrath has come; and who is able to stand?”
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Steve Baldock, one of the elders at First B Jackson, brought a practical and personal message while Pastor Ray is away. He focused on two habits that have shaped his own walk with God: being an active participant when you come to church, and keeping a consistent personal time with God. Both ideas were offered not as commands but as tools from one believer to others.
What was said
Steve opened by being honest about his reluctance to speak. He described making excuses to God as the date got closer, citing physical issues and nervousness, and said it felt like God pushed back by asking him whether he was going to let fear paralyze him the way fear paralyzed Peter in the courtyard. That personal moment framed everything that followed: the point was not polish or expertise, but showing up anyway.
He rooted the first idea in Ephesians 4:11-13, which describes pastors and teachers as people whose job is to equip God's people to do the work of building up the church. Steve said he used to walk in on Sunday and settle into the role of audience member, a spiritual sponge soaking things in. His suggestion was to mentally flip that: think of yourself as the presenter and God and the heavenly host as the audience, keenly interested in what you bring.
What does that look like in practice? Steve described moving through the room in prayer before and during the service, pausing on young people, single people, married couples, and older members, and asking God to meet each one where they are. He called this a spiritual sacrifice, drawing on 1 Peter 2:4-5, which says believers are living stones and holy priests who offer spiritual sacrifices through Jesus Christ.
The second spiritual sacrifice he named was singing. He was candid that he cannot carry a tune, but said that is beside the point. When you remember that God is the audience, you sing to him from your heart, and that changes what the singing is for.
The second main idea was about personal time with God. Steve said he sets his Bible, notepad, pen, glasses, and coffee cup out the night before so that when he gets up at 2:30 in the morning there is no friction, no hunting around. The routine itself is simple: pray and ask God to speak, read, then write down whatever came, even if it is only a sentence or the date and the passage reference.
He shared an entry from his notebook dated November 27, 2021, drawn from Revelation 6, a passage describing people trying to hide from God at the end of the age. After reading it, he wrote down what he felt God was saying to him directly: that it is impossible to hide from God, that trying to do so looks silly, and that the invitation is always the same, to confess, receive grace, get up, brush yourself off, and follow. He offered that as an example of the kind of thing that accumulates in a notebook over time, a record of what God has shown you.
He closed by saying that everything he had to share, every encouraging word, every lesson he brings to the kids at Awana, traces back to that quiet time in the morning. He said he cannot imagine going through life without it, and invited anyone who is tired of hiding from God to come and talk with him or Carl after the service.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
Steve described coming to church as a 'big old spiritual blob just sucking it all in' before shifting to think of himself as a presenter offering spiritual sacrifices to God as the audience. How does that shift in perspective sit with you, and do you think it would change how you approach a Sunday service?
Steve suggested praying through different groups of people in the room during a service, from kids to singles to married couples to older members, as a form of active worship. Who in your life or in this church do you find yourself least likely to pray for, and what might change if you did?
All right. Good morning. Everybody, how are you? It's good to see you. Shall we hey.
It is warmer in here, isn't it? We got it we we got the heat fixed, and you're not all bundled up. But feel free. Hey. Listen.
If you're cold, you can keep those jackets on. But what do you say we start by, worshiping in song? We'll stand together if you're able, and we'll sing love lifted me.
I was sinking deep in sand far from the peaceful shore, very deeply staying within sinking to rise no more.
Amen. Not true too, isn't it? God's self giving others focused love. It's a really a different kind of love than the the the love that we that we have, isn't it? Blessed assurance.
Let's sing of it. Amen. Let me just share a verse. Verses are encouraging, and Steve Baldock is gonna give us many of those this morning. But here here's one as well from Hebrews 10.
It's, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith. Full assurance of faith and a sincere heart. God is sincere as we could possibly be before you. As errant as we are, we lift up our song, praises to you because you are worthy of it. Amen.
In moments like these Oh, I'm sorry. I just wanted to keep singing. Oh, you can have a seat for a moment. We've got a few announcements.
Starting with the announcements.
You dare, Carl.
The first announcement is Monday nights at first b. We have another church service tomorrow night, and that church service has a meal as well. Meal included. Meal, music, and a message. Carl's gonna give a message, and then we'll have a little gospel conversation afterwards to talk about it.
Carl, first and foremost, what are we eating tomorrow night?
Oh, I'm glad you asked. It's super nacho night tomorrow. So Mike and I are gonna do our best to make some nachos, and the Iwana kids get to eat and then the Monday nighters and it's just it's a great worship gathering. I just want you to know you're invited anytime you'd ever wanna visit it. It's there and I'm thankful for it.
So Oh. And John 17 is where we're at where Jesus prays for his disciples and he prays for those who would believe in the future. That's us. What does God pray for us? I'll give you a hint.
One thing that he prays for us is for us to be one, to be unified.
So know that you are welcome to join us for a meal, music, and message. And if you wanna join us online, you're also welcome. That'll be broadcast on our YouTube channel. At the same time, Awana is happening, sowing Jesus and verses into kids hearts and minds here in the church in the sanctuary and throughout the whole church Monday night, that's kids age three up to sixth grade, I believe. So if you're interested in that, please come on by tomorrow night.
And there's some couple of Bible studies to let you know. Sisters Saved by Grace is a woman's Bible study that happens every Thursday night and they have a a meal as well included with that and a light meal is provided. So if you're interested in that, you can get in touch with the church either at the the front office with Nick or Diane. And Precept Bible Study is also starting up. I believe it started this past Thursday and is continuing again.
And if you want to know anything more about those Bible studies or prayer requests or anything that the bulletin would be sent out, please sign up for our weekly email bulletins. It would just go to firstbjackson.org. We also started doing, and I don't have a slide for this, but daily Bible readings. So someone from the church picks, a Bible verse or a chapter and sends it out and talks a little bit about application points. If you're interested in doing that, you can also get on our website or contact Brad Yates if you want to be a part of that and send out some scripture that is meaningful to you.
By the way, that is is really been great lately. Is anybody getting those emails? The and and it's a daily Bible reading. So you get to know the one who's the one who's writing a little bit of the commentary on it, and the personal application is always great. But if you're not getting that, please contact the church.
Let us know so that you could be a part of it too. It it has really been wonderful, this daily Bible reading.
And so you can get that just signing up at our email on our website. Also, our church directory is out in the foyer. There's been Nick Stern. He's been getting our collecting photos and information. And if you haven't done that yet, we will be here next Sunday as well out in the foyer getting all of our correct tax information and just the church directory.
And as you know, probably, we send out of our services over YouTube now. And if you want to get noticed or notified, that little bell up in the top right hand corner is clicking on that. If you go to first b Jackson on YouTube, that is how you will get notifications. And Carl, we have a couple of more songs to sing, and I'll share a verse also from Psalm 19 verse 14. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our heart be acceptable in your sight and as a church as we gather to worship and sing and to hear a message, what a good verse that is.
The words of our mouth mouth and the meditations of our hearts. And let's do just that by singing in moments like these.
Moments like these. Please stand. Let's sing together.
In moments like these, I sing out a song. I sing out a song to Jesus. In moments like these, I lift up my hands. I lift up my hands to the Lord. Singing, I love you, Lord.
It's a sweet, sweet, simple song. Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord, is the Psalm I think of when we're singing together. It's if we've got breath in our lungs, just sing, just to let it out. And what a day that'll be. That'll be.
Amen. You can have a seat here for a moment. And this is the worship through giving part of the service. I'm gonna just change mics because I've I've got a verse I I wanna And this one is from Lamentations three and it says, because of the Lord's great love, we're not consumed for his compassions or his mercies never fail. They're new every morning.
God's mercies are new every morning. How how many of us need those mercies every morning? We should all have our hands up right now because every one of us need those mercies every single morning. Great is his faithfulness. Shall we pray together?
God, thank you. Thank you for those mercies. Lord, you knew that we would need them every single morning. And so we thank we're thankful for them. And God, we call upon you to say we need that mercy, that compassion that you show us.
And thank you for your faithfulness to us. It's because of your faithfulness that we can even even begin to be faithful back. So thank you God for your faithfulness to us and through us. Thank you God for every good and perfect gift that we have. It's because of you.
We thank you for every spiritual blessing that you give us. Thank you also, God, for meeting our needs, giving us our daily bread that we need from day to day, warmth on on on a cold day. I mean, every single thing that we have is a gift from you. And so, God, would you accept these gifts? Not just what's in the plates, but, God, but what's in our heart and the gifts that you've given us that we demonstrate from day to day inside and outside of this place.
God, would you bless this offering and use it to do your kingdom's work, your will done in your way. It doesn't lack your supply. Use this to build up your kingdom, to build up your church. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
I would like to invite up Steve Baldock. If if you don't know Steve Baldock, he's one of our elders here. And as Ray is he's teaching in Costa Rica, but also having just some time away. And we had Steve Landis speak last Sunday. Now Steve Baldock will share this Sunday, and we get to hear God's truth conveyed through Steve's personality this morning.
And and I I think that you really appreciate the practical application of the word today. I I certainly have, but I would love to to pray first for Steve and and for us too listening. God, I do pray for Steve as he delivers. He's the mouthpiece today of your word. And for us listening, God, would you spur us on toward love and good deeds?
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen. Morning, everyone. Morning. I think most of you know me, like, he gave it out. I'm Steve Baldock, and I'm an elder here at the church, which is really kinda neat, believe it or not.
And I sometimes I teach at the Awana's, the little kids, and that's a lot of fun. And trust me when I say it's it's more, difficult to speak to the little kids than it is to you. You're a pretty friendly group here. So, you know, if I pass out or something, you'll probably say, don't worry. He'll get back up.
And and that's what that's what the stool's for, just so you know. You know, seriously, because it's hard to get up here and speak in front of people. You know? You guys have forgotten more than I know probably. And so, yep, I'm supposed to say something meaningful to you.
I'm married to sue Susie Baldock and been coming to church here for a long time, not continuously. I think my folks brought me here when I was a little kid back in 1968. And and then I bounced around like a lot of us do at churches, and then I came back here. And one of the things I appreciate so much about first b is it's a safe place to come back to, you know, which speaks pretty highly of the church, I think. I wasn't able to be here last Sunday, but I listened to Steve, well, I watched him on TV.
Believe it or not, I finally actually figured out how to do the YouTube on my television. It was astounding. It was great. But, anyway, so I I've I've had a little bit of a cold, and and mister Landis gave me this fisherman mints here. And I don't know if you guys have ever tried these.
Fisherman's friend, they'll just about take your head off. So if you see me doing this couple times, you'll know why. I appreciate you praying, Carl, and and you do it a lot more eloquently than me. And I think Jesus has been invited into the room, so I think we can get going. You know, when Steve spoke to us last week, and the reason being, he he told you about two, three months ago, Carl, we were with the elder at the elders meeting, we were really asking the pastors, what can we do for you?
Because, you know, they got some stresses and strains on you that you don't have that I get to peer into sometimes. I don't want some of that stuff. But say, what can we do? And he said, you know, if you guys would if a couple of you guys would have a, you know, a sermon in your back pocket, when the time comes up, you could speak to us and take some of that burden off, that would be nice. And Steve and I both, you know, we said, that is a terrific idea.
Two, three months ago, that was a fabulous idea. But I'm not so sure anymore. And and and it's funny. And I I'm just sharing, you know, this is Christian to Christian here today. I was I was praying and talking to God.
I'm gonna tell you how I do it here in a little bit, but, know, I was making up these excuses to God. I said, you know, as it got closer and closer to coming and talking to you, I said, I don't know if this is such a good idea. You know? I I do. I have some physical ailments and some head issues.
You know? I get some seizures sometimes and got some other issues going on and said, you know and I and I stammer a little bit and and whatnot, and he he listens for a while. And he it's like the Lord Jesus spoke to me. He said, so, Steve, tell me something. What do you why do you think Peter denied me three times in the courtyard that night after they arrested me?
Why do you think he stayed silent? And I thought for a while. And I said, well, I I suppose it was because of the fear. He was afraid. He said, yep.
It's exactly what it was. So what are you gonna do, Steve? Are you gonna let your fear paralyze you? God, gone it. You can't you know, I can't nothing to say.
And so it's a privilege when we can talk to people because, you know, Jesus told us that if you acknowledge me before men, I'm gonna acknowledge you before my father who's in heaven. And that's a downright promise. And anytime we get a chance to do that, we ought to take him up on it. I don't care how hard it is. There's a lot of reasons for me not to be here today.
The first the first at the first service, I dang near ran out that door. You know? Because I'm just like you. I'm a nervous wreck. So, anyway, I'm not gonna let it stop me.
So here so here we are. I got a couple of disclaimers that I went through the first service, and I hope you don't mind if I make you laugh. I appreciated the song this morning, Love Lifted Me. Some of you guys don't know me, but I've seen about the worst that life can dish out. Sorry.
That wasn't supposed to happen. But I choose joy. You know? And if it just comes out, I'm not always happy, but a lot of times I am. And it's because that love lifted me.
And so I don't care. I'm gonna make you laugh. So but disclaimer, I don't know any Greek or Hebrew. So if that comes up, we're gonna wait till Ray comes back, and he can explain it to you. I've been a blue collar worker all my life.
I just I've built buildings and houses and roads and bridges and trails and stuff like that. Consequently, my humor is quite dry. And, also, I say that because, just in case something slips out of my mouth during this service that shouldn't slip out during a church service, Forgive me. And John's sitting over there going, yep. You better you better watch this guy.
Okay. But in all seriousness, there's a couple other things, and I think I think we need to say this more often than not. This is one of my props here today is my Bible. I believe that this book is the inspired word of God. I believe every word of it.
I've looked at all the other books. I've studied the Koran. I've studied all the Zen and the Buddhism stuff. I was so spiritual as a child, I thought I was gonna fly into nirvana. There ain't nothing like this book.
It is complete and able to save us, and that's good enough for me. Also, you better get could you give me a couple oh, there's some over there. I'll get them on plain x's. Like I said, I I had a little bit of a cold. So oh, I got one.
Have you guys I can I can be a little bit more comfortable with you guys, not a lot, but a little? Have you noticed as you get older, your tear ducts are kinda defunct anymore? You cry a little bit more than you used to? Because you get I don't know. I guess we and that's a good thing, though.
We're getting a little softer. Used to be a rough son of a gun, but not so much anymore. But, anyway, in all serious, there again, the other thing I a disclaimer, so you'll know where I'm coming from. I believe that Jesus Christ was born on this planet. I believe he lived here.
I believe he died. They crucified him in my place. He bore my sins and your sins on the cross. They put him in a tomb, and three days later, he rose from the dead, and he's alive more alive today than anybody in this room. And I also believe he's coming back.
Right now, it'd be just great. But I think we're gonna laugh a lot in heaven. But, anyway, I do. And so that's gonna color everything I tell you today, those things of where I'm coming from. That's who I'm at and whatnot.
So let's see. We pray we greeted. I greeted you. Carl prayed. I gave you my disclaimers.
I'm ready to go. Did my notes. K. So I gotta hurry. Two things I'd like you to take away from today.
I am not a pastor. I teach a little bit. I think I can teach sometimes, sometimes better than others. But two things I'd like you to take away today is something I'm gonna call active worship. It's something you and I can do when we come to church and to, perhaps be a little bit more active in church.
And then the second one is our God time. You guys probably know it as your quiet time and whatnot. And I know you old Christians, some of you guys been doing this since, you know I was gonna say before I was born, but I doubt that. But, anyway and you wanna I need you to know something. If what you're doing right now works for you, don't change a thing.
Keep doing it. But maybe, anyway, I'm gonna tell you why it's so so important. So active worship. What do I mean by that? Ephesians, if, Blake, are you back there?
Oh, good. Active worship, put on here too, job descriptions and, responsibilities. In Ephesians four verse 11 through 13, I never realized it's a lot harder for me to read that than it is for you to read that. But, anyway, I'll give it a try. I have a paper copy too.
In Ephesians chapter four verse eleven and thirteen, and it's from the New Living Translation. I wore out my other Bible, so Susie got me another one, but it's got some really cool study notes in it too. So that's what that is. God tells us, he says, now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church, the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and the teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's son that we will be mature in the Lord measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. So it's talking about several groups there and what their responsibility is. I wanna drop it down to just three, the pastors and the teachers and God's people. I think it's pretty clear. So the pastors and the teachers, their job is to equip y'all, as Ray would say, to do the work, to build up God's church.
That's our job. They got their job. We got our job. I don't want their job, but I appreciate their job because they make it so we can go out and do the work. But I, you know, I was thinking about that.
I'm thinking, what does that mean? I mean, what is what does it mean? How do we go about doing this God's work? And I think I think there's a whole lot of ways, a myriad of ways that you can do this. You all do it already.
You know, you do kind acts of kindness. You volunteer in the church. Maybe you teach Sunday school. Maybe you take, you know, food to the sick and whatnot. There's just God's ways that you can do God's work.
And that's what's really cool about being a Christian for me. My life just doesn't consist of me paying off the mortgage and and stuffing more money into my four zero one k and, you know, raising a couple of kids and all that, which is all great. It's all good. But God actually invites us to work with him. He's in the he's in the business of redemption.
Our job is we're gonna we're supposed to be holding back evil for a little bit, guys, and working with him to redeem what's been lost. And that's really cool. I mean, I can I can push on that one? I can go with that one. But today, I'm gonna talk about what can we do in the church service when we come here.
Oh my. Where's that? So another yeah. So sorry about that. Someone got into my notes.
Probably not. Probably me. Make sure I'm on the right one. Yes. Sorry.
So I'm gonna make a suggestion today. There again is just one Christian talking to some others. This is something that came to me, I don't know, a year or two ago, and it really changed what it's like for me to come to church now and what I do wanna get here. And if it works for you, great. Give it a whirl.
Give it a test for it. It's just another tool in your toolbox. But, the typical church service that I've always gone to is just like this one. I come in, and I take my role as hope this doesn't mess anything up with this microphone. I take my role as the audience.
Here I am. Big old spiritual blob just like a sponge sucking it all in every Sunday. And then the role, we got the pastors and the teachers up here, and we know what their role is, to present to the audience. I had a funny thought one day, and I I'd like you to give take it up for a drive. And that was I'd like you to, in your minds and your hearts, flip that for a little bit.
I want you to think of yourselves as the presenters and God and all the heavenly host are the audience. And he is keenly interested and so are they as to what you have to say and do while you're here, I think. Matter of fact, the scriptures tell us, the angels look into this stuff because I think they're just astounded at our faith. They don't so they don't have they don't have to dream up faith like I do. They see him.
You know? So, anyway, I'm gonna talk a little bit about the audience. You know, I I'm not saying we do everything the presenter does, but that's the general gist. It'll change your focus. It has on mine entirely.
If you would check out first Peter chapter two verse four and five. Stones and sacrifices. So in there, the Holy Spirit tells us you are coming to Christ who is the living cornerstone of God's temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple.
What's more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. Spiritual sacrifices. What does that mean? Well, none of us brought our sheep or goats or turtledoves with us this morning to church.
We don't there's no reason for us to do that anymore. The lamb of God has already been slain. He he took my price on that cross. So what does the spiritual sacrifices mean? I think it can be a couple of things.
I'm gonna talk about two. One being prayer and praise because we know that our prayers are spiritual sacrifices of God and our praises too. So when you come to church next time, I I would give you some suggestions that I've tried, and it really makes a difference in in my well, what I do when I hear. So when I come, I start to pray. This is my spiritual sacrifice.
I start to pray for the pastors and the teachers and the folks leading the singing. You know? And I just I just pause and go, God, please bless them. Bless their marriages and their families. Help them to settle them down, to, give them strength, to know how much we love them and appreciate them.
Just bless everything they touch. K? I gotta tell you something. And then and here's a good example. About about a week or so before Steve Landis came and talked, we I was at an elders meeting, and we sat there and, boy, we prayed our guts out for Steve Landis, You know, that God would, you know, settle him down, help him to speak, not be so nervous, let him recall what he studies and that kind of stuff.
And, I mean, we just prayed like the dickens for Steve Landis. And then we were all done. I said, you know what? We need to pray for our pastors like that every time, every Sunday. And you get extra credit if you do it during the week too.
You know? But, you know, really, we do. We need to pray for these guys because don't know about you. I need someone to lead me. I'm I can I can do this stuff, but I need someone to kick me in the rear sometimes and get going?
You know? So anyway, so now we've prayed for the pastors. When we come in, we come in and sit down, and then I I consciously start looking around the room. Don't make eye contact. It's too intimidating.
But I do. I seriously I start looking around the room, and I focus on a younger person, maybe like a little kid or a teenager. And I just pause with that with that person's image, usually the back of their head, but that's fine, in my mind, and I pause and say, God, please bless this young person. Please meet with them where they are today. I ask you to protect them from things that would destroy them.
And then just whatever else comes to your mind about that child. And then I go from there, and I try to find a single person in the room. And I start to pray for them. I think it'd be pretty tough to be a single person right now. I haven't been single in so long.
I don't even know what it's like. I got married when I was 19. I married the first girl to go out with me. Oh, man. I should not have said that.
I forgot this is tape. But, anyway, but no kid no kidding. You know, they've got some serious stresses on them. Ask God to break through and give them the strength of character to walk as a Christian at this time. It's worth it.
And then I move on. I look and I focus on a married couple, and I start praying for them, God, I ask that you would help them to fall in love with each other again. Help them to be one. Help them to be at the dynamic duo. Help them with their kids and their work and that they would just have peace today.
And then from the married folks, I start looking actually for you folks. You knew it was coming. I look for older people, and I'm getting there real quick. But I do. I look for older people, and I pause.
I I just you know, I I look at one until I know. I know most of you guys, but I scan the room and I'll I'll just pick on you. And I'll ask God, please help. We're kinda in the fourth quarter here of four quarters, whatever. I'm I'm not a sports person, so I don't know what I'm talking about, but you know what I mean.
Please help their life right now to be more meaningful than the first three corners. They have so much to offer now in their strength and their wisdom and their prayers. I know some of you have been praying for me this week. That helps so much. Nobody else is doing that.
You might be the only person that prays for someone that really needs it this week. Good on you. Do it. But I start praying for them that God would help them in the aches and pains because it's you know, getting older is not for pansies, is it? You know?
Jeepers. And then I moved to another group, and and that the last one is myself. And I asked God, God, please please open my mind and my heart today. Please help me push my ego down and my pride and be receptive to what your spirit will tell me. Please change me today.
Father, please just make it so that today, at the end of this service, I'm a little less like Steve and a little bit more like Jesus. And that's about it. That's kinda I think but I think these are spiritual sacrifices that you can present to God, and it makes it an active thing for me during the service. I don't know. It's helpful.
Give it a whirl. And then the next one is the remember I said the spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise? And this one's pretty simple. It's the singing. Okay?
And when you sing, you guys did it this morning, sing your guts out. Sing to the living God. You know? And remember, you're the presenters. God's listening.
Sing to him. Sing from your heart and sing out loud. I can't carry a tune in a bucket. You know, I really can't. I was joking with the first service.
I like to tell people the only musical instrument I can play is radio. That's it. And I am so grateful for Carl and Judy and others that come and play because I want to sing, but I need you to help me. And when you do that, then I can I can present a sacrifice, such as it is, to God of my praise? You know?
So that's that's the active worship part. The other one I wanted to mention to you was our quiet time or our God God time. I'm just gonna share, like I said, a technique with you that I use. If you've got one that's working for you, don't change a thing. Keep going.
But if you wanna try something different, just another tool in your tool Christian toolbox, you can try this one on for size. Jesus' half brother, James, said in James four eight, he said, come close to God, and God will come close to you. Draw close to God, and God's gonna draw close to you. That's kind of a promise there. And I think the the reverse is probably also true, but I don't wanna go there this morning.
And also in Hebrews chapter 11 verse six, that one says, and it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. There again, that's that's telling me I gotta put a little effort into this thing. I gotta concentrate on this one. I need to do something.
Would you agree that your personal time alone with God is pretty much essential for your growth, for your spiritual growth? I I think it is. I think it's obvious. Be like me not spending any time at all with Susie Baldock. What kind of a relationship would we have?
Wouldn't work. Same thing, you know, with my relationship with God. Closer I draw to him, closer he gets to me. So when it comes to this practice, with your your quiet time, I think for what I'm gonna do today and what my purpose is, I think it needs to be intentional. I think you need to be intentional about it.
I think it needs to be routine, and I think it needs to be repetitive. K? The intentional part is this. Every night before I go to bed most every night. I'm not perfect.
Every night before I go to bed, I I take my Bible in this really cool stand that Susie bought me, so it stands up like that, and I set it right where I eat breakfast. K? And then I take this little cheap piece of this notepad, and I put it right there to the right. And then I take, unfortunately, my reading glasses now, and I put them on top of the tab. And I take I get this really cool pen, Susie got me for Christmas, and I put it right on top of the tablet.
I'm serious. I do that. I get my coaster out so I don't wreck my wife's kitchen table, that fancy red one, you know, that she's got, and I put my coffee cup there before I go to bed. This is good in a couple of ways. If you have kids in the house or grandkids in the house, pretty good idea for them to see you do that.
They're gonna notice. Maybe you got roommates in your house. See if you can sneak a Bible up like that. They might go, what? Why is he reading that?
And I guarantee you, your mate will like it if you're putting God's word into you because it might just change you. I can tell Susie likes it because this tablet here, I've got several of these that are filled up at home. And when I run out of paper, a new one magically appears. I kid you not. And it's sitting there at my plate.
You know? It's really cool. So the intentional part is I get this set up. That way in the morning when I get up, and and a lot of times, guys, I'm I've just retired in in December, but for a lot of my life, I I get up at 02:30 in the morning to be able to go pile snow. So, I mean, I gotta be to work at 03:30.
So I am on life support at 02:30 in the morning. I do not have the time and energy to find my Bible, find my pad, time that know, it's it's not gonna happen. I'm gonna go turn the TV on by that time and go tube out for a while. By doing this even now today, it was sitting there this morning, I come in. Oh, yeah.
The Bible. I fix my breakfast, make my cup of coffee, and I set. And here's the routine part of it. I stop. I I get my meal.
You know? I eat and read and all this stuff. I do my quiet time while I'm eating because I'm a guy, I guess. But I pray first. I thank God, you know, for the day and for the food.
And then I ask him, please speak to me. This is your word, God. This isn't mine, and I don't always understand it. Will you make it clear to me today? I praise you for who you are.
You're the living God. There is none other, and you're the only one I wanna hear from. And then I read, and then the magical part for me is when I get done reading, I write. Now I'm not a journaler. Don't get me wrong.
Most of what you'll see written in this book here is like a sentence or two. Some days, all there is in that book is the date, where I started reading, and where I stopped. That's it. Nothing nothing came to me. Nothing did.
But if you look in this book, and you're welcome to later if it would help you, you're gonna see there are a lot of times when I wrote something down. And, man, those are precious. Those are like nuggets right from heaven to me, and it changes me over time. So that's the routine part. Pray, read, write.
And then the repetitive part is really, really easy. You'll like this one. Do it again and again and again and if you can, every day of your life. Because I'll tell you what, every day that I do this is a lot better day than when I don't do it. Everything I I got to thinking about this when I was putting this together.
Everything of value that I've got to share with you to encourage you, to teach little kids, this whole what I'm talking about today, what I'm doing right here, it all came at from this little time in the morning with God. It's where it all comes from. Sometimes mine's five minutes. Sometimes it's ten. If I'm really spiritual, sometimes it's twenty or thirty.
But that's where it all comes from. I can't imagine going through this life without it. So intentional, routine, repetitive, do it again and again and again and again and again. But why why do this, Steve? Why write this down?
Why what's the value? You when you do this in the morning, I'm a lot more spiritual in the morning than I am in the in the evening, personally. I don't know about you, but by the time evening rolls around, I'm not very spiritual. In the morning, you greet God in the morning. You say, good morning, God.
Thank you that I can be here. I can thank you for this food and whatnot. And you invite him into your day first thing in the morning. You start to absorb God's thoughts over time. So your thinking starts to become his thinking.
And with all the garbage I got coming at me from the world nowadays, so much stimuli, so much input, especially from this little sucker. It's like a filter. God's word is filtering everything that's coming at me, and I can tell truth from fiction pretty quick, and I don't have to mess with that stuff. You know? The other thing is is by writing it down, even though it's just a little bit, it sears it into your brain.
You'll remember it more if you write it down. And then the really cool thing is when you get done, you've got a you've got a record of the stuff that God showed you throughout the year. Now like I said, if you look at this, there's stuff in here that there ain't nothing there. K? But there's some really cool stuff in here.
Some of it's just fun. One of it is, when I was looking at this before to present this to you this morning, It was from May 23. Susie and I's anniversary is May 22. So May 23, I write down where I the date when I started where I started reading, when I stopped reading. I didn't write anything about the scriptures, but I wrote down that was the night before was our anniversary, forty two years.
I wrote down went out and had a nice dinner. It was COVID time, so it was probably takeout. I don't know. But had a nice dinner. Then we came home and vacuumed the house and cut the grass.
My times have changed is what I wrote down. But by having that written down, I could go back and I made Susie laugh just like this. I said, do you remember what we did last anniversary? No. Why?
Oh, we vacuumed the house and cut the grass, and we laughed and laughed and laughed. But but that's what happens is you get this you get a record of it. So, anyway, I think I'm getting close on my time. Yeah. I need to hurry up.
I could share a lot there with you, but I wanna give you just a flavor. I'm just trying to like I said, I'm just trying to give you a technique that works for me and see if it works for you. I think the most important thing is that whatever you do, just do it. You know? Have that quality time with God at some point in your day.
I wanted to share one with you just to give you a flavor for what I write down and what God tells me sometimes. It's in Revelation chapter six. There it is. I wrote this down. This shows my reading on November 11 no.
11/27/2021. There again, it's 02:30 in the morning. That's why I have this all set up the night before. Right? Or it's not gonna happen.
This is a heavy passage. If you're not a Christian, this is a it was a heavy passage if you're not if you are a Christian. This is a passage where God is pulling back the curtain at the end of the age where the time for choosing is over. This is the time of judgment for those that have refused God's grace all their lives. It's terrifying for those folks.
It says, then everyone, the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person, all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive? Nobody, unless you know the lamb, is gonna survive that one. I got a sneaky hunch there won't be any Christians here at that time.
I, gosh, I hope not. But so I read that, and and I'm sure I read more than that that day. And I I already told you I have a dry sense of humor, so God compliments that. He knows that, so he gets me with his dry sense of humor sometimes too. So I sat there.
I I prayed first and I read, and I just sat there for a moment, and then this is what I wrote down. It is impossible to hide from God, Steve. So stop trying. It makes you look silly. Bow before me.
Confess your sins. Receive my grace and my love. Get up, brush yourself off again, and follow me. It's the same thing he's been telling me from the first time I came to it. Receive my grace.
Pick yourself up. Brush yourself off again and follow me. So wrapping up, be an active worshipper. Think about it when you come in next time. Put yourself in the position of being the presenter.
You're presenting your spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise to God. And the other one is your personal quiet time. Can't tell you how much it's meant to me over the years. I hope that I can keep doing it. And in closing, if there's anybody here today that's tired of hiding from God, if you wanna come forward, you know, at the end of the service and talk with Carl and I or something, we'd be happy to.
I quit running a long time ago, and I'm sure glad I did. He caught me. Yeah. So let's pray. Father God, we praise you for who you are.
You are you are the living God, and I thank you for what you've done for us. You've saved us. You gave me a reason to live. You put joy in our hearts, and we just send it right back to you now, father. We praise you for who you are.
Amen.
Thank you, Steve. Isn't that just a good, helpful, practical message? I'd like to thank
that that you shared that. Thanks.
I think of the spur one and spur one another on toward love and good deeds, and that's exactly what you've done this morning. Thank you. And, Steve had picked a song. If you would and and you'd like to, would you stand with me? And we'll sing one more song together, but it's children of the living God, come and sing.
Sing out loud. Children of the living God, sing to him.
Sing with his gentle healing hands how they found the loneliest man. Sing with his gentle healing hands. Sing to the living God. Sing of his mercy. Sing up the mercy that he gives.
For we sin, he forgives. Sing up the mercy that he gives. Sing to the living God how he loves, how he loves us with great love. He who sits enthroned above for our lives, he spills but sent his spirit like a flood. Children of a living God, sing living God.
Let's sing for the morning when he comes in the clouds. Glorious sun, sing for the morning morning when he comes, saints the living God. How he loves us with great love. He who sits enthroned above all our lives. He spilled his blood, sent his spirit like a flood.
Children of the living God, sing to the living God. One more, children of. Children of the living God. Sing to the living God.
I've got a little benediction here. In fact, Blake is gonna share that with us from Ephesians three to close.
Ephesians three fourteen through 20. When I think of all of this, I fall to my knees and pray to the father, the creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from the from his glorious unlimited resources, he will empower you with inner strength through his spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong.
And may you have the power to understand all as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God who is able through his mighty power at work within us to accomplish infinitely more than we may ask or to even think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever.
