Centrality of God's Word

who turned it off good morning good to see all your bright shining faces especially this early in the morning so appreciate it um good to see you all this morning at 8 30 on this sunday um if you all would stand with us this morning we're gonna open up in some worship um i know a lot of you some of you don't know me most of you have known me since i was literally a child a baby so um this is just a cool a cool experience getting to be up here with um some people that i've looked up to my entire life and so it's just going to be sweet and we just love worshiping the lord and so we hope and pray you guys just worship the lord with us this morning so i'm gonna pray lord thank

you for this time god thank you for these people um this church god your church lord we thank you for your holy spirit god in that you indwell in all of us lord we ask that you just fill us afresh this morning lord do we that your spirit move freely lord and that we move and act and speak and sing freely this morning lord because where your spirit is there is freedom god so as we open up in worship this morning we pray that it's not just songs we're singing but prayers that we're sending up and praise we're offering to your name in jesus name amen god just for lord just for being here god you are just so faithful bless lord and we need you lord so may we come before and just lay everything at your feet

this morning recognizing just how desperate we are for you to even breathe lord we can do nothing without you can't we can't even be lord so may we come before you and give you the respect and the honor you so deserve as we come humble to your throne this morning thank you for who you are lord i pray that we can just revere you so may we come before you this morning lord by choice before we get to do it forever for eternity jesus name let's all stand for this last song we know that we can't On our own, Lord, come close to you. But in Jesus, Lord, your word says that we are declared righteous. We are made righteous, Lord. All of our sins are made white as snow.

We are clothed in righteousness. So, Lord, we thank you. We thank you for what you've done for us, Lord, for making us righteous before you. Lord God, we praise you in your precious and holy name. All God's people said, amen. Let's take some time and greet one another.

All right. Good morning. You guys can go ahead and begin locating your seats.

Get some announcements out of the way. And we'll continue. Thank you. Appreciate you, brother. That was really, really loud.

Announcements. If you're looking for a place to get plugged in, on the left-hand side of your bulletin there, there's all the studies that are going on throughout the week. So just find something that fits your needs and go ahead and get plugged in. We'd love to have you. Bible reading plan. Just continue on with those. It should be printed on the back of your bulletin.

Looks like you're in Acts in the morning and Job and Psalms in the evening.

August 3rd. We're going to have a baptism and family picnic at Paris Park from 530 to 7. We'll eat at the park then. And then after that point at 7 o'clock, we'll make our way. Across the street to the pool and do our baptism and swim there. So until about 830. So hope you can join us. And if you want, if you're interested in getting baptized, there's a sign-up sheet outside.

We'd love to talk with you about what that looks like. The steps leading up to that. So like I said, there's a sign-up sheet on the table in the front lobby there. Ladies breakfast is this Saturday at 8, 830, 830. Ladies breakfast Saturday, 830. And so with that. I believe that is all the announcements. Do you want to go ahead and stand with me for our responsive reading?

We're going to be in Psalm 16 this morning. Psalm 16. Be reading out of the New American Standard. So we all sound the same. If you need a Bible, there should be one in your row. Psalm 16. I'll read the odd verses. If you'll follow along with Pastor Allen in the even verses. Psalm 16. A mictum of David. Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in you. I said to the Lord, you are my Lord.

I have no good besides you. As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight. The sorrows of those who have bartered for another God will be multiplied. I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood, nor will I take their names upon my lips. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup. You support my lot.

The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me. I will bless the Lord who has counseled me. Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. I have set the Lord continually before me because he is at my right hand. I will not be shaken. I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad. And my glory. Rejoices my flesh also will dwell securely for you will not abandon my soul to shield, nor will you allow your holy one to undergo decay.

You will make known to me the path of life and in your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand, there are pleasures forever. Lord Jesus, we just thank you for your word, Lord. Lord God, we know we thank you for for not just casting us aside, Lord. We thank you that you will not abandon us, Lord God, but we know that you're coming again soon. Lord, help us to live, expecting, expecting your return.

Lord, you're gonna you're gonna rescue us, Lord, and we believe that, Lord, if we ask is that as we open up your word this morning, Lord, that you just bless this time or give me the words to speak and give us ears to hear and hearts to receive it. We love you. We praise you in Jesus name. Amen. Please. Be seated. I hope you guys have a wonderful, had a wonderful Fourth of July.

I know my family and I did spent lots of money on fireworks.

Well, I am glad that you are here to recap. The last time I taught was April. I think we covered the first 18 verses of James Chapter one. So if you have your Bibles with you this morning, go ahead and open them up to James Chapter one, and we'll continue on in our study there.

Like I said, the last time I taught, we covered the first 18 verses of James Chapter one and primarily talking about trials in our lives. Brothers and sisters understand that if if you are in Jesus, there will be trials. It's not a matter of if it's a matter of when. Okay, so you might as well expect them. But James tells us to consider it pure joy when we go through these seasons of testing and trials because it's because it says here, James one, that the test is not a test.

It's a test. It's a test. It's a test. It's a test. It's a test. It's a test. That's where the system is. That's where everything in the system is going. And when things are learning, the testing of your faith is being тебе testing of your faith produces endurance and patience. It goes on to say that that when we've been patient through the through the trial, through the testing.

When it's full effect has come about in our lives, that we're going to be mature that we're going to be complete, that we're not going to be lacking anything. James also talked about how to get through the trials. He says that you're going to need wisdom. Well. comes where do you get wisdom right get it from your grandpa right no i'm i'm kidding but you get

you get wisdom from the lord you get it from his word you get wisdom from from god's word he gave us an entire book of wisdom you know and more specifically if you're looking for a specific book in the book of proverbs it's it's chock full of it it's you're going to need it to get through the trials you know oftentimes i'll have youth kids come to me with just different problems different things that they're dealing with and and i always give them god's wisdom i give them scripture i give them god's word you know i'll tell them exactly what god's word says about the issue that they're dealing with okay and so that's the recap um today we're going to be talking about the centrality of god's word in our lives god's words must be central

to our lives joshua in the old testament was was commanded by god to to carefully observe the whole the whole instruction of god and to meditate on it day and night god you know god knew joshua was going to need need god's counsel when israel eventually moved into the promised land and when they went through the trials that they did therefore god commanded joshua to make god's word central to his life and for you know for so long when i was younger god's word wasn't necessarily central in my life you know i rarely spent any time in it outside of sundays and wednesdays you know i never memorized scripture nor nor was god's word the ultimate authority in my life so much so that i even

started to question what god's word had to say about how we came to be here about creation about how god made us you know for so long through through high school and college you know they were calling everything evolution as as as fact when it's not it's it's a theory and then it's it's been disproven and you look and it doesn't take much to disprove it all you have to do is look around you look at god's creation and you can see that i mean it's it's not evolution it's creation god made them he designed them he designed you very specifically you know like i said for for so long when i was in school they taught these long processes of uh of evolution they were there many, many years before i even was a student at one point i was really surprised

you know i got my second book and it was a great success but the reason why i left is because at the time i was in college i had not made my first book and i was a little bit of an asshole you know i was not evolution and i started to buy into it you know it started with this single cell of primordial ooze floating around in space and uh that accidentally grew into a planet you know that that accidentally filled with life you know that that life have accidentally evolved into into monkeys and that we eventually evolved into to humans from monkeys right and that started i started to believe that over god's word so all that to say that if god's word is not central in your life you're going to

start you're going to start following these these worldly beliefs you're going to start questioning how we came to be and and over god's word you know and that's why that's just one of many reasons why god's word must be read it must be studied it must be acted upon it must be central in your lives all right so with that let's get started here james chapter 1 we'll start we'll start in verse 19. it says my dear brothers and sisters understand this everyone should be quick to listen slow to speak and slow to anger if human anger does not accomplish god's righteousness therefore ridding yourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent humbly receive the implanted word which is able to save your souls

james chapter one chapter two chapter three and in this chapter you'll see that christ is practical starts off by addressing believers here our brothers and sisters he calls us multiple times throughout this book brothers and sisters dear brothers and sisters now just say if you've come to that saving relationship this morning you are a brother and sister in christ if you if you have never come to that saving relationship with jesus jesus may i encourage you let today be the day okay if you wait until you're ready you'll never be ready you'll never come if you wait until your your life is cleaned up enough you'll never be clean enough let today be the day while it is still today james continues calling believers

to do three things number one be quick to listen slow to speak and slow to anger he tells us to be quick to listen listen to what he tells us to be quick to listen to the word and he tells us to be slow to speak and slow to anger you ever wonder why god gave us two ears and only one mouth i don't know about you guys but i if i had two mouths i'd i'd be in a lot more trouble than i already am thank goodness he only he only gave us one right uh in order to be ready to receive the implanted word of god we must have our hearts prepared we must be quick to listen to it we must be quick on the input and slow on the output jesus taught on this in matthew 13 in the parable of the sour and he says our hearts are like the different types of soil and it

in that nope i'm back i'm getting too far ahead of myself here our hearts are like the different types of soil and so you see when people hear the word of god one of several things can happen 1. sometimes it can fall on our hearts and we can't see what's coming our hearts cannot see what's deaf ears in other words some folks have no desire to hear the Word of God whatsoever their hearts are hardened like that soil that's trampled down you know along the path there that soil is so hard there that there's no opportunity for the Word of God for the seed to take root there it can't get past the surface so what if what happens oftentimes is is the enemy comes and he snatches away that seed that Word of God and these are these are typically

folks that have just been so hardened by the world but they they can hear the word but have no desire to have it implanted in their lives they have no desire to meditate on it they have no desire to hear it and they have no desire to put it into practice other times our hearts could be like that that seed that falls on rocky ground where there's a little bit of soil the word falls on rocky ground where there's a little bit of soil the word falls on on someone's heart and they actually receive it with a little bit of joy. But because their heart is so rocky, the soil is so shallow, when persecution or hard times come, that seed is eventually just scorched out. You know, it just doesn't really have much of an opportunity to take

root and to produce any good fruit in their lives. And that fruit eventually dies because the Word was never able to get past the surface of their heart. You know, these are folks who the second persecution or trials come, and like we talked about last time, they will. Persecution and trials will come. The second that they come, these folks are out. You know, they're done.

And then the third type of soil, it goes on to say that they're those who the Word has taken root in their lives, and the fruit starts to be produced. But worldliness begins to choke it out. They follow the people and the things of this world, and they're more concerned about their favorite, you know, social media influencer and what they say you should be doing with your life, rather than what Jesus says that you should be doing with your own life. They're more concerned about living their best life now, rather than taking up their cross and following Jesus.

In order for us to be able to receive the implanted Word, James tells us that we need to rid ourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent. I actually love the King James version of this verse. It says, wherefore lay aside all filthiness, and catch this, and superfluity of naughtiness. There you go. Superfluity of naughtiness. I'm going to start working that

into my daily vocabulary. That superfluity of naughtiness. That overflowing of evilness, of evil and moral filth in our lives. It says to lay it all aside. Get rid of it. In order to cultivate a heart that's ready to receive the implanted Word, James is saying, take a long, hard look at your heart. Take a spiritual inventory of what's going on in your lives. If there's stuff that's there that shouldn't be, it's time to get rid of it.

It's time to get rid of it. If there's sin, confess it. Let's get it dealt with, okay? You're not the only one who does it, okay? We all do, myself included. I'm not exempt here, okay? Nobody is. If it's sin that you're dealing with, confess it. Let's get it dealt with, okay? In short, if you're doing bad stuff, stop. If my heart is hardened, then I can't receive the implanted Word of God.

If my heart is shallow, it's never going to produce anything of significance. And if my heart is choked out by worldliness, there's nothing really good that's going to come from it because the world is going to choke everything out. Every spring, I plant a garden in my backyard, and I'll get it all tilled up and get it ready to plant and everything. I'll even till it up two or three times before I plant. But it never fails. I'll plant my garden,

and then the weeds just pop up. It's a never-ending battle. And thankfully, it still produces some fruit. I can get some good tomatoes and corn and different things like that and squash. But we try our best to manage this weed, and that grass pops up, and it's tough. The grass and the weeds come up so thick that it almost completely chokes out everything. My poor oak are right now, it's really struggling.

But it's the same within our lives. If we're going to receive the Word of God and have it produce any fruit within our lives, He's telling us we have to prepare our hearts. We have to remove that sin, that moral filth, the evil that is so prevalent from our lives. I remember going to church for years every Sunday and Wednesday, especially when I was in youth group, man. I would hear

the Word. I would get so pumped up. I'd get so on fire for Jesus. That was until I walked to 30 feet of the cross. That was when I walked to 30 feet of the cross. That was when I walked to 30 feet of the cross. That was when I walked to 30 feet of the cross. That was when I walked to 30 feet of the cross. That was when I walked to 30 feet of the cross. That was when I walked to 30 feet of the cross.

That was when I walked to 30 feet of the cross. That sin and that addiction in my life at that sin and that addiction in my life at that sin and that addiction in my life at that time would choke out any word that came into my life. And it wasn't until years later that I started confessing those things and finally getting them dealt with, that when God's Word was finally implanted in my life, that I would actually start to see some fruit, some lasting fruit in my life. So you see, my heart wasn't ready then to receive the implanted Word of God. If, you know, if I never tilled up the ground at my house, I could throw the seed out there,

but it's never going to do anything. Nothing's ever going to come from it. And if I never cultivated my heart, then it's not ready for the word. If you never get rid of the sin, that evil moral filth, then it's not ready. You know, we're going to be taking communion here in a little bit. You need to get your hearts ready. If there's sin there, it's time to confess it and get it dealt

with. Verse 22 says, but be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at it at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it and is not

a forgetful hearer, but a doer who works. This person will be blessed in what he does. James goes on to call believers here to not just be hearers of the word, but doers. You know, I remember in college, you know, I was actually part of this Christian fraternity. It's called Zeta Pi Lambda. And that was our verse. That was our fraternity motto was James 1.22. And we would have to recite this in the old King James, by the

way, which says, but be ye doers of the word and not hearers only. Deceiving your own selves. We would have to recite that like in unity with all of our pledge brothers in unity, like we're at boot camp, you know. But it was hammered in my head so much that I can't even hardly recite it any other way other than King James. You see, once we prepared our hearts to hear and receive the word, it's now our responsibility to do the word, to act on it.

Once you walk out those doors this morning, once you walk out these doors, you now have a choice to make. Are you going to act upon the word or not? Once you finish your quiet times, you have a choice to make. Are you going to act upon it or not? But Jared, how can I actually do what the whole Bible says? You know, that's one question that I always get, especially from young people. Well, Jared, the Bible is huge. There's so much

in it. How do I follow and do all that it says? Well, Jesus actually made it really, really easy for us. In Matthew 22, it says the whole law and prophets can be summed up in these two commandments. Number one, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. Number two, love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said that everything

depends on those two commands. Love God and love others. And from there, you can break it down further. But in its simplest terms, love God and love others. That's it. Seems pretty easy to me, at least in terms of number of the commands that you need to keep. You know, God's word is, understand that God's word is so powerful and it can change your life in ways that you've never imagined. It can change your heart. It can be your guide. It can

be your defense and your help in your time of need. I remember as a senior in high school during our baccalaureate service, my youth pastor gave the message, and it was out of Psalm 119, verse 105, where it says, your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I never forgot that because that's exactly what I was going to need in the coming days and weeks and months, you know, as I prepared to go off to college. I was going to need his word to guide my choices about what I would do, what I would do in college, about who I would hang out with, about what my life would look like.

About my next steps in life. You know, while that message hit home with me, and I still remember that verse, I also quickly forgot what the verse after it says. Verse 106, it says, I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.

You see, while I was quick to hear the word, I was not the most responsive doer. I was not the most responsive doer of the word. I quickly, quickly fell into sin, quickly fell into immoral relationships and addictions, et cetera. I'd allowed sin to spring up in my life and choke out the word of God. And what happened to me is what James goes on to describe as looking at yourself in the mirror

and then quickly forgetting what you look like. You know, when I looked in my mirror this morning, it was pretty unforgiving. You know, my, what's left of my hair was pretty messy and, and, you know, just all the scars and my, you know, it was just, it's unforgiving. You know, wouldn't be, wouldn't it be awesome if I looked in the mirror, if, you know, if we all looked in the mirror, me specifically, if I looked in the mirror and I had a full, thick head of non-gray hair, you know, chiseled abs, you know, you know, alas, that's not what it shows.

It shows all the, it shows and highlights all the imperfections and flaws that I have. It shows every gray hair, at least what's left of it, you know, and, and it shows, shows my complete non-chiseled abs and, and it shows everything, the good and the bad. You know, and I would read the word and then walk away and completely forget what I read and completely what, forget what it said and not act upon it at all. I didn't love God in the love others very much. And that's what James is saying here. Don't be like the man who looks in

the mirror, then walks away and forgets what you look like. But rather he goes on to say, be the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer who works. This person will be blessed in what he does. A doer of the word is one who looks with intent into God. That word intent or intently in the Greek is perikypto. It means to, to stop and stoop down

at something in order to look at it. The idea is that if you're walking along that you see something that catches your eye, you stop, you bend down to get a closer look at it, to study its characteristics, to, to be able to identify it. A doer of the word is someone who looks closely at it to study it. They memorize it. They memorize it. They memorize it. They

memorize it. And then they persevere in it. You know, understand that, understand that when we act upon God's word, when we act upon God's word, it's not always going to be easy. I don't know about you guys, but sometimes sharing my faith isn't always easy with, with, with folks, you know? But that's what God calls us to do. He calls us to go and make disciples, doesn't he? So how do we do that? We go and share our faith with people.

We point people to Jesus. Understand that when we, when we become a doer of the word, it's not always easy. And going, going back to what Pastor Patrick taught last week, sometimes, you know, loving others isn't easy. Patrick covered that beautifully last week. Sometimes loving others means loving those who don't look like you, loving those who don't act like you, who don't agree with you,

who don't understand you. Sometimes loving others maybe even looks like loving those who don't even smell like you, you know? I've come across some, some pretty interesting folks before who've, let's just say they needed a bath in a bad way, but sometimes loving the others means loving the unlovable, those who are just an absolute pain in the butt. You know, to give you a different example of being a doer and persevering in the word, you know, we, we recently bought a shed.

I don't know if you've seen it. I don't know if you've seen it. I don't know if you've seen it. I don't know if you've seen it. I don't know if you guys saw it out here out back, but we, that was a recent purchase. And, and, and in order to be able to save the church some money, we, we decided that we were going to put together ourselves. Yeah, it was no, no words, no words. So we, we decided to put that,

that shed together ourselves and it came with some instructions. Now, Pastor Ryan did ask that he, we have this thing put together before he gets back from vacation. Okay. but imagine if he showed up and that that shed wasn't there imagine if he showed up and it wasn't put together and not only that it was like scattered out all over all over the parking lot in pieces imagine what he would say you know uh how do you think he would have reacted i'd have to sit there and tell him yeah yeah we had the instructions i studied them memorized them front and backwards but i just didn't do it you know and it's the same with god's word he gave us instructions he gave us his instructions on

what to do while we are here on earth god clearly had no intention for us to be idle he clearly had no intention of us just standing around taking up space he clearly has no intention of us of us of us warming a chair on sunday mornings guys it's brothers and sisters dear brothers and sisters it is time to get in the word it is time to act on it to persevere in it god gave us his infallible word he gave us instructions on what to do this side of eternity it's time to do it amen verse 26 says if anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his mind his tongue his religion is useless and he deceives himself pure and undefiled religion before god the father is this to look after orphans and widows in their

distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world james goes on to give us an example of what a doer of the word looks like here uh what a doer of the word does and does not look like he says if anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue his religion is useless his religion is useless without controlling his tongue his religion is useless without controlling his tongue his religion is useless without controlling his tongue his religion is useless without controlling dece Sexual sexual sexual show up to church twice a year on christmas and easter they proclaim jesus with their mouth but their hearts are far are far from him the second they walk out the door they use their tongue to

cut others down and every other word is an f-bomb and i've been around folks like this and they're honestly hard for me to be around they're i'm being honest they're hard for me to love you know this is something the lord is working on me they're hard for me to love because i know they're completely fake the person i see in church isn't the same person that i see outside of church they're two completely different people they they fooled themselves into thinking that they're christians i'm taking a i'm actually taking a small group of youth kids through a book called uh not a fan it's by kyle eidelman um and there's a student edition i think there's an adult edition too but it's it's a wonderful book talks about what it looks like to be a true

follower of jesus you and what it looks like to act upon his word not just being a fan but a follower of jesus and in one of the chapters that we just read this last week the author tells us that what we believe should be reflected in reality otherwise it's a delusion in other words if we believe in jesus our actions our words the way we behave should reflect that jesus tells us in john 14 15 it says that if we truly love him we would be obedient to his word that word obedient is an action word it reflects what you believe if you're going to believe in jesus if you're going to believe that he is the son of god that came that came to to earth and paid the price on the cross for your sin we better be obedient to his word we better we better

show some proof there better there better be some evidence if we're going to claim to be christians there should be some evidence of it we should love god and love others james goes on to give us an example he tells us to love on the orphans and widows to love others and to keep yourself unstained from the world in other words love god love god more that you than you love the world okay uh chapter two verse one here says my brothers and sisters do not show favoritism as you hold on to the faith in your in our glorious lord jesus christ for if someone comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes and a poor person dressed in filthy clothes also

comes in if you look with favor upon the one wearing the fine clothes and say sit here in a good place and yet you say to the poor person stand over there or sit here on the floor by my stool haven't you made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts listen my dear brothers and sisters didn't god choose the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him yet you have dishonored the poor don't the rich oppress you and drag you into court and don't they blaspheme the good name that was invoked over you indeed if you feel if you feel that you are a sinner you are a sinner if you fulfill the royal law prescribed in the scripture love your neighbor as yourself you are

doing well if however you show favoritism you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors for whoever keeps the entire law and yet stumbles at one point is guilty of breaking it all for he who said do not commit adultery also said do not murder so if you do not commit adultery but you murder you are a lawbreaker and that is the case and say it and then sin andouths are Hal Coner beat you if you are not so whoever says that other than me now is a liar and anˇs a liar I'm gonna stop here and then we'll get to this is because we're gonna have to look at who died that we closed as a shame certainly loans that we took from men who didn't love us so our dirty słu

favoritism. You know, in Jesus' day, and honestly, it's been present ever since the fall, but in Jesus' day, it was an issue, and it's always been an issue. You know, only today, we don't really use the word favoritism very much anymore. We have another word for it. It's called discrimination. In James' day, it was as much of a problem then as it is now, if not more so. You know,

Guzik's commentary points out that favoritism was a big part of many cultures in that day. People were separated based on nationality, ethnicity, wealth, and religious background. And if you didn't fit into one of those four categories, you were just essentially considered an outcast. You were viewed as an outcast. So James is addressing this issue with these Jewish believers that he's writing his letter to. He's addressing this issue with the

church, with us. He says, and I'll paraphrase this, don't show favoritism to someone who walks in with nice clothes and a pocket full of money. Don't show favoritism to them over someone who isn't wearing the right clothes and has empty pockets. And in doing so, you're committing an awful sin instead of welcome them with open arms. You know, I've only been a part of Calvary Chapel for about

10 years, but from what I've learned, uh, Calvary Chapel started in the 60s and 70s with something called the Jesus Movement. And it was the hippies. It was those who didn't dress appropriately, maybe not even smell pleasant, who didn't talk right, who didn't look right, who didn't act right, that started filling the pews of the church. And it was those who were dressed appropriately and tied every Sunday like clockwork that didn't necessarily want to welcome the hippies.

Now, I'm sure that wasn't the case for every single church out there, but I'm sure there was at least a few cases like that, you know? Um, but here's the thing. I would rather see a room full of people with blue hair, tattoos, and piercings who realize their need for Jesus over a room full of people, uh, in suits and ties. Understand here and hear my heart here, okay?

I'm not saying that if you wear a suit and tie to church, that you're a bad person. That's not what I'm saying at all, okay? Don't, don't cancel me. I am saying that I would rather see a room full of people who realize that they need a Savior, no matter what they look like, more than a room full of people who are looking to check a box and look the part. I would rather see us extend mercy to those who need it, which is all of us,

right? We all need mercy. I'd rather see, I'd rather see us extend mercy rather than judgment, because friends, who are we to determine who is and who isn't fit for the kingdom? That's not our job. Our job is to point people to Jesus and let him sort them out. James is telling us, is telling those who know nothing but partiality, who know nothing but favoritism and discrimination,

to do what is not natural. He's telling them to not show up. He's telling them to not show up. To not show partiality, to not show favoritism, to not discriminate. He's telling us as believers who by acting upon God's word to love others, to love the unlovable, to show mercy rather than judgment, because mercy triumphs over judgment. Amen? Amen. This morning is Communion Sunday,

and I'll go ahead and ask the worship team to come on back up. And as the ushers come forward and begin handing out the elements, may I just encourage you to do two things. Number one, check your heart. Make sure that you're a believer. Friends, if you cannot pinpoint a time in your life where you've never said yes to Jesus, where you've never trusted your life to Jesus,

then this is not for you. Let the tray go by. For you, if that's you, you have a decision to make this morning. What are you going to do with Jesus? Are you going to surrender your life to him and allow him to be your Lord and Savior? Or not? If you want to make that decision today, please come and find me. Come find one of the leaders. We'd be happy to pray with you and

talk it over and walk you through that. Second thing, check your heart and see if there's sin there. Take this time to just get real with Jesus. Say, Lord, I've been struggling. Name the sin. Do it. Name the sin. I've been struggling with it. Get real with him and ask for forgiveness. Allow his precious blood that he spilled out willingly on the cross to cover that sin and make it white as snow.

So as the ushers come forth and pass out the elements, be mindful of what Jesus has done for you and thank him for willingly taking your place on that cross. First Corinthians chapter 11 says, for I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread. When he had given thanks, broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, he also took the cup after supper

and said, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord,

Without you Lord, Our rightful place is on that cross Lord for our sin and our disobedience, our rebelliousness, Lord, we deserve punishment. Lord, you willingly took that punishment for us. Lord, you willingly went to the cross in my place in our place. We thank you for your body that was broken and your blood that was shed on the cross, Lord, Jesus, so that we could have this newness of life on this side of eternity and the next. Lord, we just thank you for what you've,

what you so freely did for us, Lord God. We thank you that you loved us that much. I pray this in your name. Amen. Let's partake. And if you pray with me one more time, Lord, again, we just thank you for who you are and for what you've done for us on the cross, Lord Jesus. And as, as we leave here today, I just pray that we would not take what, what you've done for us for granted, Lord.

But Lord, that we would walk in that newness of life, Lord, that we would receive the implanted word, to hear it, but then not to just walk away and forget it, but to actually act on it, Lord, to go forth, Lord, to love you and to love others, Lord Jesus, like you've commanded us to do. We love you, Father, and we praise you. And in Jesus' name, all God's people said, amen. You guys have a wonderful week. Be blessed.

God bless you.