Today is the day that the Lord has made so let us rejoice and be glad in it and everyone said Amen and amen

The night That I became a Christian

The night that I I repented and placed my faith in Jesus. It was during the fall of my senior year of high school Now I had like grown up going to church, but it wasn't until I was a senior that like a group of friends kind of like pulled me in and really shared the gospel with me and told me about this personal faith in Jesus that I could have. And so, one night after youth group, we were hanging out after youth group, they called me out and just said, are you ready to repent and place your faith in Jesus? And I said, yes, and I gave my life to the Lord. Now, the number of friends who were part of that experience was very small. It was a small group of my closest friends who all loved me and loved the Lord and they were ministering to me. It was a very small group. But 25 years later, only half of those group of friends. Only half of those guys are still Christians. I was a youth pastor for 10 years. 10 years I saw these classes, these amazing classes of teenagers, come and go through the ministry. I saw God do amazing things. I saw Him change hearts. I saw kids come onto leadership teams and do great things. And now, ten years later, I'm watching so many of them on social media rejecting the faith, walking away, have no interest in God, or going to church. And at Peace Church, we want to be real and raw. And so I'm just going to be real and raw with you for a moment. These are ghosts to me. These are ghosts that haunt me on a regular basis. And I look at people who I thought had such thriving faiths, are no longer walking with God, don't even care. And I'm haunted by this. And it forces me to ask the question, like what does it take to make faith endure? Endure through the changing values of our culture? Endure through personal pain? How does faith endure when we have questions that we just can't seem to find the answer to? What does it make to have a faith that endures? Today we're starting a series on the Prophet Elijah. And one thing I can tell you about the Prophet Elijah, he's from the Old Testament. He had a faith that endured. He's talked about later on in the Old Testament. He's talked about in the New Testament. He actually makes an appearance when Jesus is dying on the cross. They think he's calling out to Elijah. Elijah has a faith that endures. How can we have a faith like him? His story is monumental throughout scripture. I'm really sad that we have to miss an entire sermon in this series because I want us to get to know this guy. His story is found at the end of 1 Kings and at the beginning of 2 Kings.

So I'm going to ask you if you have your Bibles, please turn there now, would you turn to 1 Kings chapter 18. We're going to look at verses just 17 to 16 today. But because I know you may not be in the know about Elijah, we missed a sermon.

Let me try to quickly catch us up to speed as you're turning to 1 Kings 18. Here's the back story. This setting comes during the time in biblical history known as the divided kingdom. When God's kingdom, which was united under King David and King Solomon, it's now broken in half. It's divided into two, the Northern kingdom and the Southern kingdom. Now the Northern kingdom is called Israel or Samaria. The Southern kingdom is called Judah. Now our story takes place in the northern kingdom. And one thing you need to know about the northern kingdom, it didn't last that long. It had a series of just terrible kings who brought the kingdom into the ground and eventually Assyria comes in and decimates the kingdom. It's a great lesson that God kind of shows us that if it's the world you want, then the world you shall have and the world will kill and destroy you. And so this story happens during that time before the kingdom is destroyed. Now this story takes place during the reign of King Ahab.

Now I already told you that every king in the northern kingdom was a terrible king, but what the Bible says about King Ahab is actually pretty profound. It says that he was the worst king yet. In fact, the Bible says that no other king angered God as much as King Ahab did. This is the setting. And not only was Ahab a bad and wicked dude, he was married to a bad and wicked woman. In fact, this woman was so wicked that her name has now become like a title for for other wicked women. You may have heard of her, Jezebel. So Ahab is married to Jezebel. Now Jezebel was a foreigner. She brought in Baal worship. Worship to a foreign god. So with Ahab and Jezebel together, they demolished the faith in the true God Yahweh of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they set up Baal worship. That became basically a state-sponsored religion, and they're setting up these places to worship Baal throughout the land, and they're calling people to worship Baal. Now this is apostasy. That means they're turning away from the true God to a false God, and this anger at God, because the king and queen were leading so many people astray. They were wicked, they were pagan, and it's in this moment that God calls Elijah. First Kings 17, Elijah comes just out of nowhere. Like like biblically speaking and geographically speaking. He just kind of shows up on the scene. No introduction, just and Elijah came.

Now the Bible does say that Elijah came from a place called Tishbe. Now we have no idea where that is. Probably because it was such a small town in a small village that it just kind of got forgotten in the pages of history, kind of like Orangeville. Or our favorite, Freeport. So what you need to know is that in very strong likelihood, Elijah's just a roughneck from the sticks who just kind of comes out to take a stand against a wicked king and trying to spark revival in the land. And Elijah goes on to do crazy, amazing things. So this guy from the sticks just comes out of nowhere. He goes straight to the most wicked king to date. And he tells the king, there's going to be a drought. He brings a prophetic curse. There's gonna be a drought in the land. Now, of course, the king doesn't wanna hear this. This puts Elijah's life in jeopardy.

So God takes Elijah and he sends him out into the wilderness and he says you need to stay there until I tell you to come out. And so Elijah goes and he lives by this little brook where he can get fresh water, because remember there's gonna be a drought and a famine in the land, and God has ravens come and bring Elijah food on a daily basis. So during that entire time Elijah had to rely on a daily basis for God to supply his needs. After a amount of time, God calls Elijah to actually leave Israel and go to Phoenicia to this place called Sidon, where he's supposed to stay with this widow.

Now, back in those days, if you were a widow, if you didn't have a husband, that meant you were destitute, you were without any sort of safety net. So he stays with this widow, and she doesn't have a lot of supplies, she doesn't have a lot of resources, and she starts to run out of food, and there's this time where God miraculously provides them enough flour and oil every single day for them to have food together. This woman's child, her son, dies and Elijah goes over and prays over him and we see resurrection. These are all like the amazing stories that we're supposed to have talked about on Ash Wednesday, but we can't. But all you need to know is that God's already doing an incredible work, seeing amazing things happen in the life of Elijah. And then after three years, the word comes to Elijah and God says, it's time to go back and have your meeting, your confrontation with King Ahab. Now remember for this three years, there's drought and famine. And at this point, the Bible says that the famine was severe in Israel. So what Ahab does is he calls the administrator of his household, kind of like the manager over his affairs, who was a good and godly man named Obadiah. Now, he says to Obadiah, he's like, man, this is such a terrible famine, even the animals are gonna die. We gotta do something. So Ahab says to Obadiah, okay, you go this way and I'll go this way and let's just keep going until we can find some fresh grass and some water so that we can at least save the animals. So Ahab says, I'll go this way, Obadiah, you go that way. And on Obadiah's journey, that's when he meets Elijah on Elijah's journey back to meet with the wicked king Ahab. And that my friends, is where we're gonna pick up in our story. So would you hear the word of the Lord, 1 Kings chapter 18, verses 7 to 16.

7 And as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him. And Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?” 8 And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your lord, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’” 9 And he said, “How have I sinned, that you would give your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? 10 As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek you. And when they would say, ‘He is not here,’ he would take an oath of the kingdom or nation, that they had not found you. 11 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here.”’ 12 And as soon as I have gone from you, the Spirit of the LORD will carry you I know not where. And so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth. 13 Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid a hundred men of the LORD’s prophets by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water? 14 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Behold, Elijah is here”’; and he will kill me.” 15 And Elijah said, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.” 16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah.

17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” 18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the LORD and followed the Baals. 19 Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

This is God's word. Let's pray and we'll continue. Wherever you are, let's pray together.

Father, for your glory and for our good, Lord, would you please challenge us today by the story of Elijah and by the truth of your word. Help us to see here and know the gospel in this story that we might be filled with a faith that endures. Please, oh Holy Spirit, would you lead and guide us during this series and during Lent as we prepare for Easter to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? In whose name we pray. And all God's people, wherever you are, said very loudly, Amen.

Now in this series, we're going to walk along Elijah and we're going to see throughout this series the markers of a faith that endures. Because here's my sincere hope. I look back 25 years and I see people in my life who are no longer walking with the Lord. My prayer is that in 25 years, everyone who's in here now will have an even more vibrant faith then than you do now. Do you want that? Do you want that, people? I want that, too. So let's learn from Elijah if we can see the markers of a faith that endures. And right off the bat, I think the lesson we can learn right from this first story is this. A faith that endures is a faith that drives our lives. A faith that endures is a faith that drives our lives. If you're new to Peace Church or you're just visiting, here's what I want you to know.

We are going to be raw and real here at Peace. And so with that, let me just say this. These days, when someone tells me they're a Christian, I'm like, okay, what does that mean? I can't assume that means anything these days. I mean, we have Christians walking around who don't believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. We have Christians, so-called Christians, who walk around who don't believe that Jesus is the only way into salvation, who don't believe the Bible is God's Word, people who call themselves Christians who are not walking in step with the Holy Spirit. There are people who call themselves Christians who speak so negatively about the church, which is serious business because the church is the bride of Christ. And I don't know about you men, but nobody gets to talk negatively about my wife. Imagine how Jesus our Lord feels. Like when someone says they're a Christian, I'm like, I got one question for you. Is faith the driving force in your life? When someone says they're a Christian, what I want to ask is very simple. Have you repented? Is Jesus Christ the ruling and loving Lord of your life and your soul? Is faith the driving force in your life? Here's what I'll tell you. If it's not, then your faith is misplaced. If faith is not the driving force in your life, then it's misplaced. And when I talk about faith, I mean your personal relationship with God, your belief in Him. If that's not the pinnacle and primary point of your life, hear me, it's misplaced. Correct me if I'm wrong, but God is the biggest thing there is. He's the biggest thing there is, He's the biggest thing in the universe. So how can it be that people say they have God in their life, and He's not the biggest thing in their life? I mean, how can God be the biggest thing there is, and then not be the biggest thing in a person's life? I'll tell you how.

Because it's not God that they have in their life. It's an idea of God. And probably a God that they've made in their own image, who obey them rather than them obeying God. A God that they've made in their mind, a God that they've made in their image, rather than a belief in a God in whose image they are made. If you have a relationship with God, but He's not first in your life, then you have a relationship, I would say, with a false God. A God probably you've created. And I'm going to tell you right now, that God will fail you. And your faith will fail then. We are to have a living, breathing, active, driving force in our life, faith in the living God. But so many who call themselves Christians don't. And we see this man, Elijah, who honored and followed God. And what you see about him so quickly is that faith was the driving force in his life.

And what I love about Elijah is that in the New Testament, in the book of James, it says something really cool about Elijah. It says Elijah was a man just like us. That is both so encouraging and so challenging. So as we look at this passage in this story, I think we're going to pick up a couple of things today. I wanted to give you three points. I'll go easy on you. I'll just give you two here this morning. Here they are. A faith that drives our lives calls us to follow through.

I told you we're gonna ask real questions and we're gonna be raw here at peace. So I want to ask you a question, you here in the worship center, in the chapel, in the venue, online, and I want you to answer this in your own heart. What has it taken or what would it take to awaken your faith and move you deeper? What has it taken or what would it take to awaken your faith and move you deeper? Being diagnosed with cancer, the death of a loved one, being served divorce papers, your nation being pulled into war, disease, death, divorce, destruction, often it takes pain to awaken our faith.

But hear me, pain is a product of our broken world and our sinful hearts. What should awaken our faith is the Holy Spirit bringing an awareness of the seriousness of our sin to our hearts. A sin that we know is against the God of all creation. A sin that we know makes us stand condemned before God. A sin that has broken and ruined our relationship with Him. And knowing this, and knowing that even in the midst of our immense sin, sin that makes us worthy of the flames of hell that God in his great mercy and love for us has provided a way back to him but that way back comes at great cost the cost of the life and death of his son Jesus Jesus who died on the cross in our place paying the penalty for our sins, assuming the punishment that should have been ours, realizing that now Jesus has completely taken care of our salvation, there's nothing we can do to add or take away from that, all we can do is just receive it because it's now a free gift, that's why we call it grace because Jesus has done for us in our place what we could not do for ourselves. But here's the problem, and here's what has led so many people to call themselves Christians who really aren't one. In their lives, there's no repentance. There's no awareness and a turning from sin. There's no repentance in our life. Repentance is the right response to our sin. But we don't repent, and then we don't walk in step with the Spirit, and because we're not walking in step with the Spirit, we don't have the gift of the Spirit or the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. I'm not saying you can't be a kind and good citizen, but I'm saying you're not a Christian. Because Christians are the people who bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, who use the gifts God's given us to see His kingdom built. See, Christians are those people who follow Jesus, and to follow Jesus means we are on mission. That is what it means. I think a lot of us Christians, we just, we accept God's free gift of salvation and we sit down. There's no repentance and no walking in step with the Spirit and yet we think we're Christians because we've taken this notion that salvation is free, which it is. We call it grace because grace is connected to the word for gift. Salvation is a free gift we receive. But we've taken this free notion and rather than freely enjoying it, what we do is we take this free thing and we make it cheap.

And we put it in our back pocket.

We pull it out like a credit card when we want something. We say, thanks for dying on the cross for me, Jesus. And then we go on our merry way, rather than picking up our cross and following Him. And in this, we've exposed that we've forgotten something critical about faith. And that's that a faith that drives our lives calls us to something costly. So back to our story, here's what's happening. Obadiah is a good and godly man. He's working in a wicked administration, but he's a good and godly man. And just a side note, this is not the same Obadiah who wrote the book in the Bible called Obadiah. Those are different people. But Obadiah is a good and godly man. And for three years, Ahab has been on a rampage looking for Elijah in every kingdom all over. He wants to find Elijah so he can kill him. Now, Elijah runs into Obadiah.

And he tells Obadiah, go tell your king that I'm coming. And Obadiah is like, you don't know what you're asking me to do. He could kill me for this, like actually kill me. If I say that you're coming and you don't show up, I'm a dead man. You don't know what you're asking me to do. This is serious business. Yeah, because Elijah knows that a faith that drives our lives calls us to something costly. So here's what I ask you, church, who in your life is calling you not just to something more but to something costly that's going to put your faith to the fire to see if it's genuine and it's true and it's been refined? Who in your life is calling you to something costly, someone who will let you know if faith is truly the driving force in your life, rather than just something hanging on the walls of our Magnolia-inspired houses. Elijah is giving Obadiah news that he is to share, news that is a matter of life and death. Who in your life is calling you, not just to something more, but to something costly, something that shows that our faith is alive and at the forefront of our life, not in the background. And being real and honest today, as I thought about this message and sought the Lord in the midst of this, I was asking myself, as the lead pastor of this church, have I been calling this church to something costly? Or have I, in my flesh, been keeping us too comfortable? Have I been challenging this church enough to seek and pursue what is right in this world, even if it brings great cost to your life? Have I been a leader doing that. Here's what I tell you, where I have failed you, Jesus Christ has not.

In the scriptures, we see the one who has done this for us and calls us to this. Jesus paid the ultimate cost himself. And now he calls us to pick up our cross and to carry it and to follow him, not in order to receive salvation, but in response to the salvation that we already have. Christ calls us to the great commission. That means bringing the gospel to the end of the street and to the ends of the earth. And he gives us the Holy Spirit to fill us and to fuel us and to guide us as we live on mission for him, to reflect him in every aspect of our life, because faith is the driving force in our lives, strengthening us, strengthening us for the battle that we are in. Obadiah, in case you haven't picked up, Obadiah doesn't want to do this. God calls us to things that we do not want to do in our flesh. Obadiah doesn't want to do this. But Elijah knows that if you have faith as a driving force in your life, that will not allow you to stay comfortable. If you are comfortable, that is because faith is not the driving force in your life. And I'm not talking about the security that we have through faith in Jesus. I'm talking about are you called to things that you may not necessarily want to do for the Lord. Maybe for some of us in here, it's time to start being faithful and generous with our finances. Maybe for some of us in here, it's time to start committing to praying with our spouse. Maybe for some of us in here, it's time to start sharing the faith. And when I say sharing the faith, I mean speaking the name of Jesus to your coworkers. Does your faith call you or cost you anything?

Our Wednesday night program for our young boys is called Bold Boys. Our Bold Boys and our Brave Girls program are I think some of the most special things we do here at the church. And every other Wednesday night, we have our Bold Boys program. Now God's been bringing a lot of great change and growth to Peace Church, and last year we realized, hey, we need a part-time position. This ministry is getting so big. We need to hire someone to help lead this on a part-time basis. And quickly, this man kind of like rose to the front as a possible candidate. His name is Samuel Thaler. Now Samuel Thaler is known to a lot of the boys in our program, but they don't know him as Samuel Thaler, they know him as Mr. Thaler. Because Mr. Thaler is the PE teacher at Lee Elementary for TK public schools. Now I liked Samuel. I thought he could be a great leader. I'm thankful he is a Christian in the public schools, but I wanted to have an honest conversation with him. Because here at Peace Church, we are not shy about proclaiming our beliefs that we know are very counter-cultural. And I wanted to have an honest conversation with him, so we went to the Mexican restaurant in Caledonia and I just said, man, I think you could do a great job in this position, but I want to have a real conversation right now. You're a public school teacher. Peace holds some very unpopular, but I believe 100% true beliefs. And I just want to have this conversation now because those could bump into one another and cause some friction. And I just want to have a real conversation now. And I'll never forget what he said. He said, maybe it's time I start feeling some pressure for my faith. And I said, you're hired. You're exactly the type of man that I want leading this program for our boys, which by the way, my two sons are in. You're exactly the type of guy that I want to see disciple my boys. Maybe it's time to start feeling some pressure for my faith. Amen. Church, as you rejoice in your faith and you celebrate what Christ has done, do this, but don't get comfortable. And I can tell you this, one of the things I know about the people in our area, I'm from this area, I'm born and raised, I bleed the same blood. Like, one thing I know about people in our area is don't mess with our time and don't mess with our money. Don't cost me either of those things. The other thing I know about, I'd say specifically the men in our area, is if I was to tell a man in our church, you are lazy at your job, Here's the left hook. But how many are hardworking at their job but lazy in their faith? Which do you think the world needs more of?

Which do you think our culture needs more of?

Now I believe that if you are hardworking at your faith, it'll lead you to be hardworking at your job because we're faithful in all aspects in our lives. But men, you can't be hard working at your job and lazy at your faith. You've got that backwards. And I'd say also you may be dealing with some idolatry in your life. Now listen, there are a thousand ways that every individual person could be challenged by a message like this. I know that I am. So here's what I'm going to allow to happen. I'm just going to let the Holy Spirit challenge you where you need to in the midst of this. Because a faith that drives our lives calls us to something costly. If your faith is not calling you to something or caution you anything then my estimation is that you're pretty comfortable. And that makes me wonder if you're on mission. That makes me wonder if you're actually pursuing Christ and following your Lord and Savior. Because a faith that drives our lives calls us to something costly. And secondly, a faith that drives our lives calls us to follow through. So Obadiah, back to our story, Obadiah is like, Elijah, you don't know what you're asking me to do. If I tell him you're coming and you don't come, I'm dead. I'm actually dead. He's going to kill me. I've seen it happen. And then Obadiah adds another layer to this story, kind of complicates it, and he confesses something. He says, I've already defied the king and queen.

Listen to what the Bible says in verse 13. It says, Has it not been told to you, my Lord, speaking to Elijah, what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, and how I hid a hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifties in a cave, and I fed them with bread and water? And now you say, Go tell the Lord, behold, Elijah is here. He will kill me. I'm already on thin ice see what had happened was that this wicked Queen Jezebel she had been clearing and cleaning house she wants to make bail worship the place of that like the worship for the people so she's killing the prophets of the true God and Obadiah rescues a hundred of them hides them in secret splits them up splits them up and then he personally takes care of them during this time. This would have been an immediate death sentence if this had been found out. Obadiah knows he's already on thin ice, but then listen to what Elijah says, verse 15. And Elijah said, as the Lord of hosts lives before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him, to Ahab today. And then look at this, verse 16. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him. He did the very thing he did not want to do. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah. The confrontation, the face-off is going to happen next week. So make sure you come back because it's tremendous. So Elijah makes a commitment and then he follows through. He doesn't just call Obadiah to something costly. He puts himself on the line as well. Elijah follows through.

So yes, Christians, church, yes, have people in your life who will call you out, who will grow your faith, who will challenge you to something costly. But listen to me, only if they themselves are doing it. It's a two-way street here, people. Make sure that I'm doing it too. Don't allow me to stand up here, elevated by everybody behind a pulpit, telling you to do something I'm not doing in my own life. You call me out as well. Because we are to do this together. We are all to follow through. Only have people who call you out, who they themselves are setting this example in their lives, like Elijah did for Obadiah.

I wanna speak to the members of Peace Church for a moment. If you're visiting or not a member yet, you can listen in, but I want to speak to the members of Peace Church. Are you following through with your membership vows? Are you praying? I mean like praying, like pleading praying. Are you a praying person? Are you serving this church? Because the Holy Spirit has given you a gift to be used to build up his church. Are you serving? Where are you serving? Are you financially invested in the ministry of this church? Or are you happy letting someone else buy the heat that you get to enjoy every Sunday? Are you a person who is pursuing Jesus Christ with every breath you breathe? That's who the members of Peace Church are to be. That's the vows.

We are comfortable in the sense that we are satisfied in Christ and we are secure in our salvation, but we're not comfortable when it comes to the mission. We get out there and we do the Lord's work because he's called us to. And don't you want a church like that in your community? That's who God has called this church to be and to continue to be.

I look back and I think about those friends of mine who were there, who prayed with me to receive Jesus, who are no longer walking with Him. I think about all those teenagers that I went on mission trips with and knelt down in the slums of Tijuana and the backwoods of Kentucky and we prayed and we did the Lord's work, who are no longer walking with Him. I have these ghosts in my life that haunt me and I just am forced to ask the question, what does it take to make a faith that endures? Because here's what I'll tell you, that was 25 years ago. In 25 years, I want every person who can hear my voice right now to have a stronger faith then than they do now because you have a faith that endures. Do you want that too?

When Jesus Christ was dying on the cross, actively taking the punishment for our sins, standing in the place where we should be hanging. When Jesus was dying on the cross, the last thing he said was, It is finished. Those are three words in English. It was one word in Greek, but in this phrase, do you know what Jesus was saying when he said, It is finished? He says, I have done what I set out to do. He was saying I have kept my promise. I have finished my mission.

When Jesus said it is finished, you know what he was saying? He was saying you can follow me because I follow through. And because he does, we can trust him with our lives, every aspect of our lives, from our children to our health to our finances, because he's a God who follows through. Don't be a fake Christian. Don't just claim the name of Christ and faith not be the driving force in your life. Turn to the One who's calling to you. Repent. Turn from your sin. Place yourself in the arms of Jesus, the One who saves you, who invites us in, who stands us up, who cleans us up, who gives us a seat at his table in his house. I want to know, not just from a West Michigan quiet, mm-hmm, I want to know for real, who here knows that they are not a perfect person but they have a perfect Savior? That still sounded West Michigan of you. Who here knows they're not a perfect Savior. Amen. He is calling us to so much more but being comfortable is not one of them. Being silent is not one of them. He's calling us to a faith that drives our lives because He followed through. He's calling us and giving us a faith that endures. Amen. Would you please stand up. If you're looking at your life right now and you're realizing faith is not the driving force, if you're feeling challenged right now, then my prayer is not my words, it's the Holy Spirit working in you.

So here's what I'm going to ask. For the people in this room, for the people in the chapel, for the people in the venue, let now be the moment where we let faith take over. Where we pursue Christ, we let it be the driving force in our life, where we develop a faith that endures, and one of the ways we do that is prayer. So make sure you are praying. Come and pray with someone after church, go into our prayer room, pray with someone, pray for someone, but also worship. Right now, if your faith is the driving force or you want it to be, then here's what I'd say, sing. Sing that the world would know who your Savior is. Sing so that the gates of hell would tremble. Sing because we have a Savior who is triumph, who is on the throne.

Father, we come before you and I just pray, God, that here and now, by the power and presence of the Spirit and our faith in Jesus, you'd lift up this church to sing praises unto your name. Lord, we are in the house of the Lord, and the house of the Lord is where your people are gathered. That's here and now, so whether they are in the worship center, in the chapel, or the venue, Father, I pray that your church right now would lift up praises, because we are in the house of the Lord, our Lord, our good and gracious God, Savior and Spirit. It's in your name we pray and everyone It's in your name we pray and everyone said amen.

Peace Church Sermon