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1 (2s): Good morning, harvest church. We wanna invite you to come and come on in and take your seat and stand and worship with us. We worship the God who was, we worship the God who is we worship the God who ever more will be. 1 (43s): He opened the prison doors. He parted the rag agency. My God holds the big there's joy in the house of the Lord. There's joy in the house of the Lord today. And we won't. We shout out your praise. There's joy in Lord. We shout out your, we sing to the God who eats. 1 (1m 30s): We sing to the God who saves. We sing to the God who always made away. Does he hung up on that cross? That he rolls up from that grave? My God still rolling stones away. There's joy in the house of the Lord. There's joy in the house of the Lord today. And we won't be quiet. We shout out your there's joy in the house of the Lord. Our God is surely in this place and we won't be quiet. 1 (2m 11s): We shout out your prayer. We were the beggars. Now we are royalty. We were the prisoners. Now we're running free. We forgive and accepted, redeeming his praise. Let the house of the Lord were the, now the, the business. Now we're running free. 1 (2m 51s): We are forgive and accepted graves. The house of the Lord, praise. There's joy in the house of the Lord. There's joy in the house of the Lord today. And we won't be quiet. We shout out your praise. There's joy in the house of the Lord. Our God surely in this place, then we won't be quiet. We shout out your praise. There's joy in the house of the Lord. There's joy in the house of the Lord today. 1 (3m 32s): And we won't be quiet. We shout out your praise. There's joy in the house of the 0 (3m 38s): Lord, 2 (4m 24s): Worthy of every song we could ever see worthy of all the praise we could ever breathe worthy of every breath we could ever agree. And we live for you. 1 (4m 45s): Oh, 2 (4m 45s): We live for 0 (4m 46s): You. 1 (4m 51s): Jesus. 2 (4m 52s): The name above every other name. 1 (4m 58s): Jesus. 2 (4m 59s): The 1 (4m 59s): Only one 2 (5m 0s): Who could ever say of 1 (5m 6s): Every breath 2 (5m 7s): We could ever breathe. And we live 1 (5m 10s): For you. Holy, we 2 (5m 13s): Live for you. 0 (5m 17s): Holy. 1 (5m 19s): There is no one. You, there is not beside you up 0 (5m 28s): Eyes and 1 (5m 29s): Wonder and show 0 (5m 32s): Me who, 1 (5m 41s): Oh, Jesus, the name above every Jesus. The only one who could, could, could pray live 0 (6m 19s): You. 1 (6m 21s): We live for you. There is no one. There is of my eyes and I will build, 0 (7m 22s): Put 1 (7m 23s): My trust in. 0 (8m 4s): No, my 1 (9m 13s): Trust Christ is my firm foundation. I stand when everything around me, shaking, 0 (10m 0s): I've never 1 (10m 2s): Been more glad that 0 (10m 4s): I put my faith 1 (10m 6s): In Jesus. He's never let, so he won't, he won't. I've got these. That makes no sense. So 0 (10m 58s): He's never, 1 (11m 21s): He 0 (11m 22s): Won't, 1 (11m 26s): He won't, he won't, 0 (11m 45s): You won't 1 (11m 49s): Christ is my firm foundation. He won't, he won't. 1 (13m 12s): And with 0 (13m 23s): You 1 (13m 25s): I'm 0 (13m 42s): You 1 (13m 44s): I'm gonna save 0 (14m 0s): With you. 1 (14m 3s): I'm gonna I'm make it. I'm strong on get is rock. 0 (14m 41s): I've never 1 (14m 42s): Been more glad 0 (14m 44s): That Jesus 1 (14m 50s): Cause he's so he won't won't won't 0 (15m 14s): He won't, 1 (15m 19s): He won't, he won't. So I throw up my hands and praise you again and again. Cause all that I have is a it's for king on don't you get me lift up son. 1 (16m 24s): Cause you've got lion. Get up and praise the Lord on my well don't you get shy on me. Lift up your song. Cause you've got on, on my oh don't you get on me. Lift up your soul you've 0 (17m 8s): And 1 (17m 9s): The don't you get shy on me. Lift up your soul. You gotta lion inside of those. Get 0 (17m 26s): Up and praise the Lord 1 (17m 35s): And praise you. And again, it's all that I have is a 0 (17m 52s): I it's not, but I have nothing except for singing hall. 3 (18m 19s): Jesus, we, we, we thank you Lord that you are our rock. Our firm foundation, Lord that we look around the world. We have nothing. We, we find chaos and trouble all around us. Lord yet in you Jesus, we find a piece that just passes all understanding. We thank you, Lord. We think that we could, we can find a piece in you Lord. That just does not comfort anywhere else, Lord. So thank you for this morning to be able to gather with other believers, to, to lift up your name, to praise who you are and what you've done for us. Lord, we look to you this morning, Lord in Jesus name, we pray. Amen. Good morning, everyone. 3 (18m 59s): Good morning. 0 (18m 60s): Welcome 4 (19m 0s): Harvest church. So today is family Sunday. And for those of you who don't know every fourth, Sunday of the month, we have the first graders and up stay in service with us and we have donuts and they're out in like the side area along with tea and coffee. So please help yourselves to that. 3 (19m 21s): Yeah. Hey my name's Jeremy. I'm the youth and family pastor. And this is Kylie. One of the high school students joining us, give an announcements today. That's what's fun about family Sundays. We wanna let you know that, Hey, we are devoted to prayer at harvest church. And one of the, the areas that we meet is 8:00 AM on Sunday mornings. And we meet in the vault, the old bank vault right behind this wall. And we gather up for prayer at 8:00 AM to pray for the service to pray for the day. So if you want to feel, if you wanna join us in that, in that war room to pray for the service, to pray over the message to pray for hearts, be touched by Lord. We would love to have you join us at eight o'clock. And if it fills up that vault room and we need to move it to another place, praise the Lord 4 (20m 0s): This week, we have a really exciting family movie night. It's gonna be on Friday the 29th from six to 9:00 PM and we're gonna have two movies. One of them starts at six and for it's for like the younger kids, it's gonna be a paws and tails. And those are super fun. I remember watching them when I was a kid. And then at seven we have like a big family movie. What was it? The blue blue miracle. Yes. That is what it is. And there's gonna be snacks available. It's gonna be in the worship center, which is here and we're gonna have a big screen this time, cuz we usually have it out in the patio patio. And that was really cold. But now we have, we have a big place for it to be. 3 (20m 41s): Yeah, sweet. So that's this Friday. And then coming up on August 7th, we're gonna be having our annual beach baptism bonfire. Wait, I've got those mixed up beach, baptism, barbecue and bonfire. Not in particular in that order, we're gonna be doing baptism down at the beach. So it's gonna be from five to seven it's a Sunday evening. And so if you have not been baptized yet, that's one of the things that Jesus asked of his followers to be baptized. So that's a great place to do that. You can sign up online or you know, through a website to, Hey, I wanna be baptized. We have four people already signed up, so there's gonna be people baptized. We're gonna have some worship. And then one of my favorite things too is we have some bonfires on the beach, give you some sticks, some skewers and you get to roast up your own hotdogs. 3 (21m 25s): And s'mores, it's really fun. So join us for that. That'll be August 7th, five to 7:00 PM. But lastly, before we have Steve come up, I wanted to bring up breaker Wade. And Kylie's up here already. So as you know, as you guys know, two weeks ago, you prayed us out. We went to summer camp first. The first week was high school week and then the second was a junior high week. So we've had some students come back and I just wanted to have 'em come up and share a little bit about what, what the Lord did up there. So if you guys could tell me a little bit about your time at, at camp challenge, it's you think about summer camps? You think about wild, crazy running around. Sometimes you think of Hume lake and like 2000 students going camp challenge is a little bit more smaller of a camp. 3 (22m 9s): It's a sweet place. This is my second year taking students there. So it was a great time. But tell me a little bit about your time Gregor. 5 (22m 17s): So it was just a great time just to spend a week with a bunch of people I knew. So I was in one of the guys cabins in the high school week. I was just friends. I've known for years. I've gotten to know over the years, this has been my second year. They've made it an amazing just second and last year as I am graduating. Now I, you just feel welcome when you go is always just an amazing experience just to connect with God and just hang out in fellowship with other believers, just like you and to learn and grow in him. 3 (22m 52s): Yeah. Thanks Kelly. Tell me about your time. 4 (22m 56s): What I like about it is it's very tight knit, super like you get to meet everyone. So you never, you never feel like you come back and you wish you met someone. You wish you grew closer, cuz like you don't really have a choice. And it, it feels a lot like youth group except for like an entire week. And I really like that and we had two amazing speakers. We had Dean der and we had Mr. Lib and we had them last year and so super great to hear them speak again. And they they're both very wise, not elderly. They are wise adults and it's, it's good to hear. 4 (23m 38s): It's good to hear people speak and like hear about their testimonies. And we got a lot of good stuff out of it. 3 (23m 44s): Yeah. What was, what was your, your favorite part? 4 (23m 46s): Oh, my favorite part. I feel like you have to say something Christiany no, you don't. That was one of them that one of them 3 (23m 54s): Water, balloon fight. Could've been one of them. 4 (23m 57s): My favorite part was definitely our night devotions because like we got to meet, we got to grow closer to a lot of our friends and like gotta hear about everything. We thought about what we talked about that day. And it was, it was a lot more intimate and it was really, yeah. I felt like I got a lot closer to everyone. 3 (24m 19s): Sweet break. You wanna tell me about yours? 5 (24m 22s): I gotta say it was cabin cleanup. 3 (24m 26s): A very Christianese 5 (24m 28s): No, that was a lot of fun. We had this whole story going along, but also I really enjoyed the night hike on the last night that we stayed there. We would all go up to the top of this, the hill and we would look out at the stars and we would kind of just share our experience. And that was really great. And on the way back down, I got to have a real big heart heart conversation with Jeremy and the owner of the camp. Mr. Stanley. So 3 (24m 58s): Yeah, 5 (24m 59s): Chris, that was really amazing. 3 (25m 1s): ER, I decided he's going off to college. He gonna Cal poly. So you're staying local. Yes, but we decided we're not gonna lose contact. 5 (25m 7s): You'll see. 3 (25m 8s): We're gonna stay friends. 5 (25m 8s): Yeah. You'll see me for another four years. At least. 3 (25m 10s): Yes. Okay. Good. All right. And then did God reveal anything to you? Did you, what would you learn? What was your kind of take home? 5 (25m 19s): He revealed to me that no matter how far I wander, he's always gonna be this beacon of hope that I can always turn and look to because I was looking out at the stars on the night hike and I saw the north star and it reminded me of like, if you get lost, you can always look up into the night sky. You can find the star Polaris. It's always gonna point north and you can always find your direction from there. And it just reminded me that if I ever wander, I will always, especially with the groundwork that Jeremy has laid in my life and just the, this church here, I will always be able to look and find Jesus and everything 4 (26m 4s): We watched at camp challenge. We watched this insane video about like this it's a whole star thing and you have to watch it. What is it? It's 3 (26m 12s): Louis GIGO. How great there are, I think. 4 (26m 13s): Yeah. Yeah. How great is our God or something? How that anyway, it was like, it was so crazy and it kind of put into perspective how like how huge God is and how powerful he is and that no matter what he can make and what he can do, he still cares for us. And he still wants like a personal relationship with all of us. Yeah. So I feel like that was really meaningful. 3 (26m 37s): That was, that was an awesome video. I don't think it's easy to be a youth in this, this generation this time. How can we as a church be praying for the youth group for, for y'all, 5 (26m 49s): Especially this year, we've got a lot of new graduates that are going to be going off to college. And the college, I, I just came back from the slow days. If you get days ago for Cal poly. And I was kind of like a few days just in the life of a Cal poly student and you just get bombarded with the world. It's like, they're trying to shove stuff down your throat and just pray for the strength of all of our students that are gonna go off to college and have to endure this. Just pray that God stays strong in their lives. 4 (27m 23s): I'm yeah. I would agree with you about all the college students leaving, cuz there's a lot of close friends of ours that are leaving for college and my brother, he's going across the country to go to college. Dunno why I did that. But I think, I think we just need prayer that cuz it's literally youth group is just a bunch of kids. And so I feel like we need to pray about being welcoming to people and just very open to new people coming in because kids, especially high schoolers can like foreign little groups and it can make people feel like unwelcome and that's not what, what we want our youth group. 4 (28m 3s): Yeah. 3 (28m 3s): Yeah. Well let's pray real fast for the youth group. For, for our youth heavenly father, we lift up the youth in this generation, this world that's just, just forcing, pressing their own worldview on them. Lord, keep our students strong in, in all that you're doing in their lives or keep them strong in, in, in, in your word and in a close abiding relationship with you. Lord Jesus, thank you for the, the summer camp experience this this a couple weeks ago and, and just pray that that would remain and they would go out and they would be lights and witnesses and missionaries to their fellow students. Lord just thank you so much, Lord and Jesus. Name me pray. Amen. Amen. 3 (28m 43s): Amen. A break. Just say meet and greet time. So get up and say hi to someone around you. 8 (29m 2s): You sent your son down, set me 0 (29m 4s): Free. Everything happens 8 (29m 7s): World will 0 (29m 27s): You, you are get cue up to up you 10 (31m 27s): A break of day and hoping rise. We speak your name, lift our rise to our hearts into your beat. 9 (31m 38s): Alrighty, good morning. 10 (31m 40s): They 9 (31m 41s): Come on back. Grab your chair. Glad you got to say hello to a neighbor. It's kind of a testimony weekend. You know, yesterday we had an amazing men's breakfast and Joe Deleon gave his testimony. And man, I I've heard Joe's story before, but when he spoke yesterday, man, it was, it was powerful. He held us all kind of captive for about 30 minutes as he shared his story in just the best possible way we were all just so blessed and encouraged to hear his story. I think, I think it's important for us to know each other's story. And so I love hearing the young people up here sharing what God is doing in their lives. 9 (32m 26s): And it reminds us to be praying for them. I mean, can we remember back when we were in high school, it was, it was a little bit different than it is now and just saw my brother back here. Larry Kabong he, we were in campus for Christ ministry. Larry was the leader when we were in high school and we've known each other for all of these years. And so it's just those formative years where God is doing good stuff, wonderful stuff, eternal stuff. And, and where the enemy's working overtime to try to get us distracted and hindered and all that kind of stuff. So we just need to be remembered to praying for those guys. If you miss the breakfast, man, catch it next time. We're gonna do another one in the fall. And everybody, we had just a great team. 9 (33m 8s): Rick, our coffee guy, Rick was there at five 30 this morning on Saturday morning brewing coffee. I got there at six thinking. I'd be the first guy there. And Rick always beats everybody there so he can get the coffee brewing. And my brother was there early and Ron D was there early and Brian Healy was there early and people were setting up and you know, cooking and all kinds of stuff. And some people got there at, you know, five 30 or six and stayed till about 11 o'clock until we were all wrapped up. It was just a glorious glorious day, had a really good time. And so if you missed it yesterday, we'll do another one in the fall. It's really, really worthwhile to come out for that. It was really well attended and just really, really fun. So it was good. 9 (33m 49s): Hey, real quick announcement, Ron D pastor Ron D where's Ron D is he in the house? There he is. Pastor Ron D is retiring. Can you believe right? Whoa. Yeah, he's been threatening to retire for years. So when he came to my office, I don't know, a few months ago or six months ago or whatever it was, I don't know. He is like, Hey, I think I'm finally gonna retire. I'm like, well, duh, you've been talking about it for years. So he, Ron is go going to be and DJ they'll still be here at the church. DJ was up here helping to lead worship this morning. In fact, Ron will still be an elder. 9 (34m 29s): He'll still be preaching from time to time. In fact, he preaches in August. He's gonna retire at the end of this month, but I've already got him scheduled to preach in August and just trying to make sure the hook is still in him, you know? And so he can't get away. And then, so he'll be just still be an elder, still be serving, just won't have office hours and that sort of thing, but he'll still be available for stuff. And so we'll get a chance to bless him on August 7th. So a couple weeks from now, we'll, we'll bring him up front and pray over him and bless him as he transitions. And also Christy SWO is transitioning. So Ron's been with us for 14 years on staff and Christie's been on staff probably about the same amount of time. 9 (35m 9s): I mean just a good long stretch. And so Christie SWOS done everything from children's ministry to small group stuff to you name it. And so she's actually started, started her own company. And so she's been slowly trying to kind of transition as well. Just feeling like, man, I, I want to stay connected to harvest, but I feel like this other stuff has kind of drawn me as well. So I wouldn't let her quit for months for year. I think it's been a couple years. I just said, no, you cannot leave. You cannot leave. And so she's been super gracious and patient with me as I've just said no. And then finally she's like, no, I really need to now. So I'm like, whatever. Okay. So she's wrapping up at the end of this month as well. 9 (35m 49s): And so we're gonna honor both of them on August 7th. So if you'd like to write letters or send them a note, we'd like to, you know, give them a little love on their way out. And again, the SWOS are staying, the DS are staying. No one's leaving. They're just not gonna be like on staff anymore. So we'll be blessing them as they head out and, and it'll be really, really good. Hey, just as a, a note, some people have asked, Hey, how do we pay for all this? Cuz we initially said it was gonna be, you know, a couple hundred thousand. And it swelled when I say this, this worship center, we took over a year renovating this space and we went into it kind of ignorantly about what it was gonna take. 9 (36m 30s): And if we do it again and we will do it again, we'll do another project down the road because I think we'll always be about projects, but we'll actually get some better information before we actually jump into it. And so you kinda learn things along the way. We've always been renovating buildings, you know, from the beginning. And so you kind of think, you know what to expect, but then you get into a, you know, a project like this that's and we were just, we had no idea what to expect. And, and so the, the price went from like a couple, two or 300,000 up to 700, we've got $750,000 into this place. And so a boatload of money. So along the way we raised like, I don't know, a few hundred thousand. And so we got an SBA alone to, to pay for the rest of it. So it's a two and three quarter percent SBA loan. 9 (37m 13s): That's paid back over 20 years and 30 years, something like that. And we get, you know, two years before we even start paying for it. So people have been asking, that's how we paid, made up the like $450,000 lack that was there. So, you know, we just, we did what we felt like we needed to do by God's grace. And we, we calculated the risk as elders. I gotta get rid of this mint, you know, it's, it's like making my throat grab, I'll put that in the back pocket. I'll save that for second service. If you need a mint, I got, I got in my throat's like grabbing, all right, get a comic relief there. 9 (37m 57s): Here we go. All right. Anyway. So as elders, you know, we don't make any decisions unless there's like agreements unanimous agreement with our elder team. And so if anybody on the team says, Hey, I just don't feel like that's a good decision. We just shelve it or table it or never come back to it or come back to it later. And so just so you know, that's kind of, that's how decisions are made, whether it's, you know, staff decisions or building decisions, any kind of financial decisions like that, as well as spiritual decisions. So that's kind of, what's been going on behind the scenes to get, get this project done. And so anyway, people have been wondering, and I just like to be completely candid about everything that's going on. 9 (38m 46s): So if you've got any questions about anything, you know, don't all come to me because I can't answer everybody's questions, but it's a, we really have an open door policy. Like if you have questions, ask an elder, ask a staff member, ask somebody to get your questions answered. I, some people have been kind of frustrated that we haven't come forward with that information, but nobody's been asking. And so maybe we should have just proactively just done that. But anyway, so yeah, now we're being, you know, if you've been here at any for any length of time, you know that we'll tell you whatever you want to know, and we try to be proactive about information everything's, you know, available to everybody. 9 (39m 34s): So anyway, so that's just kind of the deal. And so don't don't if you got any questions, just pull us aside and ask and I've heard some people say I'm not gonna tithe until I get those answers. And somebody says, well, have you asked the question? They say, Nope, I'm just not gonna, you know, that's just silly. Let's just, you know, so first of all, tithing is a or giving is an of worship to the Lord. So you're saying I'm not gonna give because I don't have the answers. Well then you're just saying, I'm not gonna honor the Lord with my resources. I'm choosing not to do that. Some people say I'm not gonna serve until I get answers. Well then, you know, with service is just an of worship to the Lord, you know? So God has given us gifts and talents and so use your gifts and talents. 9 (40m 17s): And if you get the answers that you're seeking and you don't like the answers, you know, you can do two of, one of two things. You can, you know, have conversation with us and we can agree to, to disagree, or you can just extend grace to us because boy, we, we need, we need grace or you can go to another imperfect church cuz there's imperfect churches everywhere. And we're at the front of that line of imperfect, imperfect churches. And so, but don't do that, just, you know, just extend grace where we needed grace. And that's just the kingdom thing that God's called us to do and love us. And we'll love you, you know, just that kind of thing. Don't, don't withhold your giving, not be, I mean, honestly, if you don't want to give, don't give, don't give cuz God wants a joyful cheerful giver. 9 (41m 8s): And so as the song we were singing says, you know, our hope is in Jesus, our, we, we never planted a church or anything based on, you know, how many dollars we can get in the offing box or anything like that. We just say, Hey, we feel like the Lord's leading us. And so we're gonna do this by faith and everything we do is, is by faith. And so if you want to give greats, if you don't want to give don't because God wants its cheerful giver. So don't give under compulsion, just give because you feel like your heart's full and you want to honor the Lord with your resources. And then if you don't wanna do that, hold on it, please just hold onto it. And cuz God's, God's in charge of this whole deal. 9 (41m 51s): You can't go 19 years. And of all the stuff that we've gone through without God being at the helm, you know? So, so we love you no matter what you do, because that's just what we do by God's grace. We try to love people and serve people. And so do whatever you want to do. As long as the Lord is leading you. And, and you know, that's kind of my little soap box there and we'll get into James chapter four and we'll just see what the Lord does as we get into James chapter four, happy family Sunday. So because it's family Sunday, as you know, we typically do a joke or something, but I've got some statements. So when asked some kids when asked, you know about stories in the old and the new Testament, kids offered these answers and these are unedited answers and statements. 9 (42m 44s): So the first one is Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. So that's the kids' perspective. Noah's wife was Joan of art, right? Noah built in arc and the animals came on in PS, PE a R S. They came, they pairs kids, you know, unedited the greatest miracle in the Bibles when Joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him, kids kinda get the stories, a little big stuff. David was a Hebrew king who was skilled at playing the liar. He fought the Finklestein, a race of people who lived in biblical times, right? 9 (43m 28s): Solomon, one of David's son had 300 wives and 700 porcupines. Yeah. Feels a uncomfortable. I dunno Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption, Saint John, the blacksmith dumped water on his head and Jesus, unsedated the golden rule which says to do unto others before they do one to you. He also explained to man death not live by sweat alone. So kid's perspective on the Bible, the old and the new Testament. 9 (44m 8s): It's good stuff. Funny stuff. Let's jump into Hebrew chapter or excuse me, James chapter four. We're asking the question. How do we align our lives with God? And it's important that we align our lives with God. When I think about alignment, I think about my truck. You know, if my truck is out of alignment, what happens? My tires begin to wear unevenly. I don't break as effectively. The steering can sometimes shake and get all wobbly. Everything just kind of begins to go south. When your alignment on your car is not right. What happens when your alignment in your life is not right? Well, it's a lot of the same things happen. Our life begins to get a little crazy unnecessary wear and tear on our lives from well from resisting God, because if we're choosing not to align our lives with God, with his word, then there's stress and unnecessary wear and tear. 9 (45m 6s): There's an inability for, for, in our lives, from not having a, a clear direction. There's an inability to make wise choices because we just don't have a lot of clarity about, well, about who we are about who we're trusting and the direction of life that we're taking. But when we're aligning our lives with God, we're saying, God, my life is all yours. All, all parts of it. Every part of it, my life is yours. When we're not aligned though, there's a constant movement to the right. And then to the left, due to a double-minded approach to life and decision making. So we're kind of all over the road. 9 (45m 47s): There's a general sense of IRRI irritability due to an internal conflict concerning life. So you just, you can't, there's just this wrestling match inside. When we haven't decided like I've talked about this the last couple weeks, we have to decide who we are and who we're going to serve. We have to make this decision. And when we haven't fully made the decision, there's this battle inside of us. And the result is just some kind of irritability because we're not fully committed to the Lord, but we're not fully committed to the world. And so we're just kind of tossed to and throw double minded unstable in all our ways. 9 (46m 27s): And James chapter four, I love James because he just kind of nails his points and speaks directly, which I really appreciate it. And James chapter four versus 11 through 17 and our opening verse this morning, James is addressing the way in which beliefs are speaking to and about one another. So he's addressing the tongue again. Remember James chapter three, we talked about this a few weeks ago. James was addressing the tongue, the power of the tongue, the impact of the way that we use the words and the way that we speak to people, let's say go James, four 11. He says, don't speak evil. 9 (47m 8s): Don't so he speaking of the, the tongue, he's addressing the tongue again. So there must have been an issue there as it is probably in this culture and in this century and in this community and in this church, there's probably just things that we need to get under control in the way that we address people. And the way that that we speak to people, James is saying, don't speak evil against each other. Dear brothers and sisters. What does that mean? Who is he speaking to? He's speaking to the church, right? Brothers and sisters and the Lord. So he's not speaking to the world. He's speaking to us, to believers. People who say, Hey, I'm a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ. 9 (47m 50s): I am, I am God's kid. And I'm following him. He's saying, Hey, dear brothers and sisters, don't, don't speak evil against each other. He says, if you criticize and judge each other, then you're criticizing and judging God's law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge, whether it applies to you. So this verse is actually speaking to any form of speaking against someone else. You say, well, that person deserves it. Well, this verse is actually addressing it. We there's plenty of things that we can complain about and critique people about and they deserve it and blah, blah. 9 (48m 31s): And, but James is challenging us to approach things differently in life that we might speak the truth and love everything that God has called us to do. And we, when we confront people so that they might be edified. So they might, they might be built up when Jesus was challenging, the religious leaders, it was to call them out of their darkness, into his glorious light. So it wasn't to condemn them, but to pull them out of darkness. And so when our, when we're complaining and grumbling about people, we're often we're doing it to the wrong person. We're not doing it directly to the person like we're supposed to. We're supposed to go directly. 9 (49m 10s): So Perry, if I have issue with you, what do I do? I go directly to you. I don't talk to David about her Mary about it, because that won't do any good. It just pollutes their perspective about Perry. So what do I do? I just go to Perry. Hey, Perry, let's talk. And as brothers in the Lord, we talk. And usually when there's issues, it's been just a big, old fat misunderstanding. And when we extend grace to one another and our heart is to reconcile and to be building our brother and sister up and the Lord, we can speak with a tender heart, with compassion, with grace, with kindness, with an expectation of good and not evil. 9 (49m 51s): So we've got a responsibility. It's a hard road because it's so much easier to talk to David about Perry than to talk about Perry with Perry. And I got no issues with Perry Perry's my brother has been for decades and we'll be forever and ever amen into eternity. Right? Right. We'll be celebrating forever and ever. So the idea is, Hey, let's just extend grace to one another. And if you need to talk to get things, some things cleared up, just go directly to that person. Don't come to me complaining about somebody else. Don't go to somebody else complaining about me, just come directly, directly and talk to us. Don't speak evil. 9 (50m 32s): Don't speak evil. When a person breaks this, we'll call it the law of love or any law for that matter. That person, places themselves above the law. When we disobey the laws of God, we're actually placing ourselves above that law. And we're actually judging that law as unimportant and unnecessary. What law, what might we be talking about? Well, Leviticus, 1918 in part says, love your neighbor as yourself. So we can't love our neighbor if we're speaking evil about our neighbor. And so I say this almost every week, everything that God requires of us expects of us, asks of us, requires his supernatural power and grace to get it done. 9 (51m 22s): So, man, when you're struggling with somebody, you just need to say, Lord, I, I either need to extend grace and just forgive this person, forgive this offense. Or I just need to go to them with grace and humility and try to work it out with the expectation that we're gonna work this thing out because it's clearly a misunderstanding, there's something going on. But when someone decides to speak evil of a brother or sister, that person has essentially judged that that law is irrelevant and declares that he or she is above the law, that kind of puts things in a whole different perspective. When we're disobedient, when we're rebelling against God's word, we're actually dis we're saying in our heart, Hey, this law, it's this way. 9 (52m 10s): It's irrelevant. And I'm actually above it. I can do kind of whatever I want to do. Theologians agree. The specific grammatical construction use here usually forbids the continuation of a practice already in progress. So James, his readers had fallen into the habit of criticizing one another. And so he says, stop speaking against one another there's these things are habitual. I mean, we can fall into this habit of just kind of grumbling and complaining about people and, and kind of speaking harshly about people, judging people. And, and this became kind of the pattern within the early church. 9 (52m 52s): And so James addresses, it says, stop, stop, stop speaking, evil against one another. Those who do so place themselves again, above the law and by their actions, declare that, that law to be a bad and unnecessary statute. So rather than submitting and keeping it, they pass judgements judgment on its validity and set it aside. Whoa, ah, I don't stick in your crawl because as we read the word, we sometimes read it and ignore it. We pass judgment on it. We say, it's not valid for me, valid for everybody else, but it's not valid for me. 9 (53m 33s): I'm not gonna do it. I, I'm not interested in doing it. Listen, our job is not to decide if we will obey the law, the laws of God, our job is plain and simple to obey the laws of God, the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. Now there are three different, at least three different types of law, especially in the old Testament. There is ceremonial law, civil law, and then there's moral law. And so the Bible's broken down and we see different types of law. And so we're gonna ask the question today. 9 (54m 13s): What laws in the Bible are we still required to follow? Are we still required to follow the ceremonial laws we're gonna find out? Are we still required to follow the civil laws? What we're gonna find out? What about the moral laws? Are we still required to follow the moral laws? Let's find out ceremonial civil moral. So the ceremonial laws con gov concerned gov Israel's worship of God. Ceremonial laws were ways in which God outlined a path forward. So that sinners, the Bible says that all have sin and fall short of God's glorious standard. 9 (54m 56s): So ceremonial laws were instituted so that the people of God could have their sins forgiven covered. So that's where the sacrificial came. Sacrificial system came into place. God said, well is told us though, wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Our Lord, we see in the old Testament and the new Testament that, that, that the wages of Senate's death, we see it in Genesis two 17. It says, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat. 9 (55m 39s): Where are we talking? We're in the garden, right? The beginning, right? For in that day, you eat of it. You shall Shirley die, ultimate physical death, but spiritual death separation from God. That's the result of sin. Proverbs 11, 19 says whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he pursues evil will die. The wages of sin is death. We see that in Romans 6 23 in the king James version for the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Our Lord. So the SAC sacrificial system was God's way of dealing with sin in the world. 9 (56m 22s): God allowed sacrifices to be made to atone for the sins of people. The atonement was sufficient for a season, but this system, these ceremonial laws ended when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, for all humanity, Jesus became the final sacrifice. He became the final sacrifice, making atonement for the sins of humanity, all the ceremonial and sacrificial laws pointed to and were fulfilled by Christ on the cross. How did we know? Because we, what we just talked about this in Hebrews nine, a little bit, Hebrews nine, 11 through 14 says, so Christ has now become the high priest over all the good things that have come. 9 (57m 11s): He has entered that greater, more perfect tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world with his own blood, with his own blood, not the blood of goats and calves. He entered the most holy place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. Under the old system, the blood of goats and bowls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people's bodies from ceremonial impurities. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deed so that we can worship the living God for, by the power of the eternal spirit. 9 (57m 53s): Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sin. So now when Jesus declared it is finished on the cross, it is finished. All the ceremonial laws were rendered null and void. So as we look at the old Testament and we read about ceremonial laws, null, and void, because of Jesus, he offered himself as the final sacrifice, the atonement for us, for the world, so that we might know the grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ. So we don't follow the ceremonial laws because Jesus followed and fulfilled all of them for us. So anybody, anytime, any place can come to God through Jesus Christ. 9 (58m 37s): That's the beauty of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So ceremonial civil, the civil laws brought order to the nation of Israel. There were guidelines for the people of Israel to live in Palestine in that day, in that nation, the civil law deals mainly with relationships between individuals, the settling of disputes and the description of proper behavior. There is now there's value in the civil laws, but we're not obligated to obey the civil laws of God. There's value in really all of, all of the laws. And if we understand the deeper meanings of these laws, they typically point us to Jesus or cause us, or call us to a place of greater purity and sanctification that we might be set apart as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. 9 (59m 32s): So there's, there's value in, in a lot of these laws, but we're not required or obligated to obey the civil laws of God. So here's couple examples of civil law. Deuteronomy 22, 1 through four says, if you see your neighbor's ox or sheep or goat wandering away, don't ignore your responsibility. Take it back to its owner. Who's got a ox, who's got a sheep. I've got, I've got goats. Who's got goats. A lot of us have goats, right? We can see how in this culture, a lot of this stuff doesn't make sense. If it's owner does not live nearby, or you don't know who the owner is, take it to your place and keep it until the owner comes looking for it. 9 (1h 0m 18s): Then you must return it. Do the same. If you find your neighbor's donkey, who's got a donkey. Somebody's gotta have a donkey, right? No donkeys represented in the whole. So, so do the same. If you find your neighbor's donkey or clothing or anything else, your neighbor loses. Don't ignore your responsibility. If you see that your neighbor's donkey or ox has collapsed on the road, do not look the other way, go and help your neighbor, get it back on its feet. So these are some of the civil laws that were spoken about in the old Testament. These are civil laws that might also be considered moral laws. There's some morality that we see in some of these laws. Like if your friend is kind of broken down on the side of the road, what do you do? 9 (1h 1m 1s): Or if anybody's broken down on the side of the road, what do you do? You stop? Like, it's a, it's the story of the good Samaritan, right? You stop, right? So may not be, you know, as animal that's broken down, but it's cars, bike or whatever. So there's a deeper sense of understanding when we really think about these laws, got us calling us to love one another and serve one another and be considerate of one another. So one more example, example of a civil law Leviticus, 1935 through 36, do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or volume. How are things sold based on their measurements, length, weight, or volume, your scales and weights must be accurate. 9 (1h 1m 47s): Your containers for measuring dry materials or liquids must be accurate. I'm I'm the Lord, your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt. So God is declaring his Lordship and his leadership and their lives. And you saying, Hey, be fair with one another. So this is a civil law. That's got some morality behind it. Don't cheat one another, don't be a liar and cheat. So it's perfect for the civil laws for the people of God, but it's also so applicable. Now God wants us to, to love one another. We don't demonstrate love for one another when we're cheating one another, when we're being scoundrels and lying. 9 (1h 2m 29s): So there's ceremonial and civil, and then there's moral laws, the moral laws based on the character of God and extends from old, from the old and into the new Testament, therefore, as it was wrong to lie in the old Testament, is it still wrong to lie in the new Testament? Absolutely. Yeah, it's a no-brainer right. So if you see a law repeated in the new Testament, it's usually a moral law that we're required to walk in and to obey. So we've got these responsibilities recorded for us in scripture. And sometimes it's confusing because we look at the ceremonial laws or the civil laws, and we think, are we still, are we still obligated and responsible? 9 (1h 3m 14s): We're not. There's value in all of the word of God from Genesis to revel, there's value there, but we need to be careful in understanding what we are responsible to. OHEY like many of the 10 commandments prohibitions against stealing an adultery and coveting transcend time and space, right? Jesus fulfills the moral law by his perfect righteousness. Every he boy, he lives, sinlessly fulfilling the law of God. And then he was sacrificed for us crucified for us as the perfect lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 9 (1h 3m 56s): Jesus fulfilled the moral law by his perfect righteousness. Every commandment, he obeyed every requirement he met. He lived up to every standard. He lived perfectly there by satisfying the law of God. The law of God is written so that we might realize our desperate need for the grace of God sounds that we can work harder so that we can understand the character of God. And so that in understanding the character of God, we can see our own flawed lives and recognize that no matter how hard we try, because the Bible says, if you break one part of the law, you're guilty of breaking all of the law and we're all born into sin. 9 (1h 4m 39s): We're, we're sinners by nature and we're sinner by choice. And so we need the grace and the mercy of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Jesus was asked about the law and he made a very clear point when he answered Matthew 2236 through 40, he said, teacher says teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses religious leaders. Trying to find a loophole, trying to trick Jesus, trying to trip him up. And Jesus replied, you must love the Lord, your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. Hmm. This is the first and the greatest commandment. And the second is equally important. Love your neighbor as yourself, the entire law, the entire law, and all the demands of the profits are based on these two commandments, the entire law and all of the requirements of the profits, the demands of the profit. 9 (1h 5m 30s): They hang here. If we do this, if we love each other and love Jesus will do great, will do great. Jesus declared that the two most important laws are clear. Love God and love others. This moral law transcends time. Doesn't matter if we're a hundred years from now, or if we go back in time, a thousand or 5,000 years, the law is the same. We are obligated to obey the moral laws of God. There's value again, some of the other laws, but the new Testament requires that we simply obey the law of Christ, which is love God and love others. 9 (1h 6m 12s): It's all encompassing love. God love others. Again, the entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments. So when James writes, don't speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters, is this a direct, is this directive consistent with what Jesus said are the two most important commandments? Is it consistent? Of course it is speaking evil of each other. Why? Because that's not the loving gracious way. Now we're called to speak the truth in love. Meaning again, that our heart in speaking the truth is for redemption redemptive purposes for reconciliation purposes, to build somebody up, to help them come along and come in their faith as followers of Lord Jesus, to, to express love and grace to them so that they might come out of their place of deception, evil. 9 (1h 7m 12s): What's evil. Let's just speak to speak against someone. So let's unpack that word incriminate or to charge with a crime to introduce or to criticize disparage or malign. None of these words describe a positive exchange, but only negative and hurtful. So James three, seven and 10, as a reminder, James had said this earlier, and he's kind of touching on it again. He said, people contain all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one contain the tongue. It's a restless and it's a restless and evil full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and father. And sometimes it curses. Those who have been made in the image of God. 9 (1h 7m 54s): And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely my brothers and sisters, this is not right. So he is nailing us about how we're speaking. It's an indication out of the abundance of the heart. The mouth speaks what's going on in our hearts begins to spill out of our mouths. And so we need to make sure that our hearts are set apart, consecrated pure. So that means we're just always making the choice to extend grace to one another, to expect the best from people to love people, to pray for people. When you wanna get angry about somebody, just begin to pray for them. 9 (1h 8m 36s): Just pray. God's grace and blessing and peace upon them. Somebody cut you off on the road. You say Jesus name. I bless that person. I ask that you would cover them and fill them with your goodness. And with your love when you're fighting with your spouse, Jesus bless them, right? When there's disagreement, Lord bless them. Everything that God calls us to do is direct its indirect contrast to the world. The world will tell you, go after 'em be angry. You got a right to be angry. They, they did you wrong. Who cares? Right? Jesus is being executed. 9 (1h 9m 21s): Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. Lord help that person. They're obviously hurting. They're they're they're lashing out at me. They gotta be hurting inside. Lord help me to be gracious with them and be patient with them. I've done it Lord. And I, I feel like that's what's happening here. I just want to extend grace. Lord. I want to grow in my ability to love that person, Lord and, and serve that person and be humble with that person. Lord, show me what that looks like. God, I don't boy, anger just causes a cancer within our souls, man. It just tears us up from the inside out. 9 (1h 10m 2s): And we're just our accountant shows it. You know, my BA when my grand babies are born, they're they're helpless. Right? And so I love to take their little brow and push it down and it makes em look angry, right? And I say, why are you so angry? Little guy. I did it yesterday with Theo. I do with all the kids as they get older, you can't do it as much. You know, because they resist. I don't know why they resist, but so you play. But our accountants as Christian sometimes looks like somebody's going, you know, pushing our, our foreheads down. We look just all constipated or something. It's not good. It's not good, man. Relax in Jesus name, extend grace in Jesus name and watch what God will do to set your life free, to free up in your heart and your mind. 9 (1h 10m 51s): And man, you'll just all of a sudden have just this fresh unexplainable, joy and peace. It's contrary to what the world will tell you to do. Don't do what the world tells you to do. It'll lead you yesterday every time. Do what the Bible says to do, do what God's called you to do. James four 12 got alone who gave the law is the judge. He alone has the power to saver to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor? Everything that makes us angry is it's based in judgment, right? Like that person should be living differently. I don't like what that person is doing or how that person spends his time or her time. I don't like it. 9 (1h 11m 31s): So I'm judging right? Judging their lives. I, I, I have a hard enough time just get my own life. Right? When I start trying to judge and figure out somebody's somebody else's life. I mean, everybody's going through such hard stuff. So we don't know why they're doing what they're doing. People, people are getting diagnosed with sick cancer and sickness and all kinds of stuff. Chronic stuff is con people are people's. Marriages are struggling. People's relationships are tough. People with this economy, everybody's strap financially. There's just so many hard things going on. If we can just extend grace to one another, our job is not to judge our neighbor. 9 (1h 12m 15s): Now, sometimes we speak the truth in love. If we see a brother going off and say, man, I, I see that you're making this bad decision, but it's not a not meant to be condemning. It's meant, meant to be like, I'm throwing you a lifeline. I love you so much. I want you to come out of this mess that you're making of your life. It's it's, it's meant to be done in love. You will be able to love your neighbor. As you love God with all your heart, soul strength and mind. This is how you begin to love your neighbor. When you decide I'm gonna love God with everything, heart, soul, strength, mind when God becomes your priority and you make him your priority in every area of your life, you will figure out how to then love others effectively. 9 (1h 13m 0s): So how, how do we align our lives with God? Number one, we must love God. And we must love our neighbor. You want to align your life with God. You gotta start loving people. You have to, you gotta start loving God wholeheartedly with everything that is within you. How do we align our lives with God? Number one, we must love God. And we must love others. This is God's moral law for his follower. So you're wondering what laws to obey do this. And you're you're you're you're gonna be good, James, four 13. Let's continue. Look here. You who say today or tomorrow, we're going to a certain town and we'll stay there a year. 9 (1h 13m 40s): We will do business there and make a profit. How do you know? How do you know, how do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog. It's here a little while. And then it's gone. What you ought to say is if the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that. Otherwise you're boasting about your own pretentious plans and all such boasting is evil. How do we align our lives with God? We gotta, we gotta love God. We gotta love others. Number one, number two, we must submit all of our plans to God. We gotta submit all of our plans to God. 9 (1h 14m 21s): We are born again, followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And we're born into a new life with new priorities, new perspective, new Lordship, new leadership in our lives. And so that means everything is at the altar at the foot of the cross. And so we're saying, Lord, whatever you want to do with all my life, it's totally up to you. And so you just begin to be prayerful about everything, not about the color of socks that you wear. Cause I've got some really cool socks on today. These are Lexus socks. These are a gift for my son. Where is he? Right there. Gave me Lexus socks. Maybe I'll get a Lexus. Someday reminds me of my, my mother-in-law her husband Marv was asking for a Rolex. You know, he was like, I just want a Rolex. 9 (1h 15m 1s): And he's like, you know, 75 or 70 or whatever he was. And so she thinks it's funny. She gets in a Rolex box, wraps it up and there's no Rolex inside. So its this box and she thinks it's funny, but it's not funny for anybody. Right. It's funny for her, but there's an empty Rolex box, right? You're like all my dreams have go. No. So a few years later she bought 'em a Rolex and there we go. What does that have to do with, I don't know what that has to do. Oh, you don't have to pray about the color of your socks. Right. But man, you're praying about most everything about financial investments, about where do I put my money, Lord, what do I do? 9 (1h 15m 43s): I move? Do I buy this? Do I, how do I treat my, my wife? How do I live in relationship with my coworkers? And you know, the Bible says pray without ceasing. So you're just praying without ceasing. You're just always prayerful. And so even when up, up here preaching, I'm praying. I'm like, Lord, help me to get this across. Lord help me to be humble when I'm preaching, Lord help me to be clear in my preaching. So we're just praying all of the time when I'm in a counseling session, Lord, I have no idea what to say, but you do. So give me words, Lord. Like when we're in any given scenario or situation, we're just prayerful and asking for the Lord to direct us. And he'll direct us by the peace that we have as we open our hearts and avail our plans to him, which Lord lead me. 9 (1h 16m 27s): I, I need peace and wisdom about this direction. So about everything. You're just praying about it. You're just asking the Lord. You're just bringing him into the fat middle of your whole life. And there's nothing excluded your relationship. Should I date this person? Should I marry this person? You really need to be asking God about those things, right? You know, whatever the case is, God will speak grace and wisdom and truth into your life. Not because he's trying to keep something good from you, but he is trying to give you the best possible life that you can have in him. And so he wants to give you wise counsel, he wants to help you understand the right path. And so you open up the word and say, Lord, how do I apply this in this situation? It's very difficult. 9 (1h 17m 7s): Well, you won't be able to apply it unless you just allow the holy spirit to fill your life and to give you the wisdom that you need. We gotta submit all of our plans to God, all of them like everything. Again, not this God doesn't care about your socks. I don't think, but he cares about most everything else in your life. Like how many kids should we have? You know, you know, should we take this vacation or is this really a good time to do that? Should we spend the money? Is it wise? Is it gonna be good for our family? What's you know, just asking the Lord for wisdom, like, like having the faith of a little child, believing that when we ask God is actually listening and he's wanting to direct us. 9 (1h 17m 52s): And so we need to get childlike in our faith. Sometimes we, we feel all grown up and we, we can make our own decisions. Don't buy into that lie of the world. Man, don't buy into that. You need the grace of God. We all do. We need the, the wisdom of God, the word of God to direct our path. So if you want to align your life properly with God, you've gotta bring him into the fat middle of your life. We, we gotta submit all of our plans to God. And so that means we do what he asks us to do. James four 17, the last verse in our day, our study here today, James four 17 says, remember it is sin. Do you know what you ought to do? And then not do it. 9 (1h 18m 32s): It's sin to know what yacht to do and then not do it. So loving God, loving your neighbor, no law against that. No sin in that, just do that. Submitting our, all of our plans to the Lord, meanings, listening and obey, doing what he's asked you to do. It's a sin to know what you ought to do, and then don't do it. So that's a sin that's gonna contaminate your life. And so number three, we must repent of our disobedience. We must repent of our disobedience. Remember in second King's chapter 22, we talked about it a couple weeks ago with Josiah king Josiah. He's eight years old when he becomes king and he's rebuilding the temple, refurbishing the temple and they come upon the word of the Lord and the, the word of the Lord is read to him. 9 (1h 19m 22s): And he's distraught. Second King's 2211. When the king heard what was written in the book of the law, he tore his clothes in despair. He tore his clothes, despair. He responded with repentance second King's 2213. This is why he responded. We have not, this is what he said. We have not been doing everything. It says we must do. So he is looking at the law and saying, I'm not aligning my life as a leader. And as a nation, we're not aligning our lives with everything that God asked us to do. And so he's renting his clothes. He's ripping his clothes, a sign of brokenness and contrition. 9 (1h 20m 2s): But Joel, two 13, I was reading Joel this week and it says, don't tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead. Oh, like we're talking deep work of God in our lives needs to happen, right? No, just tear your clothes. You know, that's his first step, but man, let your heart break open. When you hear the, the word of the Lord and let him do what he wants to do. He don't tear your clothing and your grief, but tear your hearts instead return to the Lord. You're God, this is real repentance. Repentance means I'm. I was doing that, heading that direction. Now I'm heading the opposite direction. It's like, I've changed my mind. It's not like, I'm sorry, I'm gonna keep doing it. It's like, I'm sorry. I'm never doing that again. 9 (1h 20m 43s): That's repentance. It's not repentance. If it's like, ah, I got caught, busted. Forgive me, Lord. And the next day you keep going after it. That's not repentance return to the Lord. Your God for he is me merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfeeling love. He's eager to relent and not punish. Isn't that the goodness of God, man, it's fun to align your life with God because the grace and mercy and the, the adventure of doing that, trusting him. It's a faith journey. Everything we do in this life as believers is a faith journey showed up early yesterday morning. And Rick's like, how many guys are we gonna show up for breakfast? How many guys are showing up? I said, Rick, I, I have no idea. It's always a faith journey. 9 (1h 21m 24s): Whenever we do anything, we're just gonna get ready, put out a spread and bless whoever shows up. That's the deal. It's just all by faith. You know, let your life be marked by faith. Joy filled faith, obedience, the love of God for others and for the Lord, just keep short accounts to the Lord. Just keep repenting of anything that you're made aware of. You say something you shouldn't have said, Lord, I'm sorry. You said it's your spouse. Ah, I'm sorry, babe. Right? Whatever the case may be. Just keep short accounts, align your life with God. And then the unnecessary wear and tear in your life will just begin to dissipate. 9 (1h 22m 4s): There'll be peace. You know the shaking of the steering wheel from a bad alignment and that your life will just begin to smooth out, man. Not perfect. Not without issues, but man, there's peace and joy because you know, you've made, you made God the Lord, the leader of your life. And so with that, let's go ahead and stand up. We're gonna worship and bite the team up and, and then we'll get outta here. Lord. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. As the team comes up, who got something out of this message today? Good. Tell me what you got Jim. What'd you get outta the message. Speak it loud so everybody can hear you. 9 (1h 22m 44s): Oh, 11 (1h 22m 45s): Praise the Lord. Just 9 (1h 22m 47s): What I'm do. Okay. Okay. Who else? Who wants to who? Who's got something like a nugget, a nugget, a nugget. Go ahead, Marilyn. Forgive and move on. Forgive and move on. Marilyn. Say I'm I'm I'm forgiven and moving on. Get, move on. Shut your mouth about other people. All right. Forget. Move on. Shut your mouth about other people. What else? What else? That's good wisdom. I think that might yes. Yeah. Just the 12 (1h 23m 11s): Simplicity of 13 (1h 23m 13s): Love. God 9 (1h 23m 13s): And love others. Yeah. That's all. It's the simplicity of love God and love others. We want to complicate things and try to know everything. And under what else? 12 (1h 23m 24s): Guard 9 (1h 23m 25s): Your tongue. Right? What else? Brian? What'd you learn? Same thing. Same thing. Yeah. Chris, what'd you get 12 (1h 23m 35s): Two short 9 (1h 23m 36s): Accounts. Short accounts. There we go. Mike what'd you get 12 (1h 23m 39s): Two 9 (1h 23m 39s): Commandments. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's let's remember. Let's let's grab, hold of the truth. That is communicated on a Sunday morning. No matter who's doing it. And just maybe write it down in your Bible or your journal and say I'm doing this slogan. What'd you get? 12 (1h 23m 55s): I got the love like loving the, your neighbor and loving, loving the Lord. Like we know to do that. Yeah. And that we can't just go home and sit on the couch and not do that. 9 (1h 24m 8s): Right. Have to 12 (1h 24m 9s): Be proactively loving 9 (1h 24m 12s): Others. Yeah. Not 12 (1h 24m 13s): To 9 (1h 24m 14s): Do it. Yeah. Doug what'd you get 14 (1h 24m 18s): Listening to God and obey what he says. Like when you're angry, God will speak to you at that moment. And he just, you need to repent. Yeah. Turn around at 9 (1h 24m 30s): That time. Yeah. Listening to God in obey, repent, turn around. Do some business with the Lord Linda in the back. What'd you get? I knew. Well it's because you're my family and I'm gonna Linda's my sister's mother-in-law so there we go. Extended family. Go ahead. Linda, speak loud. So we can all hear you. 13 (1h 24m 51s): The secret to joy in the Lord is to follow that 9 (1h 24m 55s): Command. Yes. You 13 (1h 24m 57s): Can't have joy. 2 (1h 24m 58s): If you're holding onto other things, 12 (1h 25m 0s): You have 13 (1h 25m 1s): To move forward in 9 (1h 25m 2s): Business. The secret to joy in the Lord is honoring that command. You gotta love God. I love others. You got joy. That follows joys. That is part of that decision. Lord. Thank you. Thank you for who you are. Thank you for teaching us. We love you. Let's worship and spirit in truth. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. 2 (1h 25m 45s): I just want the name of Jesus. Oh, every heart and every mind. Cause I know there is peace within your presence. I speak Jesus. I just want to speak the name of Jesus to every dog. Addiction starts to pray. Declaring. There is hope and there is free. 2 (1h 26m 29s): I Jesus, 0 (1h 26m 35s): Your 2 (1h 26m 36s): Name 0 (1h 26m 36s): Is, 2 (1h 26m 39s): Is your 0 (1h 27m 3s): Just wanna 2 (1h 27m 4s): Speak the name of Jesus 0 (1h 27m 9s): Over anxiety. 2 (1h 27m 16s): Every soul, 0 (1h 27m 30s): Your name drive 2 (1h 27m 44s): Through 0 (1h 27m 44s): T

Interview with Soraya Alexander, COO of Classy.  We discuss the Classy State of Modern Philanthropy and dig through the data. Get the report: https://donationtrends.classy.org/    Rough Transcript   [00:00:00] George Voice Dub: I have known about this particular fundraising platform for quite some time. I'm excited to have none other than Soraya Alexander, the chief operating officer, the COO of classy. How's it going for you today ? [00:00:14] Soraya: It's going great. Thanks for having me. I'm so happy to be. Yes. [00:00:19] George: Yeah, you pop up, you know, as a definite provider of services, but also a lot of content. I see a lot of educational resources being churned out, which I, as a, as a consumer and creator myself deeply appreciate. And always I'm more interested generally in platforms that can look at their own data. [00:00:40] And so you've recently created this report, but before we get into there, how do you describe in your words, uh, what class he. [00:00:47] Soraya: We've got, um, a fancy brand proposition, but at the most basic level, we do digital fundraising for nonprofits. So the whole suite of, you know, main donation forms to events, to peer, to peer, um, anything that your donors, wherever your donors are going online, we're [00:01:03] George: It's such a competitive landscape. I, when I, you know, 12 years ago I started whole whale. I was like one thing I will never, ever do donation platforms. It just strikes me as like an impossible field to, to kind of grow in. So how has, how has it been over at classy? [00:01:19] Soraya: Oh, it's been great. So I've been a classy for four years. And I think where we get really excited is that, you know, we've got several thousand customers and they are honestly, the sector is made up of the most innovative, ambitious people. And generally. They're totally under resourced to match their ambition, right? [00:01:38] Like that is the definition of the sector. They don't have the resources. I don't know how many, how many, you know, the resources you would need to solve the world's greatest problems, but the sector definitely doesn't have them. And so we really see a lot of promise in technology overcoming that gap. [00:01:52] Like how can technology accelerate your efforts, amplify your efforts, get more fun, city, more good. Um, and so we're really not cynical about, you know, what we, what we do. We see. How technology can transform the work of the sector. So I, I completely love it. The, the pace of innovation, um, the way that we engage with donors, um, has been changing a lot. [00:02:15] So it is competitive, but that also just means we have to be better. And I think the sector deserves that. Um, so I really, it's been a lot of fun. [00:02:22] George: You know, it it's good to hear. And certainly like under resourced is the, is the sad mantra of what's going on and great that you're able to provide the sort of frictionless way to get more money into more good hands. You have come out with the state of modern philanthropy. I was hoping maybe you could pull out what that is first [00:02:45] Soraya: Yeah. Yeah. [00:02:46] George: what do, what do what's the state? [00:02:48] Are we [00:02:48] Soraya: , I don't know that I have an answer. I think, uh, optimistic is probably the one word answer. So the state of modern philanthropy is an annual report. We do it's the, the fifth year we've published it. And we would just kind of glean all of this information from all of the campaigns on the platform. [00:03:05] We would collect all of these insights around donor trends, behaviors, campaign trends, payment trends, uh, and it was just too much too much information to not share it out with the sector. We thought it could be really valuable. So, you know, this past year we saw over a billion dollars of donations. Uh, it was 12 million individual transaction events, 54,000 campaigns. [00:03:27] And so from that, you can start seeing kind of what's working. What's not how are things progressing? Um, so yeah, really happy to publish it. And it. Kind of goes hand in hand. We do several consumer surveys throughout the year as well. And so you marry up what are people saying about how they wanna give and then what actually happens on the platform and, um, you find some interesting, interesting insights. [00:03:47] So yeah, excited to kind of share some of those today, but, um, please do you know if anybody's interested, go, go through there's there's way too many insights to, to talk through. It ends up being, you know, feeling tedious, but we think that we've packaged it in a way that could be really helpful. [00:04:01] George: Yeah. And just so folks know, we'll have the link in the show notes, but I, I found it by going to donation trends dot class e.org. So that's, I think where we can find this, the looking at your executive summary, which I always appreciate. The quick summary. Tell me what I need to know before I need to know it. [00:04:19] Cuz I'm super lazy. You have that events are back. Um, so events were away, clearly events. Meaning I read this as in person fundraising events, cuz that pesky little thing called the COVID. So we're BA we're back. [00:04:35] Soraya: we're back. What, you know, so one of the things we do is because we've got kind of long term relationships with so many nonprofits, we'll only isolate to year over year performance for the same kinds of campaigns and the same kinds of organizations. So this isn't just. We started selling, you know, to a lot more organizations who are interested in events. [00:04:52] This is actual year over year performance. Um, and we saw that revenue from events group 50% year over year. So that's coming back in a big way. Uh, but it's not just coming back in person. I think people got really used to virtual. Events then got totally sick of virtual events, but they held onto some of the digital components that feel easier, more elegant, more efficient. [00:05:15] And so I kind of mentioned these consumer surveys. We did, we actually did a, a fundraiser experience report, which was a survey of donors and they talked about really. Uh, valuing when there are things like digital auctions or, you know, digital fundraisers added on to either hybrid or fully in person events. [00:05:35] So now we are seeing about half of donors say, yeah, we wanna come back to events. Events are raising a ton of money again, you know, anybody who's, um, You know, been in this ecosystem or frankly been in an airport, knows that like the in person experience is back, but that digital component is not going away. [00:05:51] It's just evolving. Uh, so that, that kind of combination we're seeing as a, as a real transformer as we go, as we go forward [00:05:59] George: And just to, to repeat the, what was the year over year increase. [00:06:03] Soraya: 50% [00:06:05] George: About a 50%. That's pretty phenomenal. And again, just the, the sample size, I think, just to confirm is the, the total over, you know, $1.1 billion that transaction, like, so of that has a huge increase. Uh, is the, is the overall amount donated on the platform also increased in that same period of time? [00:06:24] Or is it like the percent of money coming via? Makes [00:06:28] Soraya: Yeah, it's a good question. So we're definitely, um, growing and that's both growing through individual organizations who are growing, who are doing kind of really well with all these optimizations and different campaign types. And, you know, we'll talk about. Um, channel optimization and payments optimization, and then it's also growing just as our out platform grows and we're able to support nonprofits, but for events specifically, these are events that were run the year before or organizations that were with us the year before that weren't running events and what they did the next year. [00:06:56] So it's not reflective of just kind of new organizations it's truly year over year comparison. And we're seeing, um, a pretty drastic, uh, increase, which we find really encouraging. [00:07:05] George: Yeah, you read my mind. I'm like, well, wait a minute. You know, the number went up, cuz our number went up and you're like breaking news. [00:07:10] Soraya: for it. [00:07:11] George: organization's numbers go up because they got bigger. So you kind of controlled for it. Looking at the same organizations. Uh, running these events. I'm curious, are these events I R L or are they a mix? [00:07:22] Do you have that [00:07:23] Soraya: Total mix. We it's, it's a complete mix and it's even harder to what we're seeing is either even the IRL. Very few of them are strictly in person. Now, almost everybody has introduced this digital component. They've, you know, really come to understand that. Why place a geographic limitation, if you don't have to. [00:07:43] And people in the room are happy to engage online with, you know, again, things like digital auctions, so why restrict it, or even timebound auctions, there's no need to restrict it. You're raising more money. If you can kind of open the aperture and it's so easy to do now, the donors experienced with it. [00:08:00] They actually prefer it, um, based on our donor surveys. And so, uh, we see very few pure play in real life events happen. [00:08:07] George: the majority of these are non geofenced. [00:08:11] Soraya: It's it's in person events that have a digital component that has been layered on. That's a lot of what we're seeing now. [00:08:19] George: Gotcha. So there are people hanging out in person, but like, like logo, like, like I'm gonna walk around my block. I'm gonna walk around my block, like, oh, cool. [00:08:27] Soraya: of that, or even just, we're gonna have an in person gala, but our auction's not gonna be a, you know, the paddle race is gonna be ver digital now. And so if you wanna phone it in, you couldn't make the gala that night, you just really could not get outta your sweatpants. You can actually participate at alongside the people who are in the room. [00:08:42] That's a lot of, kind of what we're seeing. [00:08:44] George: Yeah, finally sweatpants for a cause I knew it was gonna come. [00:08:48] Soraya: I am behind that. Cause [00:08:49] George: What is the weirdest event you think classy has been, been parked to? [00:08:55] Soraya: Oh man. You know, I need customer permission before I can talk about some of these things. I will say the coolest one was right at the start of COVID. Do you remember, um, that Robin hood telethon in New York that had. Tina Faye crying. It had, I mean, it had everybody coming forward and really like every celebrity you can imagine coming forward to raise money, um, for all kinds of relief efforts that Robin hood was doing just at the start of COVID incredibly powerful. [00:09:21] And if you had told me that we were gonna be part of some huge telethon in, in the year, you know, 20, 20, I, I would. I wouldn't have believed it. Um, but it was a really incredible kind of moment for everybody to come together. And we were really, really proud to work with them. [00:09:37] George: I'd be so curious. I, I feel like I can just talk about this or parse this out almost in, in a lot of ways. What are the, I don't know if you have this, but what are the highest yield, um, types of events? Is it, is there a certain center, like, oh, they're running the, uh, yield walkathon or like, oh my gosh, it's the, the silent awesome pet grooming Bonanza that like really brings in the dollars. [00:10:00] Soraya: It's a great question there. It totally depends on the organization, which is a really unsatisfying answer. The one thing that I will say is completely consistent is I think sometimes event organizers. Feel like the big ask is getting people to the event, getting them to register, getting them to give again, they don't, they're, they're nervous to ask for those participants to also fundraise on their behalf. [00:10:22] When you do event with fundraising on top of it, you invite somebody to raise additionally either for, you know, uh, run, walk, ride, or even just a gala. Event volume goes through the roof, always encourage your network and your supporters to do more for your cause. It, it, that is a really transformative aspect that takes very little from you. [00:10:42] You are just activating your supporters network, um, and it's not used as much as you'd expect. And, and really that has transformative impacts on, on how much you raise. [00:10:53] George: So as I'm understanding this being explicit, that attend, but you're also fundraising. [00:10:59] Soraya: Yes. [00:11:00] George: Don't just show up, like [00:11:02] Soraya: That's right. And you think about, you know, everybody gets one more donor, you've doubled your event revenue. Like it's not hard stuff. You don't really have to ask them to become superstar fundraisers, say, Hey mom, I'm going to gala tonight. Do you wanna throw 20 bucks on top of my ticket? Um, for something that I care about your mom will. [00:11:18] Pitch in 20 bucks. Um, and that, that can really change, right? Yeah. that changes things. Um, and it's, it's very low lift. It should be no lift with the right technology. Um, and, and you don't, and, and suddenly you have all these new donors as well, suddenly mom's part of your database suddenly you can market to her and get her as a more committed donor in the long term. [00:11:36] So even outside of the event, you've expanded your network in kind of profound ways. Um, so we, we are always encouraging our, our, uh, organizations to consider. [00:11:45] George: right. Big takeaway. Everybody. Get those mom dollars. [00:11:48] Soraya: Get mom dollars. [00:11:50] George: another one we, yeah, hashtag hashtag get mom dollars. Uh, donors give more when they have choices. Can you, yeah. And other news money, money buys things. [00:12:03] Soraya: yeah, shocking. [00:12:04] George: I don't, I don't mean it that way. What does this actually mean? [00:12:07] Soraya: Well, well, so we, um, we launched a payments offering a few years ago because we heard that organizations kind of want everything consolidated. They want easier reconciliation. And so we, we launched this, this payments gateway as a, as a way to facilitate easier organization reconciliation and just reporting honestly. [00:12:28] And then we saw the light on payments and became completely obsessed with how. Offering different payment types can really transform conversion rates, donor retention rates, even dollar amounts that you're giving. And so as our payments offering expanded, we said, okay, let's layer in digital wallets, right? [00:12:46] Apple pay. Yes. You should have apple pay PayPal. Yes. You should have PayPal, Venmo, crypto ACH, which is like digital bank transfer. You start offering all these things and you see individual donation amounts go up, you see conversion rates go up, you see. Um, recurring commitments, go up, you see lifetime value of those recurring commitments extend you start adding all these things up and it starts sounding like comical numbers. [00:13:10] So I'm not even gonna share kind of some of the things we're seeing, cuz I am making our team go through and scrub it a hundred more times before I would share it with a public. But we will say, you know, a couple of the stats we saw, one time donations could increase 50% when you have payment options on there. [00:13:25] And this sounds really profound until you actually take a second and say, how do I behave as a consumer? Oh yeah. If there's apple pay, I am more likely to complete a checkout, whether it's on a eCommerce site or a nonprofit donation form. If I don't have to. Get up while I'm in my sweatpants, you know, watching the gala from home, I don't have to go up and get my, you know, find my phone and find my credit card and find whatev or sorry, find my credit card, find my laptop, whatever else. [00:13:49] So it's really intuitive when you put yourself in the mind of a consumer. Um, and yet we, you know, we still have kind of nonprofit saying, well, I've got, you know, I've got a credit card form. Like that's enough. You know, I, I have a means for a donor to check out that's actually not enough. Um, and. It's transformative when you have all of these options. [00:14:09] And it's also tragic when you think you've spent so long, getting the public to know about the cause care about the cause. Find your organization that is trying to address the cause. Get all the way to a donation form, and then still check out. Rates are. Way lower than they should be. Definitely not a hundred percent. [00:14:26] And, and you think about how much work you have done to then lose the donor at that last moment. And if it's kind of tragic, um, and that's why we've become obsessed with payments, cuz you can start bumping that number up in kind of meaningful ways. [00:14:36] George: Yeah, just to reiterate though, you're saying that the average one time donation was nearly 1.5 X more just by offering these options all in one place. That's that's amazing. I had thought prior. To this, that probably the number one piece that impacted the amount given in that first time, one time amount was the anchoring, what the prefilled amount was, [00:15:03] Soraya: Yeah. We're seeing as actual payment options. It's not just conversion rates that are impacted. It's actually the dollars that you give. [00:15:08] George: Wow. And, and you found, so you now accept crypto. [00:15:13] Soraya: We do we accept [00:15:14] George: when did that start? [00:15:16] Soraya: a couple of weeks ago. We just launched it, um, right in the middle of crypto, winter. It's you know, we'll we'll uh, [00:15:22] George: what are you guys doing? Losing [00:15:23] Soraya: I I know, come on over. No, I mean, the idea, what we've seen is the more offerings you have, we like saying that we know we have more payment options now than Amazon. Um, you know, you just, you wanna come over no matter how you wanna give, we will be there for you. [00:15:35] We will accept. We will accept any, you know, any form of [00:15:39] George: You accept all cryptocurrencies, all, all forms of all forms of the, uh, the doge. [00:15:45] Soraya: Not, not everything, but more every day. I think we just, um, announced that we, we extended to another only 10 currencies just last week. So they keep coming. Um, the capabilities keep extending, um, but very early days. [00:15:58] And I think, you know, that's the most exciting thing for us. Um, you know, we, we did. Credit card and ACH. A couple of years ago, we layered in digital wallets about six months after that, about a year ago, no, maybe eight months ago was PayPal. Uh, then Venmos two months after that crypto, you know, was just a couple of weeks ago. [00:16:16] So, uh, the velocity and the, the focus and the expansion here is, is continuing. And it's really because of that value, we see the donor engagement and the reactions and the receptivity. um, so, so no plans on, on kind of slowing down, we're running out of currencies to accept and, and payment methods to accept. [00:16:32] But, um, as long as there's more, we're gonna keep, keep exploring to create, create new things. That's it? Well, and it's fun cuz now you get to start getting, uh, really weird about thinking. Okay. What does event, you know, we're talking about hybrid events, we're talking about crypto, the future of. Uh, virtual galas where you're just auctioning NFTs, and suddenly things become really interesting is, is absolutely, you know, there are brainstorming sessions happening with some of our most innovative customers around what this can look like and how we can support it. [00:17:00] So, [00:17:01] George: Why did you choose to, uh, why did you choose to accept crypto? [00:17:04] Soraya: Um, really it's about kind of donor choice and organization choice. So our job is to be a platform that just says we can enable nonprofits to engage with our donors in any way that is meaningful to donors. And our job is to. Do a lot of kinda market assessment stay on the cutting edge of, you know, eCommerce trends, donor trends, non-profit trends and say, okay, where, where is this going? [00:17:24] Where can we get more funds to causes that need them? And then we will have, you know, we will pursue offerings in that capacity. So it was, it was kind of an easy choice from that lens. [00:17:33] George: and do you, uh, Do you have any organizations that are expressed to saying like, no, no, no. Like turn that off or I assume they have to turn on all of these things. It's not default outta the box. Right? So [00:17:45] Soraya: We do no, no, no. You have complete control over what you do, how you engage with it, what you turn on. Even at a campaign level, you can decide, you know, this one doesn't really feel right. We don't think it's the right donor base. Um, but here we would like to [00:17:56] George: But your data seems to suggest that you should check all of the boxes, like land C air, however you wanna get us there. [00:18:02] Soraya: our data strongly suggested, but this is why we release these reports. It's like, you know, we'll do the analysis. You can make the decision. The choice is yours. [00:18:11] George: I love backed insights that fly in the face of the. Common knowledge is don't offer too many choices. You're gonna overwhelm the person, keep it focused. Like, you know, you seem to be betraying the, the imutable laws of UX and, and sort of throwing all this. [00:18:28] Soraya: I'm really glad you asked that. So, um, The right options are good. And so more options means you have a higher, uh, higher chance of getting to the right one for that donor. But does that mean all the donor? All those options have to be on the table for every single experience. Absolutely not. And so you're right. [00:18:45] We actually are working on how do you get more insights around who's landing on the page and maybe you cater those options. To that person. So you can have the full suite enabled for every campaign, but based on what you know about a particular donor visitor, you can say, you know what, we're only gonna show these three options. [00:19:02] We really don't see any indication that this person would be interested in option X. So we'll just hide it on that page. So it's not, it's not live yet, but you're absolutely right. Those are, those are things we're exploring right now. [00:19:12] George: be curious. Cause you just turned this on of putting all of those together. It seems that they are they're additive and it's like in addition to not, instead of, and I wonder with something. Like crypto, which has, uh, a polarizing effect, I think in its current cycle of adoption, which is a fancy way of saying doesn't this piss off some folks potentially that are looking at ways to give, and they're like, wait a minute. [00:19:37] This organization accepts, you know, you know, climate destroying cryptocurrency, [00:19:43] Soraya: Yeah, [00:19:44] George: you all. I'm not giving to this organization. I, I wonder if that's a thought or concern. [00:19:49] Soraya: Yeah, well, the, the, the crypto argument aside, we do have kind of off offsets enabled if you want as an organization to sign up for some kind of offset program. So we do have that kind of, um, integrated as well. And then, um, I think it ends up being the, the organizations know their donor base really well, and they say, okay, um, are you choosing kind of greener crypto, you know, offerings, things like that. [00:20:12] George: Yeah. I don't know the right answer, but I do know that more is different. [00:20:16] Soraya: more, more is different, more so far is really. Um, paying off and we are testing the heck out of it. Uh, and seeing, because the second it starts not paying off we'll, you know, we'll, we'll publish that as well and, and give control to kind of moderate. [00:20:32] George: Yeah. The irony to me of also the, like the crypto argument, then we'll move on. Cuz I love rabbit holes is, is the fact that I assume that on donation. The acid is liquidated so you're not holding it. You're technically getting it outta the system and switching back to Fiat. So it's, it's kind of funny to me being like, how dare you, you know, not go green. [00:20:51] You're like, you know what we're doing? Right. We're removing liquidity from the system. You don't like, you know how this works, [00:20:57] Soraya: love, I love that we haven't even pursued that angle, but, um, [00:21:01] George: Yeah. Yeah. [00:21:03] Soraya: It is, it is, it is early days though, and you're right. And the, the, the thinking around it and just the, the process of producing it, everything is evolving so quickly. And so I think for us, it's always, how do we, how do we stay on leading edge? [00:21:16] How do we make sure that. You know, so I started my, my career in the social sector and moved into e-commerce and customer loyalty and customer engagement for the, for profit sector. And so this is kind of the best of both worlds, where I get to say, you know, I ki I have familiarity with what the sector needs and what they encounter, and I know about e-commerce and it was always, you just try to go where the, where the donor, the consumer is. [00:21:37] You try to make it as easy for them. If you just, if the goal. Make it easy for them to spend money with you, then you have to figure out that psychology and that experience, and that is your job. And so for us, that is our job on behalf of the sector that we think needs the most. And so wherever that goes, we will, we will be there. [00:21:54] George: Of working with, and also like talking to folks that have experience in the e-commerce sector, moving into the nonprofit sector. You're like, yeah, go get that money. That's how this works. That's how all of this [00:22:04] Soraya: that's it. That's the, [00:22:05] George: get the [00:22:05] Soraya: the job. That's the [00:22:07] George: overthink it. [00:22:08] Soraya: Yeah. And you have to do that in really sophisticated ways. You know, how do you do that when you're not, um, you know, how do you do that when you're talking about impact, where you're talking about long term relationships, where, you know, you have a fraction of the budget, you've gotta get even more creative and thoughtful and personalized and all these things. [00:22:24] Um, it it's so much more important. You can't just say, okay, we're running a flash sale on something and you don't have those levers. Um, and so I just, I completely love it. [00:22:31] George: We have a final point in here that fundraising among peers thrives on social media and you have this number that peer tope raise on average 3.8 times more than other time based campaigns. Can you help me parse this out? [00:22:46] Soraya: Yeah. So, um, this is really around, you know, focusing on. Campaigns that say, okay, we've got, you know, we've got an end date. If that's an event, you know, you're leading up to an event you're trying to raise money or we're raising for a particular fund. Um, this actually goes back to the events conversation we had earlier, which is just activate your donors and your supporters networks offer a way for them to fundraise on your behalf and for time-based campaigns specifically, you see almost four times more raised when you allow people to fundraise and extend what their own wallet can do, what their own contributions can do. [00:23:19] And then suddenly you also get all these new donors. Um, so I, there's no reason not to allow people to do more than what you know, they're willing to spend in that moment. Cuz they have networks who are going to listen to them. You know, this is important to you and I care about you and I feel aligned to your values and I want to support the things that you support. [00:23:39] It doesn't have to be, you know, their entire network to, for it, to be really meaningful for non. [00:23:43] George: What does this actually look like? Are you saying the organization creates this peer-to-peer fundraising campaign and then sort of enables a certain feature for social share? Explicitly says it puts it in the flow. What, what does this [00:23:56] Soraya: Yeah, what, what we are, what we are looking at. So we have, um, peer to peer capabilities, you know, like separate campaigns and we have events where you've got fundraising on top of it. Uh, so those two event types where you can say. I allow I going to enable you to set up your own fundraising page. That's what we're talking about versus just an event where you buy a ticket or just a campaign where you individually donate. [00:24:19] So we're not talking about social sharing here. That definitely has power, but when you actually encourage people to set up their own fundraising page, we see almost four times more raised. That's right. [00:24:29] George: So the individual is creating a page that they have their, like their fingerprint on under the banner of the organization. And then they're encouraged to share that page on social, check out my fundraising page, and then they post it. [00:24:41] Soraya: That's right. That's right. [00:24:44] George: Yeah. That [00:24:44] Soraya: they don't have to be great at it. You know, that's the, I think that's the compelling thing is people say, like, I don't know that I've got these power fundraisers. I think that was the point. That was really exciting to me. You don't have to have a network of pseudo development staff at your disposal. [00:24:59] You just ask your, your committed fundraisers to open up a page. They get a couple of donations and you think about right there, that's four times as much donations, you know, four times as much volume. It doesn't take long for the math to get there. And yet it feels really profound. When you say four times the amount of volume as any other campaign type. [00:25:17] Yeah. Just, just allow people to kinda help. [00:25:20] George: Yeah, it seems like in some ways you're unlocking the power law even more so where clearly. 10% of your followers, donors supporters have 90% of the potential following. There's gonna be one person in there. Who's just happens to be hyper connected. And by allowing that person encouraging that person to leverage that social network, you're, you're, uh, you're dancing in the right side of the power law. [00:25:45] Soraya: That that's it. And you, it, it really doesn't, you know, if you have really sophisticated peer to peer and event with fundraising, keep, you know, um, campaigns absolutely. That exists, but they don't always have to be that you, you know, with the right tooling, you just say, yes, this is an option. They will take it from there. [00:26:01] Um, so I, I also recognize that we're talking to development officers and development managers who are saying, I don't have a huge staff to launch all these complex campaigns. You actually don't necessarily need it. You know, tech can help you. Tech can fill in the gaps of what, you know, your staff can't do manually. [00:26:17] It should be doing that. It should help you scale. And this is one of those areas. [00:26:20] George: I love it. Anything else about the report we should [00:26:23] Soraya: So there's one piece that is a really unintuitive. Stat. And so it takes a second to parse it, but I think it's, it's fascinating when you think about it. So recurring capture rate, when you are, um, donating and you decide to become a sustaining member as opposed to a one time member. Um, let's say that's a, you know, 10 percent-ish capture rate over time. [00:26:45] When you, as a development officer, look at your transactions, this is platform wide for us. You look at all of your transactions in a month. 58% of those transactions were recurring donations. That means that they were decided to give before that month. So it's not that there's, you know, 58% of the people who come in on any given month are making a recurring gift. [00:27:04] It's that the transactions that are processed in that month, 58% of them end up being recurring gifts that have been decided before that. And so if you think about your donor outreach strategy and your engagement strategy, know that. More than half of the transactions in given month have already been committed to how are you engaging that audience? [00:27:24] So back to like the e-commerce days, we think a lot about, are you talking to your recurring donors? Are you making sure that you're, you're letting them know that ongoing impact? Are you making sure that they have opportunities to give again? Are you treating them like gym members where you're hoping they set it and forget it and you never talk to them and they just let it go forever? [00:27:41] Or are you saying we wanna make sure you understand the value of this dollar because it. It's the, it's the predominant number of transactions, even if it's not the predominant number of donors you see every month. And so we just don't want 'em to, we don't want it to become like the silent majority that you forget about and take for granted and take, you know, just assume they'll always be there. [00:28:01] They require some cultivation they require talking to, and we actually see that about a quarter of recurring donors end up giving one time gifts on top of their monthly commitment. You should absolutely be engaging with this cohort. So it it's, I know it's a little bit of a confusing stat when you say it this way, but I just think about, you know, you look at a report and you see this many times a credit card was charged in this month. [00:28:22] More than half of those cards, those donors didn't come to your site necessarily that month they had already committed. And are you thinking about them as actively as you would any other kind of cohort of donors that month and you should be? Um, so I think a lot about donor segmentation and engagement and ongoing communication, um, and how important it is. [00:28:40] George: think the only thing that stuck to my brain there was that we have reoccurring donors as a nonprofit. [00:28:46] Soraya: Yes. [00:28:46] George: According to your data. Literally one out of four of those folks will just write an extra check. If I reach out to them, [00:28:55] Soraya: Yes. [00:28:55] George: I feel like that is something that would scare the, the fundraising pants off. [00:29:01] Somebody be like, oh my gosh, don't disrupt. Leave them. Be let the money come in. Don't like piss off anybody being like, how dare you ask me for more money. I already give you the money, [00:29:12] Soraya: Yeah, no, [00:29:13] George: no, the data suggests other. [00:29:15] Soraya: the data suggests otherwise. And, and again, I think we're, we're scared because we feel like we got away with something when we got that recurring gift and like, oh my [00:29:22] George: did, you got the [00:29:23] Soraya: money. For however long. Um, but people wanna validate their decision to invest in you. They're investing in your organization and your cause and the impact you can have. [00:29:33] So the ways that you communicate that was a good investment, the way you should validate that investment and the ways that you can communicate, how much more you can do with a little kind of extra on top, that all speaks to their values and why they're with you. So it definitely shouldn't be something scary. [00:29:47] It's really powerful. Uh, donors. [00:29:50] George: That's interesting. I'm wondering, do you know your average retention for a reoccurring donor? Like that, that gift amount? I'm always. Do you get more in the one time where that, uh, that cutoff and that trade off is it depends on, you know, who, which data source you're talking to [00:30:05] Soraya: Um, I do, and I've got fresher data. That's like hot off the press as of yesterday that I won't share yet. So a few years ago we pulled it maybe two or three years ago and we found a recurring donor is five times more valuable than a one time donor. Um, we have seen that go up meaningfully, um, almost. [00:30:22] I, I shouldn't dare you, but something like almost double it's almost, it's almost, it's almost double [00:30:27] George: More. [00:30:27] Soraya: And it's because of some of the, um, capabilities that we've enhanced along those lines of, you know, through, through our payments offering, which is, you know, recurring, retry, recurring capture. [00:30:38] Automatic card. Updater the ability to engage with donors before cards expire. If, you know, if we don't think we're gonna be able to update them, there's all kinds of capabilities to allow you to extend the life of a donor. Because more often than not, you lose a recurring donor because of a payment failure, not because they're canceling. [00:30:55] And so if you can address all of those, all of those reasons, or as, you know, as much as you can, you can extend the life of a donor, um, substantially. [00:31:03] George: That makes sense. And there's also just been like technical shifts in the way some credit cards operate that even when you cancel it, if it's a preexisting payment system already in place that they maintain that while canceling any new charge. So there's like just sort of happy accident of fate [00:31:17] Soraya: Yes. That's right. Well, and the thing that I'll add is if you really can get 25% of these donors to give a gift again, why would you ever say, I want the one time, because I'm scared that this is gonna be a lower donation amount over time. Like they'll come back because you've got that consistent relationship with them. [00:31:32] And so there's just, there's all kinds of reasons why no recurring is still. Still the way to go. [00:31:38] George: Like you're living on the positive end of the hedonic treadmill, [00:31:41] Soraya: Yeah, there we go. [00:31:42] George: fancy way of saying people just get real used to what they've been doing. Right. And like, oh, you know, like life could be as good as you want, and then you get used to it. And you're like, this sucks. I want something new. So on the positive side of that, I'm used to giving my 25 or 50 bucks, whatever the number is a month. [00:31:56] Like that's what status quo is. But is that good enough? The hedonic treadmill says no. [00:32:01] Soraya: We can do more and back to payments offerings. Um, I think we saw that for ACH. Let me see it. Oh yeah. Recurring gifts. When you have all these payment offerings, recurring gifts on ACH, which is kinda direct bank transfer are 30% higher than credit card. So even that number of what [00:32:15] George: Can you say that again? I [00:32:16] Soraya: yeah. [00:32:17] A AC recurring gifts made on ACH versus credit card. It's it's like a direct bank transfer [00:32:24] George: Gotcha. So I connect my bank and then like, I'm, I'm locked in. [00:32:27] Soraya: That's right. That's about 30% larger than those made on credit card. And so back to payment offerings, when you're engaging with kind of sophisticated donors and you can actually nudge them on, you know, if you're giving, you know, these might be like, these are options for you. [00:32:42] These are recurring donors who want to give in these other, in these other ways. Uh, you can actually nudge that number up as well. And so then. You start, you start compounding all of the impacts of these little benefits and it starts to be really, um, meaningful relative to let's say a one time gift where you only have one, you know, payment offering and, um, [00:33:01] George: You also can dance. You also can dance with the fact that you don't have to pay the credit card processing fee when you use ACH. Cuz [00:33:06] Soraya: That's right. It's cheaper for the organizations. That's right. A hundred percent. Yeah. [00:33:10] George: well, awesome. I'm glad you, I'm glad you added that. That's a, another counterintuitive, but look at the data and, you know, file that away. [00:33:17] There's some real, there's some real good gems in here. Thank you for sharing [00:33:20] Soraya: we think so. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. We're happy to do it. [00:33:24] George: Yeah. Rather than just keeping it inside. You're like, oh, here are our secrets. You you've decided to share it. I, I do. I do genuinely appreciate that. Alrighty. Are you ready for rapid fire? [00:33:35] Soraya: now let's go. [00:33:36] George: Okay. I don't know if you have much of a choice, but I always [00:33:39] Soraya: I [00:33:39] George: that because, you know, uh, you know, ask, ask permission. [00:33:44] Okay. So let's kick this off. What is one tech tool or website that you have, or your organization has started using in the last year? [00:33:51] Soraya: The calm app. It helps me at work. It helps me with everything. I know you think that's a, that's a, that's a cheating answer, but it's not mental state is everything [00:33:59] George: That's great mind achieves with the mind achieves with the body believes and strike that reverse it. Tech issues. What tech issues are you currently battling with? [00:34:08] Soraya: Data availability everywhere. And as completely as I want all the time, I don't know anybody who won't an won't have that in their answer somewhere on their list. [00:34:16] George: Yeah. What is coming in the next year that has you the most excited? [00:34:20] Soraya: we just joined forces with GoFundMe and there are. [00:34:24] George: about that. [00:34:25] Soraya: Uh, I am so excited because there are a hundred million donors on that platform who are activated and engaged and not actually affiliated with nonprofits. It's all individual acute cause giving. And if we can connect those donors who are responding in a moment to a human and say, there's also organizations fixing this issue at scale and structurally, would you like to meet them and continue this relationship? [00:34:48] I think there is so much power for organizations and that is why we did it. And I cannot wait cuz we are working on it. Right. [00:34:54] George: Might have another podcast in the future. I'm always curious about companies that, that get acquired and then I'm always watching. [00:35:02] Soraya: Uh, I am so enthralled about it. It is like the most exciting area of how do you fundamentally change the game for nonprofits operating at a very competitive market? And I think this is a really exciting one, so I would love to talk about it. [00:35:17] George: All right. We'll put, put a pin in that one. [00:35:19] Soraya: Yeah. Great. [00:35:19] George: Talk about a, can you talk about a mistake that you made earlier in your career that shapes the way you do things now? [00:35:25] Soraya: No, I never made a mistake. I'm just kidding. Um, so, uh, I have so many, um, I think one of the earlier ones was, um, I was, I was, when you're early in your career, you were kind of insecure about how little experience you have. And so you try to overcompensate with confidence and demonstrating mastery, and then you get nowhere cuz you can't actually have honest conversations. [00:35:46] You're not in a position to learn and everybody sees through it anyways. Uh, so I've completely overcome that. Like I just wanna get to good answers and better insights and I don't care who has them. It's probably not gonna be me. That sounds like such a cheesy thing to say, like once you're management, but it's absolutely true. [00:36:00] And. The faster you get over that. And you're willing to say you're willing to like really get into learning mode. Uh, the better, the better your life is the better outcomes. There are, the faster you get ahead. All the things. [00:36:10] George: believe that nonprofits can successfully go out of business. [00:36:13] Soraya: Uh, I used to work at PBS and worked at Lincoln center for a hot second. So I hope not. [00:36:17] George: If I were to throw you in the hot tub time machine, back to your start at classy, what advice would you give yourself? [00:36:25] Soraya: The impatience to be great because the sector needs it. um, just be really unapologetic about that. I think at first you're trying to kind of navigate and make sure you don't rock the boat. I'm all about rocking the boat. If it means it's better outcomes for this sector. And we are really unapologetic about that now, but it took me a little, you know, it took me a second to really own that position. [00:36:46] Um, and I would just, I would just start even faster. [00:36:48] George: is something you think you or your organization should stop doing? [00:36:52] Soraya: I have a million things I should stop doing. One of the things I'm really proud of with our organization is we definitely have a culture of, if you see something stupid and you elevate it and there's discussion and we agree it's stupid, we just stop it. We are actually like very unattached to anything because it's always been done that way. [00:37:07] Um, so I can't think of anything, not cause we haven't done stupid things, but because anything that I know about, I think we've been pretty, uh, aggressive about stopping. I think it's an important skill for any company to have. I will say that or any organization [00:37:19] George: like. [00:37:20] Soraya: it's just, it's just impatient for inefficiency and in, and, and impatience to be great. Like, I really think it comes that that seeps through the, the DNA of, of everyone. So it's not that we can fix it overnight, but if we see something we should, we need to fix or we see something dumb. Yeah. We, we, we try to jump on it. [00:37:35] George: If you had a magic wand to wave across the social impact sector, what would it do? And you can't say just generate a whole bunch of new classy users. Like I'm taking that ability off the wand and no more wishing for more wishes. I'm tired of it. We can't have it. [00:37:47] Soraya: Come on [00:37:48] George: inflation and I won't have it. [00:37:49] Hmm. [00:37:50] Soraya: um, [00:37:51] George: What is your donor [00:37:52] Soraya: Donor retention, fixed donor retention. We're trying in absence of, in absence of a magic wand, we're trying with tech, but fix the donor retention problem, because I also think that talks about are people engaged in the cause. So it's so much more than dollars. It's also about like public engagement with these causes and these missions that is required right. [00:38:09] Alongside the dollars. [00:38:11] George: right now on average 54. [00:38:12] Soraya: Um, our, you know, like our recurring donation or [00:38:15] George: No, just like overall, like, yeah, reoccurring, like I gave this year next year. What percent am I likely? [00:38:20] Soraya: Donor retention across. So there's like a bunch of ways to cut it. It's it's lower than that. Going up fast. If you adopt all of these capabilities, it kind of depends on what you adopt. Um, and it's for the base organization. [00:38:32] I think industrywide not just on classy. It's something like a fifth. I mean, it's something abysmally low. I don't know. Remember the reports are out there. Um, all of these tools we have seen kind of meaningfully increase that long lifetime value, a long retention, um, still lower than I think anybody would like it to. [00:38:49] George: Yeah. So hovers around 20% for you all, [00:38:51] Soraya: Well, not with, not with our recurring and our classy pay customers. So no that's much higher, but, um, yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm, [00:38:57] George: Gotcha. Appreciate the sidebar. How did you get started in the social impact sector? [00:39:02] Soraya: I took a semester in college and went and worked full time at amnesty international and the refugee department in DC and loved it. And then started at a strategy communications digital agency for the social sector right after college. So early, as early as you get in my career. [00:39:18] George: What advice would you give college grads looking to enter this sector? [00:39:22] Soraya: Most entry level jobs kind of suck, but. There is always something to be learned. If you really lean in and you try to figure out who is doing interesting things, how can I be of value? How can I work a little harder? Because you get exposure to do interesting things and your job for most of your career is to gain as many experiences as you can. [00:39:40] That doesn't mean job hop. That means whatever you're doing. Try to involve yourself in as much as you can and do it really well. And it will all start coming together into something that looks like a linear career. It just takes a second. So be patient and really lean. [00:39:52] George: What advice did your parents give you that you either followed or didn't [00:39:56] Soraya: Um, I am, uh, I am a little bit intense and I am always trying to like, You know, work really hard to prepare for the next thing to, to, um, set myself up. Well, and I think when I was 15, my mom looked at me and said, you know, you're not gearing up so you can get ready. So your life starts like, this is it. This is your life. [00:40:14] And so it didn't really sit with me. Yeah, that's it. I didn't really sit with me until I had kids, but now I think about it a lot. Like this is it. If I'm not living in the moment, What am I doing back to the com app? the, the grounding efforts are, are, uh, are a dominant part of how I, how I try to operate now. [00:40:31] George: Brilliant. Last hardball question. How do people find you? How do people help you? [00:40:36] Soraya: Uh, come find me on LinkedIn. I am, uh, I am there. I would love, love to connect, go to classy.org. You can contact us there and it's still, um, you know, very accessible team. I would love to chat with anybody who is listening, who wants to learn more, definitely check out the report. But yes, I would love, um, LinkedIn is a, is a great place. [00:40:55] George: thanks for the work you do really excited also about the headways that you're making in the, the GoFundMe and helping nonprofits claim, a larger stake of that, that audience. That's [00:41:07] Soraya: Thank you so much and thanks for the work you do. Um, and I'm so happy to be here. Thanks again.

Alrighty then, we're back for another exciting adventure here on the Chaotic Navigator podcast. I am Murphy Ganz, the Alaska Outlaw and today I'd like to vent a little about the many different political influences we have within our lives. Whether it be the city council reducing the effectiveness of the local police department, or emergency medical services, or the national governmental policies about recreational drug use and all the other impacts these have on our lives.

Alrighty then, The Ho'oponopono Prayer! A Beautiful Hawaiian teaching about Forgiveness Let it move you. Nikki Podcasts to listen to: How to Listen Yuck and Yum - Week 1 No Make Wrong - Week 2 Don't Give Up Till The Miracle Happens The Willingness To Be Willing Audible books to listen to: Practicing The Power of Now (start with this book. Listen 1 hour a day until you've finished the book) The Power of Now (Listen 1 hour a day until finished) Transcending The Ego (Listen 1 hour a day until finished) Signs (Listen 1 hour a day until finished)

Last time we spoke, the Ming Dynasty had finally come to an end. After years of fighting, Li Zicheng had finally broken the Ming Dynasty and assumed the Dragon Throne, or sort of. As his rebel forces pillaged Beijing and Li Zicheng sought to establish his Shun Dynasty a rather large issue loomed, that of the Qing invaders. The Qing had bided their time waiting for the Ming Dynasty to rot from the inside before making their move. Li Zicheng took his army to go meet the foreign invader, but unbeknownst to him the remnants of the northern Ming military prefered to throw their lot in with the Qing rather than with him. Li Zicheng's army was smashed at the battle of Shanhai pass. Prince Dorgon took the dragon throne to serve as regent for the infant Qing Emperor Shunzhi marking the emergence of a new Dynasty over China, and they all lived happily ever after. Of course not.    Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on the history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War.   #6 This episode is the rise of the South Ming Regime   So perhaps a short recap of the end of the last series of episodes. The bandit army of Li Zicheng believed after taking Beijing that their revolution had succeeded and that they could all “live happily ever after”. They did not consider the threat in the north that was the Qing invaders. They had committed the mistake of arrogance and it cost them their newfound Shun Dynasty, it also would have future political and military consequences. The first Qing emperor was titled Shunzhi, meaning “smoothly ruling emperor”, however Prince Dorgon would act as his regent as he was only 5 years old. Thus at the offset, Prince Dorgon ordered the Han chinese civilians to leave inner Beijing city so he could resettle it was Manchu bannermen and establish some sort of order. Exceptions were made of course, remember countless Han defectors aided the Qing conquest and many would take up titles and positions within the new government. The Qing rulers were not naive, they knew opposition would be fierce if they did not incorporate Han chinese within their new hierarchy and thus the loyal Han Bannermen became the great administrators that allowed for the transition to run sort of smoothly. Some of the greatest Han bannermen that would aid the new administration would be Kong Youde, a long time defector, Shang Kexi and Geng Zhongming, who both would play very crucial roles much further into this story. Until 1658 the Qing would intentionally not install any Manchu or Mongol governors so as to make sure the transition worked. Yet also at the offset, the Qing did ruffle some feathers with a particular decision. In 1645 Prince Dorgon issued the infamous head shaving proclamation. Basically he ordered all subjects in China to shave their hair in the style of the Manchu, which is that of a long braided queue. You probably have seen countless movies showcasing this hairstyle, usually the men have a hat on and you see the long braid trailing under it. Now he proclaimed the punishment for those who did not perform the head shaving as that of any other rebel to the Qing, a death sentence. Now a ton of Han chinese shaved their head immediately to curry favor with Prince Dorgon and the new Qing dynasty. They were showered with titles and positions and such.The policy was something of a symbolic submission to the new dynasty and helped the Manchu from telling who was friend or foe. It also evoked the Confucian notion that the subjects of the Dynasty were like the adopted children of the Emperor and that they should look like their adoptive father. Regardless for many Han Chinese the head shaving order was humiliating, some sources I read deemed it a “loss of their manhood”. So as much as it helped the Qing see friend or foe, it also would be used as a symbol of resistance by those who refused to submit. As you can imagine it was inevitable that anti-Qing struggles would break out. From June of 1644 to the end of 1646, the remnants of the Dashun army of Li Zicheng and the Daxi army of Zhang Xianzhong spearheaded anti-qing movements. But unlike the failed Ming state, the Qing Dynasty possessed a powerful army, with high morale.    Politically it made sense to go after Li Zicheng first, for one thing he was the closest. Hell Li Zicheng actually handed the Qing a great situation if you think about it, they could now avenge the regicide of Emperor Chongzhen and be seen as saviors. Thus from the get-go their top priority was to eradicate the Dashun army. Now I did briefly mention the fate of Li Zicheng in the last series, but I will need to reiterate it here again a bit so the story is cohesive. The Dashun army and Li Zicheng fled the west of the Beijing area and lost a ton of territory, but there was a deep anti-qing feeling in the population leading to overwhelming support for them. The Dashun army took up defensive positions in Taiyuan, Yan'an and Suide led by the commanders Chen Youngfu, Li Guo and Hao Yao respectifully. Li Zicheng retreated to Xi'an and decided to seize Hanchung, Gansu and Lanzhou to the south, ensuring the safety of the central Shaanxi area. From there he hoped to have a base of operations for anti-qing action. The Qing army went south along the Taihang Mountain range and occupied Pianguan where they planned to seize Taiyuan.The Dashun army resisted them and managed to defeat the Qing army in Jingjian, Xuanhua and Weizhou. But despite the Dasun army's valiant efforts, it had a problem. The peasant regime in various areas had destroyed much land and resulted in a logistical nightmare.    By November of 1644, the Qing army broke up into 2 forces, one was led by Prince Ajige who was appointed as the Jinyuan general, assisted by Generals Wu Sangui and Shang Kexi. Wu Sangui as you might remember is the man who literally opened the door to the Qing in order to defeat Li Zicheng and Shang Kexi was Ming general who defected and would prove to be quite the loyal ally. They marched through Datong enroute for Xi'an. The other force was led by Prince Dodo also known as Prince Yu assisted by Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming marched on Tonguan. Both armies planned to meet up at Xi'an  where Li Zicheng had fled and defeat his Dashun army there. Ajige's army managed to capture Taiyuan, Pingyan and other cities, but paid heavily for it. Prince Yu's army fought a vigorous battle with the Dashun in the area of Luoyang, Shaanzhou and Baoling until they reached the outskirts of Tongguan. The siege of Tongguan lasted a month with Li Zicheng commanding the troops personally, but to no avail. Meanwhile Ajige's army conquered Yan'an and Shaanzhou and as a result Xi'an became the focal point for the Qing army to produce a hammer and anvil attack. By february 9th, Li Zicheng had to abandon Xi'an running south for the mountains of Shangluo. The Dashun army experienced tremendous defeats at the hands of the Qing, but still hundreds of thousands came rallying to the cause of resistance. Dashun armies led by Li Guo, Gao Yigong and Hao Yaoqi were stationed in the areas of Jing and Xiang while Li Zicheng and Liu Zongmin took up positions in Chengtian. The Dashun army also held Wuchang and at this point Li Zicheng knew the north-east was unstable, but he could ill afford to allow the southeast to fall into disarray. Li Zicheng south to seize the eastern part of Zhoudong and the Xuan areas to establish a base of operations against the Qing armies. By the end of May as the Dashun armies prepared to leave, the Qing army suddenly surprise attacked them from both land and sea. As a result the Dashun army had to abandon Wuchang and run further south to Tongshan. The battle was a grave one and Liu Zongmin was severely injured before being captured and died in battle. Morale broke down for the peasants as more and more Han officials began to collude with the Qing against the peasants. The Dashun army faced enemies from all sides and the anti-qing movement was deteriorating. Then as I stated in the previous episode, by June of 1645, Li Zicheng was ambushed when he tried to cross the Jiugong Mountains. How Li died is not exactly known, some say he hung himself after being surrounded by some angry peasants. Others say peasants beat him to death looking for food. What is known is that his corpse was badly mutilated when it was found. Li Zichengs body was sent south to Ming authorities who decaptitied it.    Now Just a few weeks after Emperor Congzhen had committed suicide in Beijing, one of his Ming clasnmen Zhu Yousong known as Prince Fu arrived in Nanjing. Now there were a ton of Ming princes lying all about China, but it just so happened most of the surviving high court officials were in Nanjing and thus they began to debate who should take up the Dragon Throne. They eventually came to the conclusion Zhu Yousong would be best and asked him to step up. So with the support of Ming loyalist bureaucrats and generals, Zhu Yongsong proclaimed himself an Emperor in Nanjing with the reign title of Hongguang meaning “great light”. This marked the creation of what is known as the South Ming Dynasty. Now Zhu Yongsong was chosen mostly because of his bloodline rather than character or ability. He was the eldest son of Wanli's favorite son, a guy that Li Zicheng et al killed and ate if you remember rather gruesome stuff. His son Zhu Yongsong shared many of his fathers defects and he did not even really want the throne, he just happened to be in Nanjing and a prime candidate.   The original aim Hongguangs regime was to take revenge and suppress the bandit armies. Indeed Emperor Hongguangs court proclaimed the regime was formed to “ally with the Tartars to pacify the bandits”. Hongguang's new regime possessed quite a lot of military power. There was the grand secretary, Ma Shiying who  was the greatest pusher of Zhu Yongsong onto the throne and held a powerful war fleet. There was Shi Kefa the minister of war in Nanjing who further appointed the “sizhen” “Four guardian bastions” who would defend 4 territories; Huang Degong would defend Luzhou, Gao Jie held Sizhou, Liu Liangzuo held Fenyang and Liu Zeqing held Huan'an. All 4 were vested in titles of nobility, which would create a dangerous precedent for our entire story. Each man had an army of 20-30 thousands soldiers. All of this was established to protect the area of Nanjing from the Dashun armies. They also were preparing a northern expedition to eradicate the Dashun forces once and for all. The Hongguang regime seemed to not view the entrance of the Qing invaders as the main threat, most likely because the Qing went straight to work quelling the peasant rebels. In response to the Nanjing regime springing up out of nowhere, the Qing Dynasty chose to compromise for the time being while they consolidated further support for their own regime. They also quickly realized the Nanjing regime was extremely incompetent.    When the news spread of the death of Li Zicheng to Nanjing, the ruler proclaimed Wu Sangui as Ji lord protector. The Nanjing regime even sought to send Wu Sangui millions of taels of silver by sea as reward for “borrowing the Qing army” to defeat the peasant army, yes burrow. It seems the court of Nanjing thought that Wu Sangui could be bought back over to the Ming side. It is alleged that regent Dorgon proclaimed in July that the country should not belong to one person and thus the Hongguan regime made an imperial edict declaring its existence to Hebei and Shandong. They became known as the South Ming regime and they immediately began to send emissaries to Beijing for peace talks. They sent countless gold, silver as tribute and ceded territory to try and earn pledges that the Qing army would not march southwards upon them. They also strongly suggested cooperative action against the bandit armies.    The Hongguang regime was a product of conflict amongst big Ming warlords. There was a Zuo Liangyu bloc which began a campaign of suppression against Daxi bandit armies in Wuhan. Gao Jie, Huang Degong and Liu Liangzuo each held their respective areas north of the Yangtze River in the Jianghuai area. Each warlord had territory and an army, they began to snatch land from each other and this all hurt the common people. In each territory, 30 thousand soldiers needed to be drafted, 200 thousand kg's of rice handed over, 400 thousand liangs of silver turned in. The soldiers and civilians often fell into conflict with another, the civilians saw the military as thieves and the military saw the civilians as rebels, a vicious cycle. While some of the warlords proclaimed they were stamping out bandit armies, they were in truth attacking fellow warlords.    Meanwhile the South Ming regime was placing its entire hope in compromising with the Qing and only when messengers began to arrive who were sent to the Qing back, stating that peace talks were going nowhere and that a Qing army was preparing to march south did some officials begin to make other plans. Shi Kefa amongst many others began to realize that if peace could not be secured, warfare would be the only course of action. Emperor Hongguang for his part was nothing more than a puppet, being controlled by the warlords. He was busy drinking, eating and spending time with his harem without thinking too much about how to deal with the Qing threat seriously.    One serious problem Shi Kefa faced was the bickering amongst the warlords such as the 4 guardian generals. Shi Kefa went to Yangzhou in 1645 to try and smooth relations between the guardian generals. Yet as he began talks with them they did not stop their plundering of another's territories. Then in 1645 the Qing army began to move south occupying Tongguan and Xi'an forcing Dashun armies to flee south requiring the Ming warlord Zuo Liangyu to be dispatched out to suppress them. As the Qing kept moving, this pushed the Dashun armies, which Ming armies like Zuo Liangyu's would have to chase, and thus the Ming were further weakened. On top of this issue, Zuo Liangyu hated Grand Secretary Mu Shiying and for good reason the man was clearly using the emperor like a puppet and taking more power each day. Thus Zuo proclaimed he would get rid of Ma Shiying's influence in the court. All of this internal bickering is happening with the Qing literally pounding on the door of their regime.   Ming forces began to be attacked by the Qing as they marched south and many simply surrendered.The Qing sent Prince Yu to lead his army out of Xi'an to the east and his force soon captured Xuzhou, a strategically important Ming territory and word soon came to Hongguang. The court of Hongguang freaked out looking to their strongmen to resist the Qing invaders, but the warlords of the South Ming Regime were so corrupt and too busy attacking another to pay attention. Gao Jie who possessed the largest army out of the guardian generals was assassinated by another Ming general named Xu Dingguo who tricked him using the oldest trick in the book, a banquet. Xu Dingguo was planning on surrendering to the Qing and invited Gao Jie to a dinner, got him very drunk and using some very beautiful prostitutes managed to kill him during the night. The army of Gao Jie retaliated against the city of Suizhou, but by that time the army of Xu Dingguo had fled and surrendered to the Qing army. When word spread of Gao Jie's death, the other warlords stormed into his territory to divide up his army. In the meantime grand secretary Ma Shiying wanted to continue his dominance of the South Ming Court and was struggling against Zuo Liangyu for power. On may 8th, Zuo's army began a battle agaisn't Ma Shiying's in Anqing, while the Qing army crossed the Huai River and marched on Suizhou. The 2 warlords were shocked by the news and forced to flee south, leaving poor Shi Kefa with the untenable position of defending against the Qing.   You see, Shi Kefa early on had asked to be dispatched to the north to supervise defenses on the border. But due to the warlords fighting another, the Ming general was unable to establish a strong defense. Then Emperor Hongguang ordered, cough cough it is actually Ma Shiying, ordered Shi Kefa to divert his forces from the northern border which the Qing were about to attack, to instead go west and attack Zuo Liangyu. Ironically at this point Zuo Liangyu had died of illness unbeknownst to Ma Shiying, and his son Zuo Menggeng was engaging the enemy. Because of all this anarchy, the Qing saw the route was open to Yangzhou which was something of a bulwark for Nanjing and marched towards it.    Facing the Qing invaders completely alone, the Shi Kefa army was forced to retreat from their northern positions to Yangzhou. His army only made it within days of the city becoming besieged by Prince Yu's army on the 13th of april. Thus Yangzhou was besieged and Emperor Hongguang called on all his officials as to what should be done. Yet many of the officials were too busy attacking another. Some in the court said they had to send reinforcements to help Shi Kefa and pointed fingers at Ma Shiying for intentionally retreating his forces from the Qing areas to retaliate against Zuo Liangyu. It was at that moment that Allegedly Ma sent proclaimed that he would rather the Qing killed the emperor and all the Ming officials rather than they all be killed by the treacherous Zuo Liangui. Ma went on to make edicts that anyone who dared talk about guarding the Huai area would be sentenced to death by him. Apparently even the Emperor dared not speak up. Thus Shi Kefa who was pleading for help was completely ignored. The warlords continued their fight as the Qing were literally banging on the gates. Prince Yu sent a letter to Shi Kefa asking for his surrender, but Shi Kefa replied “My life is tied to the city. I would rather die than betray my heart”.  On April 24th the Qing army's cannons had broken the walls of Yangzhou and the city fell during the night. Shi Kefa attempted suicide by slitting his own throat, but failed to do so. It is alleged, he asked his subordinate Shi Dewei to kill him, but Shi Dewei refused even when Shi Kefa screamed “Im the military inspector Si, quickly Kill me!”. Thus Shi Kefa was captured by Prince Yu who tried to persuade him to surrender and serve him stating “we sent you a letter politely asking for your surrender, but you refused. Now that you've fulfilled your loyalty and righteousness, you should take on a new important responsibility, help me conquer Jiangnan”. Shi Kefa responded "I fall together with the city. My decision will not change. Even if I'm torn to pieces, my feelings will be as sweet as maltose. But do not harm the thousands of lives in Yangzhou!" Thus Shi Kefa was put to death, as his subordinate Liu Zhaoji led the rest of the soldiers and civilians of the city to resist the Qing, pelting them with arrows.   Prince Yu, furious about the heavy casualties his force took upon entering the city, ordered the entire city put to the sword. The tale of this is known as the Yangzhou massacre and according to an account given by the contemporary Wang Xiuchu, the event was a 10 day massacre in which up to 800,000 people were killed. Most modern scholars consider that number to be an exaggeration, but what is not an exaggeration is the hardship felt by the poor souls of the city. Here is an excerpt from Wang Xiuchu's account:   “Several dozen people were herded like sheep or goats. Any who lagged were flogged or killed outright. The women were bound together at the necks with a heavy rope—strung one to another like pearls. Stumbling with each step, they were covered with mud. Babies lay everywhere on the ground. The organs of those trampled like turf under horses' hooves or people's feet were smeared in the dirt, and the crying of those still alive filled the whole outdoors. Every gutter or pond we passed was stacked with corpses, pillowing each others arms and legs. Their blood had flowed into the water, and the combination of green and red was producing a spectrum of colours. The canals, too, had been filled to level with dead bodies. Then fires started everywhere, and the thatched houses...caught fire and were soon engulfed in flames...Those who had hidden themselves beneath the houses were forced to rush out from the heat of the fire, and as soon as they came out, in nine cases out of ten, they were put to death on the spot. On the other hand, those who had stayed in the houses—were burned to death within the closely shuttered doors and no one could tell how many had died from the pile of charred bones that remained afterwards” After the Qing were finished pillaging Yangzhou, they crossed the Yangtze River and captured Zhenjing which was one of the last gateway's to Nanjing. Apparently in the dead of night, a very drunk Emperor Hongguang then fled from Nanjing to Wuhu under the protection of Huang Degong, his chief general. This left the South Ming court in chaos, some officials fled, while others prepared to pay tribute and surrender to the Qing. Li Chengdong and Liu Liangzuo surrendered to the Qing early on, Zuo Liangyu and Gao Jie were both dead leaving 23,000 defenders to guard Nanjing without any real leadership.    The betrayal and deaths of the warlords handed over the entire northwestern zone of the South Ming regime to the Qing. Ma Shiying then brought to Nanjing troops from the western provinces made out of non-Han Chinese indigenous fierce tribal warriors called the "Sichuan" soldiers to defend Nanjing against the Qing. Rather ironically the tribal warriors were deemed "barbarians" and slaughtered by the Han Chinese citizens of Nanjing. Mind you the person who was in charge of defending Nanjing was Zuo Liangyu so as you can imagine he probably had a heavy hand to play turning everyone against Ma Shiyang. It also turns out Zuo Liangyu and many citizens of Nanjing had decided to peacefully defect and turn over the city to the Qing when Emperor Hongguang abandoned them. Allegedly the citizens screamed out "These are the son and daughter-in-law of the traitorous minister Ma Shiying!" while parading the daughter-in-law and son of Ma Shiying as they stormed Ma Shiying's house. Thus when the Qing marched upon the city of Nanjing the defenders mostly threw down their weapons and by June 8th the South Ming Regime of Emperor Hongguang had collapsed. Zho Menggeng surrendered to the Qing, Huang Degong was killed fighting the Qing and for all it was on paper, perhaps upto a million men strong, the regime simply fell to pieces. Liu Zuoliang who had surrendered to the Qing managed to capture the fleeing Emperor Hongguang and sent him under escort back to Nanjing. It is said the citizens spat on him and cursed him and even threw rocks at him as he made his way along the street. Emperor Hongguang would die a year later in Beijing. The South Ming regime of Hongguang had not even lasted a full year and made one of the most pitiful attempts at trying to resist the Qing army.  It also exploited its own people and caused a ton of suffering, which will be the main theme of this entire story.   Within a year of their new Dynasty, the Qing armies had defeated Li Zicheng and his Dashun armies. They had destroyed the South Ming regime of Hongguang and had taken over the northern  half of China. Yet this was just to be the beginning of the seizure of national power. The bloody suppression of the bandit armies, the plundering and killing, alongside the coercive policies led the Manchu people into a lot of conflict with the Han majority. As the Qing armies continued to march south many Han rose up in defiance still. The Qing had a powerful and skillful military, but even they could not hope to control all of China with just military force. Emperor Hongguang was not going to be the last guy to proclaim himself an emperor and try to rally the Ming to his cause, not by a long shot.   In July of 1645 Prince Lu established a power base in Shaoxing and even proclaimed himself a regent. From there he created his own regime that soon held control over Shoxing, Ningbo, Wenzhou and Taizhou. With the support of the local populace and taking advantage of the rough terrain of the Qiantang River, his forces led by Fang Guo'an and Wang Zhiren fought the Qing off. However they were merely defending their territory, not seeking to confront the Qing army.  So  unfortunately for Prince Lu, before he could even toss around any reign title or proclaim a new Dynasty, the Qing showed up to the gates of Shaoxing and he had to surrender.    Much like the warlords, Prince Lu was too busy actively fighting against imperial family members such as the Prince of Tang, Zhu Yujian. When the Qing captured Nanjing, Zhu Yujian had fled to Hangzhou and at the behest of many of his officials ascended to the Ming throne in Fuzhou proclaiming himself Emperor Longwu meaning “plentiful and martial”. Now neither Prince Lu nor Emperor Longwu were even aware of another at first, it just so happens they figured out their situation when Emperor Longwu had sent regency letters to Shaoxing. Upon hearing of the regency of Prince Lu, Emperor Longwu demanded he step down, but the court of Prince Lu demanded he stand up to the challenge. Now neither side actually sent armies to fight another, instead they simply bickered about who needed to step down. Regardless this meant they were not cooperating or coordinating with another and who benefits from that, the Qing ofcourse. Bickering against Emperor Longwu deeply impacted Prince Lu's forces capability at defending against the Qing and alongside this in July of 1646 because of a drought the Qiantang river became shallow allowing the Qing army to simply cross it and march on Shaoxing. The army of Fang Guo'an fled at the mere sight of the Qing and soon everything fell into chaos. Fang Guo'an and his forces surrendered to the Qing and Prince Lu tried to flee for his life, but the Qing literally got to his gates by that point. The quasi regime if you can call it that had not even existed for a year before its collapse.    Meanwhile Emperor Longwu held control over Jianning, Tianxing, Yanping, Xinghua, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, Shaowu and Tingzhou. This was the region of Fujian and luckily for the new regime, its geographical position was on the margin of the Qing's empire, cut off from the heartland by several mountain ranges. His military sent 100,000 troops to defender the towns with another 100,000 set to suppress the enemy. Unfortunately for Emperor Longwu the military was not fully under his control. A large part of his military forces were loyal to the powerful warlord named Zheng Zhilong. Zheng also went by the name Yiguan, he used to be a pirate leader and was offered amnesty by the Ming dynasty. He had been a governor and military officer possessing up to 30000 troops while controlling significant maritime trade. Merchant ships coming and going from Japan and SouthEast Asia had to obtain his permission and pay taxes to him. This had made him the formidable warlord of Fujian by the time the Qing were spreading through China. The reason he chose to support the Longwu regime was because he wanted to take this opportunity to gain political influence and expand his own power further inland. So needless to say, Zheng Zhilong was not the most devout Ming loyalist. The Longwu emperor would have another ace up his sleeve, though like Zhen Zhilong not a very trustworthy one. A group known as the Loyal and True Brigades emerged. They were former Dashun leaders who had wandered leaderless after Li Zicheng died. They ran into the army of He Tengjiao who instead of simply smashing them, shared wine with the bandit leaders and asked them to join the Ming loyalists. They agreed to do so under his banner, greatly increasing his numbers, up to an estimated 200,000. He Tengjiao was showered with titles and gifts from Emperor Longwu for bringing so many to the cause, but as you can imagine taking in bandit leaders would have dire side effects. In reality, these bandit leaders and their armies were not really submitting under the Ming, nor were any really that loyal. It was just a means to an end, an allegiance and many of these bandit armies would simply go on to become bandits again. The precedent however was set, the South Ming Regime would continuously employ former bandit leaders, even installing some with titles which would hurt them further down the road.    While so many Ming loyalist armies fought the Qing armies on the border territory of Fujian and other areas, Zheng Zhilong made sure to hold back near the coast, despite having the most formidable force with abundant provisions. When the Qing armies approached Zhejiang and Fujian, Zheng Zhilong thought the Longwu regime could do him no more good. In order to maintain his power in Fujian and keep his tremendous wealth he decided to simply defect to the Qing. On top of this, something that is said all too often but gets disregarded occurred. Terrible weather led to terrible harvests which lead to starvation affected the troops and civilians alike.   Still in places like western Huguang the Loyal and True were unleashed upon the Qing invaders and they won several battles. But when the Qing crossed the Xianxia Mountains, Zheng Zhilong withdrew all his forces. The Qing army marched straight through the area encountering no defense and entered Fuzhou with ease. The civil and military officials of the Longwu regime fled for their lives or surrendered, no one really put up a fight. Zheng Zhilong shaved his hair for the Manchu queue and surrendered. He was sent to Beijing. A foreign missionary who witnessed the collapse of the Longwu regime stated “Emperor Longwu acted as if he was a cowardly sheep and fled with his mighty army. The word mighty here referred to the large number of the callous people. But his escape could not save his life. When the swift Qing army caught up with him, they shot these stupid sheep with arrows”. Longwu had no children and had adopted Zheng Zhilong's son Zheng Chenggong and when Zheng Zhilong surrendered and left for Beijing, this left his army to be inherited by Zheng Chenggong and his uncle. Zheng Chenggong goes by another name in the west, Koxinga and will play a crucial role in this story later.   In December of 1646 the little brother of Emperor Longwu, the new Prince of Tang, Zhu Yuyue, proclaimed himself Emperor in Guangzhou, his title of reign was Shaowu. When the Qing forces captured Fuzhou and killed the Longwu Emperor, Zhu Yuyue had fled to Guangzhou and several high officials pressured him to take the throne. Unfortunately for him just a few days later the Prince of Yongming, Zhu Youlang also proclaimed himself emperor at Zhaoqing taking the title of Yongli which means perpetual calendar. Zhu Youlang was the grandson of Wanli and held a stronger claim to the throne than Zhu Yuyue. The Ming provincial governor of Guangxi, Qu Shisi who had served under both Hongguang and Longwu, championed Zhu Youlang early on claiming he had “dragon countenance” and a great character for rule.  Yet,according to some surviving sources, Zhu Youlang was said to be quite weak of body and spirit, and even his own mother urged against his enthronement “My son is soft and benevolent and lacks the talent to bring order to chaos. I wish you could choose someone else” ouch, Jeb Bush much? But as usually occurs, bloodlines won out over merit.   Now of all the Ming Princes to take up the dragon throne, Yongli's tenure would be the longest during this period. Yet it was also characterized by the same problems as the rest, rampant factionalism, indecisive leadership and an overreliance upon warlord military figures whose interests would more often than naught trump over his own. One of Emperor Yongli's first actions was to put He Tengjiao in charge of military affairs hoping he could rein in the Loyal and True who were not full on looting the hell out of the country side, bandits will be bandits afterall. Emperor Yongli then went a step further and began instilling titles upon the former bandit leaders, most likely fearing if he did not persuade them to his side they would join Emperor Shaowu or the Qing. This precedent would further hurt his reign down the road.   As you can imagine both new regimes began claiming to be the legitimate successor to the South Ming Dynasty as a whole and inevitably fell into war with another. They would be so consumed by this that neither regime would do much of anything to thwart the Qing invaders. Well as the war between the 2 emperors raged, in only 40 days of proclamation, Shaowu's forces were completely smashed at Guangzhou by the Qing and Emperor Shaowu was captured in January and committed suicide. Thus to start off his new regime, just a month or so after taking the throne Emperor Yongli would flee, not a good start. The Qing who smashed Emperor Shaowu had marched onwards and entered Guangzhou, prompting Emperor Yongli to fear for his life and flee from Zhaoqing going 170 kilometers upriver to Wuzhou. Emperor Yongli was abandoned by many members of his court and I would say rightfully so given his cowardly actions. Would you know it, the Qing army simply kept marching, as one does closer and closer to Wuzhou and guess what Emperor Yongli did, yes he fled again, this time to Guilin and even more court officials abandoned him. It was at Guilin where he made a distant relative, Zhu Rongfan Vice Minister of War and vice censor in chief and supreme commander of Sichuan and Huguang, yes the old practice of tossing a ton of different hats onto a single person. In 1647 Zhu Rongan would soon declare himself regent and cause a ton of chaos in Sichuan.    The Qing having blown right through Guangdong with incredible speed were fast approaching Guilin, prompting, you guessed it, Yongli to flee now to Quanzhou. Many in Yongli's court had reasoned that Quanzhou was an ideal area to have better access to the war efforts of the Loyal and True brigades. But Qu Shishi repeatedly argued they should make a stand at Guilin. ““If you want to defend Yue, you should stay in Yue. If you abandon Yue, then Yue will be imperiled. If we take one step forward, then the people will take one step forward. But if we flee far away in a single day, the people will also flee far in a day. If we run, then we cannot defend [territory]. How can we attract people to our cause?”. Qu Shishi believed they needed a stable base of operations in order to attract troops for more broad based support. He also kept arguing the previous south Ming regimes had all abandoned bases too swiftly and thus undermined their causes. We will come back to this, but now we need to look at another large aspect of the war for unification, the problem of the bandit armies and how suppressing them causes further problems. This is sort of a more micro look at how at the more local levels, certain groups of people would rise up to fight off the Qing invaders.    The Qing army scored a series of victories south of the Yangtze River and the southeast coastal regions. They defeated quite a few South Ming regimes and Dashun and Daxi armies. But with each victory came cities being burned, plundering, murder all contributing to the further suffering of the common people. With so many people suffering came more and more revolts. People south of the Yangtze and southeast coast regions continued to resist the Qing. Peasant revolutionary organizations which had developed even before the Qing were growing exponentially. In august and september of 1646, 20,000 strong peasant armies from Liyan, Jintan and Xinghua began to cooperate with the South Ming regime to besiege Nanjing. This was quite an incredible feat, it was the secondary capital after all. The peasant armies launched several attacks causing quite a lot of anxiety for the Qing rulers, but they never managed to take Nanjing. These anti-qing actions however spread like wildfire to the Taihu area. There under the leadership of Zhang San, a mass of poor farmers, and fishermen began an organized insurrection. They kidnapped the children of rich families, hid them in the mountains and began demanding ransoms which they took to pay for soldiers and provisions. This type of uprising then sprang in the area of Suzhou and Songjiang encouraged more and more people to struggle against the Qing rule. One Taihu peasant army that participated was named the “White Head Army”, because they wore white headcloths. They managed to overthrow Wujiang, attacked Haiyan, Zhejiang and Jiashan gaining considerable fame. But like so many, they were eventually smashed by the Qing armies and their leader Wu Risheng was killed. Still under the overall leadership of Zhang San, farmers and fishermen of Taihu continued to fight and captured Yixing and fought forces in Suzhou and Changzhou. The Qing kept defeating their forces again and again, but more kept springing up and thus the White Head Army became a banner of resistance in the area south of the Yangtze River.   When the imperial edict was given out by the Qing government that everyone should style their hair in the Manchu fashion it was stipulated that in 10 days of the edict that all should comply. The order was basically “keep your hair or your head”. Several anti-qing forces rose up claiming they would rather die than shave their heads and they began a campaign of anti hair shaving. Movements were seen in countless cities, but the anti-shaving movement became most violent in Jiangyin. Jiangyin was a prosperous city with 3 rivers and 5 lakes. It was also the gateway to Suzhou, Songjiang, Zhejiang, Fujian and Nanjing. Yan Yingyuan, a low level Ming official and a historical grapher was appointed as a commander of a rebel army in Jiangyin. Yan organized the army and deployed a pretty effective defense. The Qing sent up to 240,000 soldiers to fight the rebels, but peasants from over 18 miles away were coming to the city to fight and when they did they abandoned their farm work, hurting the overall agriculture production of the area. The peasants were quite disorganized and many times had no idea what they were doing, but they did not give up, and the Qing began to seriously worry about this.  Jiangyin held out against about 10,000 Qing troops for 83 days during a fierce siege. When the city wall was finally breached on 9 October 1645, the Qing army led by the northern Chinese Ming defector Liu Liangzuo, was  ordered to "fill the city with corpses before you sheathe your swords," It is estimated his army massacred a entire population, of  between 74,000 and 100,000 people. Despite the brutality, local people in nearby areas did not stop. The city of Jiading which was southeast of Jiangyin had a large scale anti hair shaving revolt rise up led by Huang Chunyao and Hou Tongzeng. The Jianding people firmly guarded their city from 3 successive Qing attacks. At Songjiang armies led by Chen Zilong and Xia Yunyi began to rebel. Both cities would see similar massacres like Jiangyin. More uprising sprang up in Kunshan, Maoshan, Huizhou and countless other places. The Qing dynasty hated these revolts because the outcome was always going to be the same thing, dead potential subjects, ruined cities and devastated agricultural production.    So as you can see, local level organizations, IE: rebel uprisings were honestly Dynasty breaking mechanisms if they were allowed to continuously grow. Perhaps you as the Qing dynasty, smash a few of these before they get too big, but what happens if one does get too big? As the Qing quelled more and more peasant uprisings and moved further south of the Yangtze river, an old enemy of the Ming was becoming more and more powerful. As a result of Li Zicheng's death, the Qing brutal suppression of peasants and the incompetent disorganized state of the South Ming Dynasty, many peasants fled into the arms of Zhang Xianzhong.    I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me.  Alrighty so we've gotten a taste of the situation right after Beijing fell to the Qing, things did not go so “happily ever after”. Yet the Qing smashed Li Zicheng and quite a few self proclaimed Emperors to the new South Ming Dynasty. The fleeing emperor Yongli was still kicking, but who next could possibly hope to challenge the Qing at this point? One of the arguably most evil men in history could, just you wait.  

Alrighty then, Onward we go. More than halfway through July. So now we find ourselves just over the halfway mark. So much should be showing up for you. This is all very exciting. Stay the course, keep prap-ticing and never give up till the miracle happens. Nikki Podcasts to listen to: How to Listen Yuck and Yum - Week 1 No Make Wrong - Week 2 Don't Give Up Till The Miracle Happens The Willingness To Be Willing Audible books to listen to: Practicing The Power of Now (start with this book. Listen 1 hour a day until you've finished the book) The Power of Now (Listen 1 hour a day until finished) Transcending The Ego (Listen 1 hour a day until finished) Signs (Listen 1 hour a day until finished)

Alrighty then, we're back for another exciting adventure here on the Chaotic Navigator podcast. I am Murphy Ganz, the Alaska Outlaw and today I'd like to respond to a flood of emails we've gotten over the year, while discussing some ideas about who is ultimately responsible for your safety, as well as the safety of your family members.

2 (6s): It's good to be in his house. Amen. Scared to praise his name. 0 (15s): Beautiful. You see? I'll walk through the shine. 0 (2m 45s): Oh my every battle. Nothing can stand against the power of 2 (4m 48s): Thank you, Jesus. For your 1 (4m 49s): Presence. 2 (4m 52s): Bring your worship as you take it as an offering. 0 (6m 23s): Hi, . Hi, and praise you again. 0 (7m 37s): Come on, man. Don't you get shy on me. Lift up yours. Cause you got Come on. Don't you get shy on Crazy. 0 (9m 14s): Nothing else. 4 (16m 8s): Well, we declare this morning that you are good and that you do good Lord. Thank you, Lord, that you returned us to the back to the heart of worship. Lord, I thank you for this morning in Jesus name, we pray. Amen. You may take a seat. Well welcome. My name's Jeremy I'm the youth and family pastor. I'm not Curtis who normally gives announcements. It's exciting to be here giving announcements this morning. So welcome if you're joining us for the first time. We're so glad that you're here. And if you want to find out more information, we have an info center right back there. There's some people there that would love to chop talk with, talk with you as well as you can fill out a communication card, if you want to find out more about harvest church. 4 (16m 54s): So we have that great info center. It's a great spot to go, just to find out more. We are having as well offering. If you want to know how to, how to give to harvest church, we have a few spots you can give online to the app. We have a giving spot right there in the info center, as well as a box in the back of the sanctuary. But those are just a few ways to give next week exciting. We're going to be celebrating our grand opening of, of being in this building. So I know we've been in here a few weeks now, but we want to like let the community know that we're having a grand opening service. So that will be next week, July 10th, both services, both nine and 11 o'clock. And we're going to be after that, we're going to be gathering up on the patio up on the west campus and we're going to be having a barbecue there. 4 (17m 42s): So we're going to have hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, and most importantly cake to celebrate the grand opening. So we still need a few volunteers for that as well. So if you want to help us set up during first service or kind of break down after that, that'd be much, much needed as well as we're still need some potato salad. So if that's your specialty sign up in the back of the info center, so it's a great time info centers, a place to go. You can sign up for different things back there. So info center, as well as you might've noticed, we're, we're, we're changing up when we do communion service. So if you didn't grab the elements for communion, this, this as you're on your way in, you can grab those during the meet and greet time. 4 (18m 24s): So as well as fill out a ways to get involved. So thanks for being here. It's a great time to turn around and say hello to someone and bless those around you. And then after that, w youth will be meeting right now, right over here, and we're going to head up to the other campus. So fifth and sixth grade and up youth will be a meeting and heading up. So God bless you guys. 5 (19m 14s): And break a half day and hopefully rise. We speak German. Name lifts our eyes to now harness into new bead where we walk, they be with sane is blazing out she's will glow forever bride feel glories breaking through then not 6 (20m 53s): Alrighty. Welcome back. Come on back. Happy 4th of July. You guys ready for a big celebration tomorrow? No, just gonna it's just another day. I can't believe it's the 4th of July. Again, we always have like a family gathering and do barbecue and fireworks on the back patio and it seems like we just did it and now we're doing it again. It feels like that's just kinda how the years were on just faster and faster and faster. Like we'll be Christmases like next week, right? I mean, it's like, it will be that quick. Hey, welcome. We're going to be taking a break from our James study today and we're going to be in Deuteronomy chapter six, talking about why we do family Sunday and talking about wholehearted commitment to the Lord and that sort of thing. 6 (21m 39s): But before we do, I want to bring up David Salamanca, David, who has give David a round of applause here. David is the third young person that we've sent out on mission in the last, I don't know, month or so. So Jacob and Eva now, David, David's going to Kona, Hawaii to the, get it out of your system. I know 4 (22m 4s): There's a missions aspect as well. 6 (22m 6s): There is a missions aspect as well. So he's going to be joining the Y wham base on Kona, Hawaii, and being trained and will be there for six months to do some ministry and some work there. So we want to bless him and send him out. We've been talking about his work for the last few weeks and we've had flyers on the back info center. And so if you haven't received a flyer yet, make sure you grab one of those. He's halfway to raising the about $10,000 that he needs to raise, right? 4 (22m 32s): Yeah. So the Lord so far has raised about 5,500, $6,000 tend to get there and I believe he's going to do it cause I leave in three days. Yeah, 6 (22m 42s): Yeah, yeah. This week. So, so we're believing God Gyra. Yeah. So we do this with all of the missionaries that we are sending out. If you would like to participate in support financially, besides prayerfully the work that David will be a part of, you can put a mission check in the box and we'll make sure we get that to him before he gets out of town. And so I just wanted to bless you, David. You've been a part of our youth group members talking theology with you as you, when you were a young man and you've been just busy, just seeking the Lord. And so we want to honor your life and thank you for being responsive to what God is asking you to do. 6 (23m 25s): Thank you for being humble as you move forward. And we just believe that God's going to do continue to do great stuff in you and with you and through you. We believe in you. We believe in what God is doing. So let's lay our hands. I wouldn't use just extend your hand. We're gonna bless this young man, this man of God, Lord, we, we pray for David Salamanca. We pray God that you would watch over him. Lord in Jesus name, thank you that you have been watching over him as he's committed to serve you and to follow you all the days of his life. Lord, we pray that as he takes this next step in his journey, Lord, as he goes off to Kona, Hawaii for six months, training at the wild wham base that we pray that you would teach him what he needs to know academically in his mind, but also what he needs to know in his heart. 6 (24m 12s): Lord God. And I pray that there would be a beautiful marriage of the two, the information, the revelation that the, the, the wisdom that he, that he will glean and that he needs for the life and call upon his life. Lord God. So we just bless him. Lord, we bless him. Pray God that you would provide form abundantly. So richly. So God that he had have everything that he needs in Jesus name, body, soul, and spirit financially and in every way possible. So bless our friend, God, we commit to pray for him as he is gone for these next six months. We bless him. Lord, God. I want to pray for Eva as well. And Jacob who are off doing their own mission stuff currently, Lord, we're so thankful for them, for the ways in which you've called them and the ways in which you are using them, bless them. 6 (25m 2s): We pray. We also want to pray for Shane Shane Koch, who just left to go to Southern California to go to Bible college. Lordy kind of left in our, in a hurry and didn't get a chance to pray him out, but we bless him. Lord God, we pray blessing upon his life as he is pursuing you by training in Bible college for ministry. So Lord, we're so blessed to be able to be wind in the sails of these young people who just want to do what you've called them to do. So bless them, encourage them, keep them all the days of their lives. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Love you. Yes. You want to say something 4 (25m 39s): Just for a little clarification? So it will be two months of training in Kona, Hawaii, and then two months of training actually on the north island of New Zealand. And then the rest two months, it's going to be focused in the Pacific islands, going from island to island, French Polynesia, Malaysia, potentially Samoa, and these different places going and hiking into these villages to minister, to those people, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. So 6 (26m 5s): That's wonderful. Yeah. Good job. Thanks for that clarification. I appreciate that very much. We're praying for you. All right. Love you, man. Yeah, it's just a great reminder for us to be praying for these young people that we're sending out on these short terms missions, but for all of our missionaries who are around the globe doing the kingdom work that God has called them to do, we have the privilege of supporting missions work around parts of the world. And so we're so thankful that God has given us the opportunity to do that early on. When we planted the church 19 years ago, we prayed that God, we pray that God would give us an opportunity to get behind some world mission stuff and to support some people on the ground, doing the work, the kingdom work that they're called to do around the globe. 6 (26m 46s): And so God has graciously given us the opportunity to do that and to be a part of a wonderful stuff. And so we're so super, super thankful that God blesses us with the opportunity to bless others as they go do what God has called them to do. Amen. So don't forget to pray for our missionary short-term and long-term missionaries, and God will just do a wonderful things as we continue to trust him to do so. Amen. Amen. Let's pray. One more time. Lord, as we get into Deuteronomy chapter six, Lord speaks to us, teach us, Lord, show us what we need to hear and understand and to know, and to live out, Lord, God help us to honor you with our lives, body, soul, and spirit, and every part of who we are, God, that you would build us up and teach us and release us into the kingdom work that we're called to you. 6 (27m 32s): Lord God in our families and our vocations in our communities, Lord, with our hobbies and, and all the stuff that we're involved with. Use us mightily. We pray, we need you. We love you in Jesus name. Amen. So last week was family Sunday. And I said, last week that this week we'll be talking about why we do family Sunday. And so today we're talking about why we do family Sunday. Really family Sunday is part of the core of who we are going back to the beginning. And when we planted the church, we, we were hopefully heating and I believe heating what Jesus said, talked about a Matthew 28. Jesus came and told his disciples in Matthew 28, 18 through 20. 6 (28m 13s): He said, I've been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit, teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you and be sure of this. I am with you always, even to the end of the age. And we have this promise in Proverbs 22 6 says direct, direct your children onto the right path. And even when they're older and when they're older, they will not leave it. So what does it mean to direct our children onto the right path while we're going to be looking at the Bible in the old and the new Testament, Deuteronomy chapter six and then Hebrews chapter 10. 6 (28m 58s): I think one of the slides is wrong. It says Hebrews six, but it's actually Hebrews chapter 10 when we get there that you're not confused about that. So Deuteronomy six and then Hebrews chapter 10, give us instruction that if we follow by God's grace, now we know that all people have a freewill young people and old people. So there may be exceptions, but I think if we take serious the call upon our lives to raise up the next generation, we'll talk about what that looks like when we take serious our call to parents and grandparents. Well, the generations that follow, then we will see, we will see young men and young woman's women stay in the church, stay as followers of Lord, Jesus Christ, all the days of their lives and then lead their future generations to do the same thing. 6 (29m 45s): So let's take a look at Deuteronomy chapter six on a title of the message today, a call for whole hearted commitments, a call for wholehearted commitment, because I feel like as a church, this is what we are all about. This is what God's church is meant to be doing all the days of our lives. We're calling people to a whole hearted commitment. And in my Bible under Deuteronomy six, it says a call to wholehearted commitment. So it was a very easy sermon title. Your Bible may say the same thing. So that was the heading on Deuteronomy chapter six. And we decided to make it the title for the message today in Deuteronomy chapter six. And we often use this passage in Deuteronomy chapter six to encourage people when we're dedicating babies to the Lord. 6 (30m 29s): When we do child dedication services, we will actually use parts of Deuteronomy six to encourage, to instruct young people, young parents, how to raise up the next generation. This is what it says, Deuteronomy six one. These are the commands, decrees and regulations that the Lord, your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land. You are about to enter and occupy. So if we go back to chapter five of Deuteronomy, we see that Moses has given the law and we see that the commandments are given on the tablets of stone. And so now he's saying these are the commands decrease in regulations at the Lord. Your God command me to teach you. 6 (31m 9s): You must obey them in the land. You are about to enter an occupy. So the law has been given to them. And he's saying, as you get ready to enter two into the promised land, these, this is the way you are to live your life. So number one, I call for wholehearted commitment. We must teach our young people that commands decrees and regulations of the Lord. We must teach our young people that commands decrees and regulations of the Lord early on in this ministry. Leaders would ask me when leading or attempting to lead ministries within the church, what is your vision for Sunday school? What is your vision for youth ministry? 6 (31m 51s): What is your vision for this group or that group? And my answer would be the same whether for an younger group or an older group, male or female, the answer is always say, let's make disciples. We want to train people, making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit, teaching him everything that God has given us to teach them. So our goal with every age has been to instruct with righteousness and with wisdom. And so the Sunday school teaches Thiel, theological truths to our young people. We're instructing them with the truth of God's word so that they understand how to follow Jesus all the days of their lives in our fifth and sixth grade group, our club five, six Connie, actually teaching apologetics to fifth and sixth graders. 6 (32m 44s): So apologetics is the defense. They're learning how to defend the faith. They're learning how to communicate, what they believe, they're understanding what they believe. And then they're there. They're learning how to communicate that truth to their peers, to the people in their lives. Jeremy is teaching like I do on Sunday morning. He just teaches through books of the Bible. Most recently he taught through Genesis and now through revelation, he's teaching the students in junior high and in high school, both how to study the Bible, but also helping them to understand what the Bible says as he teaches them through the books of the Bible. 6 (33m 26s): And then he's got a core group where he gathers young people who are interested in taking extra steps and learning more. And he's taking them through through theologically sound books that have been written by people who understand truth so that they might grow in their understanding of doctrine in theology so that they might grow in their understanding of who they are and what they're called to do and what God is doing in the earth. And God's purpose for creation in all of the above. And so our effort is to disciple the next generation, to help them with information and revelation so that they might know how to follow Jesus. And so family Sunday is go, goes hand in hand with the purposes of harvest church. 6 (34m 10s): Going back to the beginning, we must do what Jesus directed us to do. We must make disciples. Discipleship is a call to wholehearted commitments from an article titled 70% of teens quit church after high school. Here's why the author posted this first in March of 2018. The article appeared originally on mark five soulless.com and the author writes, this is his, his, what he's discovered as he's interviewed young people who are post high school in college and have left the church and the author writes this isn't a negative bead up on the church post. 6 (34m 58s): I love the church and I want to see American evangelicalism returned to the gospel of repentance and faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sins, not just as something in our, what we believe page on our website, but as the core, the core of what we preach from our pulpits to our children, our youth and our adults, the facts, the statistics are jaw droppingly, horrific 70% of youth stop attending church when they graduate from high school, nearly a decade later, only about half return. 6 (35m 38s): So a great number of young people after high school are walking away and then never coming back. And then about half of those, who've walked away, end up coming back to church. Let's I mean, that's a huge number. So as a church, especially in the 21st century, we have a huge responsibility as parents and grandparents in the 21st century, we have a huge, significant responsibility to make sure that we're training our young people, equipping them to live the life that God has called them to live. There's no easy way to say this, but the American evangelical church has lost, is losing and will almost certainly continue to lose our youth. 6 (36m 21s): One of the reasons, one of the reasons they never really attended church to begin with from, and this is continuing to read that article from a Noah's Ark themed nursery to jumbotrons summer campus kids, church, to pizza parties and rock concerts. Most evangelical youth had been coddled in a, not quite church, but not quite world hot house. They've never sat on a pew between a set of new parents with the fussy baby senior citizen, with an oxygen tank. They never experience the church. And so part of our desire is to help them experience the church. 6 (37m 2s): And so when people show up and they say, Hey, can my kids sit in church with me? The answer is always yes, of course your people can. They don't send this was an option, but they can sit in church with you. We want young people involved in the work of the ministry here at harvest church when they don't, they don't see the full life line of the gospel for every season of life. They're not watching older people or people just ahead of them in, in, in seasons of life, kind of working out their faith and figuring out what it means to be a follower of the Lord. Jesus Christ. If we, if we isolate our kids, they never get a chance to grow up and understand what it means as an adult to follow Jesus. 6 (37m 52s): Instead, we've traditionally dumbed down the message, pumped up the volume and then act surprised when they, when they walk away. Number one, we must teach our young people, the commands, decrees and regulations of the Lord. This is a teaching, both taught and caught. And so I don't think it's one or the other. It's both that we need to teach it. That means we actually need to understand it ourselves and communicate it. We need to speak the truth to our young people so that they begin to understand what it means to be a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ. 6 (38m 34s): But then they need to also see it represented in our lives. If we simply teach it, but don't live it. The teaching will have no power. In fact, they will just see us as hypocrites and they will walk away from the church forever stating that the church is just full of hypocrites. If they only see that we're trying to model Christ and try to live for Christ, but don't give them the information. Then we're only doing half our job. The thing that God has called us to do is to both teach it and model it. It's both taught and it's caught. They hear the truth, and then they see us living out the truth. 6 (39m 16s): And none of us will do that perfectly. I'm just let me raise my hand as the first one to say, none of us will do that perfectly, but it's our opportunity to live the faith life in front of them. And when we do fall short, because we will all fall short wills, we need to go to our young people and say, Hey, that wasn't actually a proper response to that scenario. Would you forgive me as your dad? I misled you or I reacted, would you please forgive me? We need to be giving this information and then living it in the real world before our young people, my grandkids who were all in, you know, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 years old, they, they built a Fort and in their Fort, in the backyard, they put a cross on the wall and they wrote under the cross. 6 (40m 6s): Jesus died for my sins, my holy cow, that does a grandad and a pastor a lot. I mean, I just blesses my soul that they understand at a young age that Jesus died for them, that he died because of their sin because they fell short, Jesus died for them. And they're owning that and understanding that, and they're displaying that on the walls of their forts. So this teaching is both taught and caught. W you know, when I was in junior high school and in high school, growing up in the church, there wasn't actually an opportunity for junior high or senior high youth group, nothing against junior high and senior high, easier about Sunday morning. 6 (40m 55s): I think we're doing a really good job with our junior. So you see your hires, but we didn't have that option. So we just showed up to church with the adults and did everything that the adults were doing. My job was to flip the overhead, remember the overhead projectors. And so I'm kind of dating myself, but you would, you would flip the overhead, you know, the transparent slides, some of the younger kids were like, I have no idea what he's talking about, but, but Mo but most of you know what I'm talking about. So my job was to sit on the front row here and flip the slides on the tray, on the overhead projector. And, and, and then, you know, we were teaching Sunday school. We were a part of public ministry and teaching kids, and we were a part, all kinds of stuff. It was, if there was a work day, we were just at the Workday, whatever was going on, we just joined in the work that the adults were doing. 6 (41m 43s): And I tell you, so we got a chance to rub shoulders with those who were doing the, the work of the Lord. And we got invited into it. Remember we, we had a, when we were building a mature, a new church facility, we are meeting in the theaters over at fair or not fair Oaks, but the theaters that tend seated theater over there are 10 screen theater. And we would set up lights and stereo equipment, all this stuff, sound equipment for church in the theater. So we just involved ourselves in the work of the ministry. It was just natural and normal young people need exposure to adults in the faith. They need to know, and to know how to interact with adults in the faith. 6 (42m 27s): They need to know how to sit through an adult sermon. They need to serve alongside other adults. They need to be treated like young adults and not like uncapable children were making a terrible mistake. If we dumb down the message, the message of the gospel, diluting the truth to somehow make it popular or palatable for our young people, listen, they can handle the truth. And when they get into college, past high school and college, rather than dumbing down the message, the agnostics and the atheists will treat our youth as intelligent and challenge them. 6 (43m 10s): They will challenge their intellect. They will challenge their intellect with, with questions and deep thoughts about who they are. They will be challenged on a deep level to think about their lives and what they believe and why they believe what they believe. And so we need, we absolutely must prepare our young people to defend the faith, to understand why they believe what they believe in. So family Sunday is an opportunity to welcome young people into. And I tell this to all of my department heads, to everybody in leadership at harvest church. I said, we don't have to wait for family Sunday to involve young people. 6 (43m 50s): We should be involving young people in the work of harvest church all of the time. And so we have young people on the worship team on the tech team. We have young people doing all kinds of stuff, and the encouragement is, Hey, you are part of us. You are us. You're not in a different category. You're not less than you're actually called to do what God has called you to do. You're not less of a person, less important. In fact, you're probably more honest. They're more important. I, during first service, before first service, I sat with a couple that I've known for decades. And so going back 40 years, we used to go to church together and they hosted a home group in their home here in a row grand day. 6 (44m 39s): And so my mom and my brother and I used to go to their home group and they would teach Bible studies to us when we were in their home group. And so fast forward, 40 years now, they attend this church and they have for a while and I get to shepherd them and pastor them and teach them. But it all began 40 plus years ago. And I'm sitting under their leadership, understanding what it means to serve God, by opening up your home, teaching people, helping them to understand who they are in Christ Jesus. So they might live a life that glorifies him. And so there's this process whereby we have the responsibility as, as adults to usher in our young people, to love our young people in such a way that they, we give away opportunity. 6 (45m 28s): I remember preaching my first sermon. I was 17 or 18 years old, and I got invited to preach my first sermon. Why? Because I had shown interest. I'd been involved in the church for a long time. And so that the pastors and elders said, Hey, let's give them a chance to, to preach. And I did a terrible job. I am sure of that, but that wasn't, that's not the point. The point is that I was given opportunity. And out of that opportunity, things began, the ball began to get rolling. And if the door was always closed to me, who knows what my life would have turned out to be like, maybe I would have never pursued the gospel, but we have an opportunity to open the doors for young people and for people of all ages, but especially young people, we need to be loving them in such a way. 6 (46m 15s): And honoring them in such a way that we give them opportunity. We open up the doors for them. So they might do the work of the ministry. So again, in college, rather than dumbing down the message, the agnostics and atheists treat our youth as intelligent. Why? Because they are intelligent and challenge their intellect with deep thoughts of questions and doubt. Many of these questions and doubts that our young people will be faced with have been answered. They've been answered in great depth over the centuries of our faith. As people that have gone before us have wrestled with the same questions, they've answered those questions. 6 (47m 1s): They found the truth, and we get to help our young people with that information. However, if we're not careful, if we're not careful, we will send our young people into the world. Ill-equipped to live as believers in Jesus Christ, ill equipped without information, without, without understanding, without a solid foundation of revelation of the word of God and understanding of the truth of God's word will, we will send them out totally ill-equipped to do what God has called us to do. And let's be honest. Most of our churches are sending youth into the world, embarrassing embarrassingly, ignorant of our faith. I mean, how could we, not most churches are not teaching young people what we believe and why we believe what we believe. 6 (47m 46s): Just not happening. Mostly as one writer put it, we've jettison, catechesis, sold them on deeds, not creeds and encouraged them to start the quest to find God's plan for their life. And so our faith in this culture becomes all about us. What does God want to do to bless me to take care of me, to use me becomes very inward and self centered. We lose sight of the great commission, the great commandment and historical truth of the gospel that we've been. That's been handed down to us. 6 (48m 27s): He goes on, yes. I know your church has a what we believe page, but is that actually being taught and reinforced from the pulpit? He said, I've met evangelical church leaders, pastors who didn't know the difference between justification and sanctification leaders in the church. You don't know the difference between justification and sanctification. He said, I met mega church board members who didn't understand the atonement. It's a sad commentary on the church today. But when we choose leaders based upon their ability to draw and lead, rather than to accurately teach the faith, well, then we w we don't teach the faith surprise. 6 (49m 13s): And instead of the Orthodox Storic faith, we give our young people, hand me downs. We give them, I don't know about you, but when I received hammy down, I'm like, eh, not great, right? Not great. We've tried our best. We tried our best to pass along the internal subjective faith that we feel. And we really, really, really want them to feel it too. But you can't hand down this type of subjective faith with nothing solid to hang their faith upon and with no historic creed, to tie them to centuries of history, without the physical elements of the bread, wine, and water, their faith is in their subjective feelings. 6 (50m 4s): And when faced with other ways to feel uplifted in college, the church loses out to things with much greater appeal to our human nature, and they find it. Our kids are finding it all kinds of sinful. Debauchery is the result. So this is part of the reason that 70% of our young people leave the church after high school and most never return. We've not given them the instruction found in Deuteronomy six and in the rest of the pages of scripture. So we're going to be looking at Deuteronomy six old Testament, Hebrews 10 new Testament. We're going to see that the message is consistent from the old to the new Testament, that God has a plan for his people. 6 (50m 48s): He's got a purpose for his people, and we need to understand what that is in order to properly live it out. And so in Deuteronomy six two, it says this and you and your children and your grandchildren must fear the Lord, your God. As long as you live, if you obey all his decrees in combat and command, you will enjoy a long life. And so we're being instructed by God, through Moses, we're being instructed and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord. There's a dearth of fear within the church. We don't have a fear of the Lord, a proper fear of the Lord. For the most part, we, we are flippant about God and we pick and choose what we will believe about God as we read the scripture and we will move forward hearted in our walk with God. 6 (51m 34s): If we are not intentional, listen closely. Verse three says, Israel, be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you. And you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors promised you. So this is when it's timeless and transferable truth that God spoke to Moses and to the people of Israel, it's timeless in transferable truth. That God is speaking to us, communicating to us so that we might know what it means to follow him. Verse four, listen, oh, Israel. The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. So there's a declaration that we serve. 6 (52m 15s): One, God, we're not going to be impacted by the gods of the nations around us. We're not going to be drawn away by other things, because it is the Lord who is our God and the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord, your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength. So that the picture is, Hey, we're we're to love God with every part of us, every bit of us, body, soul, and spirit. Every part of us, we are to love the Lord. This is the call that God has placed upon our lives. That we might love him. Whole heartedly, then all will go well with you. And you will have many children. 6 (52m 55s): You all, many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors promised you that there is a truth that is being communicated. There's blessing that is available to us. If we will obey what God is asking us to do, verse four, again, listen to is your, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord, your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to commands that I'm giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. So the, the statement means that we must constantly communicate this truth to our young people. 6 (53m 37s): It's not one and done. It's not, Hey, I've given them truth. And so I've done my job. We are to continually reinforce communicating truth to them, repeating it to them again and again. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road and when you're going to bed. And when you're getting up, like all of the time, make this a part of your conversation with your kids, tie them to your hands and wear them on your foreheads. As reminders, write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Then verse 10, the Lord, your God will soon bring you into the land. He swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6 (54m 17s): So now we're seeing this storage will evidence that this is not just this generation or going back a few years or even a hundred. This is going back thousands of years, speaking about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, our forefathers, the fathers of the faith who heard the message and by faith moved it forward to us in Jesus name, verse 10 again, then the Lord, your God will, will soon bring you into the land. He swore to give you when he made a vowel to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it is the land with large prosperous cities that you did not build. We live in a culture where Christians want God's blessings without the hassle and the work of obedience, discipline and sanctification. 6 (55m 8s): Listen, hear me. God definitely wants to bless his people. It's in his heart to bless his people. You can see in the scripture that God desires to bless his people, but it's contingent upon obedience, faithfulness, righteousness. It's contingent upon some things that God is calling us to. God definitely wants to bless his children. We see in verse 11, the houses, speaking of this, this new land that he's taking them into the land of Canaan, the houses will be richly stocked with goods. You did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns. You did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and all of trees. You did not plant. 6 (55m 49s): When you have eaten your fill in this land. Again, God wants to bless his children. He's a good father, but he's not a, he's not a flimsy God. Sometimes we think he's just kind of flimsy and easygoing. He's not a flimsy God winking at sin and lowering his standard of holiness. He is the righteous and perfect God who has called us to live our lives above reproach. And we do that by his grace and in his power. I say this all of the time that everything that God has called us to do in scripture, and he's calling us to do a lot in the scripture. We are called to do it, and we're able to do it by his grace and in his power. 6 (56m 31s): As we yield to the power of God, allow ourselves be filled with the holy spirit of God, allowing the word to direct our steps. We will be able to do what God has called us to do. So it sounds overwhelming as we look through all of these expectations in scripture. But as I was praying a few days ago, I was had a lot on my mind. And I'm just thinking about all this stuff that needs to get done. And I felt like the Lord said, just do three things. Number one, keep your eyes on me. Ah, I can do that. Alright. I can do that. What does that mean? I think it means just to like keep my eyes on Jesus. I think that's what it means, because what we tend to do is we tend to get our eyes on all of the problems. 6 (57m 11s): Like all of the challenges, all of the issues in life, whether we're sick, we're going through hard times, relationally or whatever it may be. We're looking at all of these things. And God just said, he just look at me like I'm your source and your resource. Number one, keep your eyes on me. Number two, don't be fearful. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind. And often we're compromising or making bad choices and bad judgment because we're fearful. We're fearful of all kinds of things in the world. The world is a fearful place right now. And so he said, just don't be fearful. And then he said, don't worry about tomorrow. 6 (57m 53s): Today's worries are enough for the day. We can be all kinds of fearful about tomorrow, about what's coming tomorrow. Like, I don't know how to handle what's happening tomorrow. Listen, none of us know how to handle what's happening tomorrow because none of us know what's happening tomorrow. And so we just worry about today. Today's worries are enough of the day. So we keep our eyes on Jesus. We don't allow ourselves to get fearful. We just take the day and trust God. So as you get up in the morning, say, God, there's a lot that I want to see happen with my family. There's a lot that I want to see happen with my kids and my grandkids and the future generations. There's a lot that I know that you want to do with me. And in me and through me, you can say like me, it's just overwhelming Lord to think about all of those things. 6 (58m 40s): But I know is that I keep my eyes on you as I look to you and not to all of the challenges in life. And as I refuse to be filled with fear, but instead be filled with faith and confidence in ULA God, then, then I can take today's worries. I can take those on because you're going to meet the grace to do so. And I'm not going to worry about tomorrow. When I wake up in the morning, we'll start the process all over again. So the scripture is full of challenging things for us to be doing. God promises that he will give us the grace to do it. As we just keep our eyes on him, refuse the fear that so easily wants to well up us. 6 (59m 22s): And then just take it a day at a time by his power. And because of his grace, we will be able to do what Deuteronomy six says back to Deuteronomy six verse 12. It says, be careful not to forget the Lord who rescued you from the slavery, from slavery in the land of Egypt. You must fear the Lord, your God and serve him. When you take an oath, you must use only his name. You must not worship any of the God of the gods of the neighboring nations. And so there's a temptation around us all the time to be drawn away by the world, the temptations of the world, the distractions of the world. There are pseudo gods, fake gods all around us. 6 (1h 0m 4s): And God's saying, Hey, keep your eyes on me, serve me. And only me for the Lord, your God who lives among you is a jealous God. His anger will flare up against you and he will wipe you from the face of the earth. So you read through the Kings and Chronicles. You read the stories about the Kings of Israel and the Kings of Judah. Most of the Kings were evil. Some were good. And you see the destruction of the people of Israel down throughout history. 6 (1h 0m 45s): Because most of the time their leadership was bad and they fell into exactly what the scriptures tell us not to fall into God's heart is to bless his people. But if we fall into sin depravity and, and become worldly, like the rest of the people around us, then we will not receive the blessings that God has for us. Number one, we must teach our young people, the commands, decrees, and regulations of the Lord. And number two, our young people must understand the full character of God. Our young people must understand the full character of God. God is love. We can all agree. Part of God's character is that he is love God. 6 (1h 1m 25s): So loved the world for God. So loved the world that he gave. His only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. So God is love. God is good. And God is merciful. All of us are here because God is good and merciful, but God is also holy. And we needed Jesus to die on the cross because we are unholy born in sin centers by birth and by choice, we are separated. But because of our unrighteousness, we are separated from the most righteous of all the Lord, Jesus Christ. He is holy and got us to be worshiped. And God is to be feared. In fact, in Hebrews 10, that says it's a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living. 6 (1h 2m 6s): God, it's a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living. God. Now let's read the context of what the writer is talking about in Hebrews chapter 10, as we get into Hebrews chapter 10 verses 26 through 31, it says, dear friends, if we continue sending after we've received knowledge of the truth, there there's no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. And I unpack that verse when we taught through Hebrews 10. So you can go back and re look at the archives of that message and find out what that actually means. There's only the terrible expectation of God's judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies for anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 6 (1h 2m 50s): Just think, just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the son of God and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy as if it were common and unholy and have insulted and disdained. The holy spirit who brings God's mercy to us for, we know the one who said, I will take revenge. I will pay them back. He also said the Lord will judge his own people. And then we read in verse 31. It's a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living. God. So we need to understand all of God's character, the wonderful stuff. 6 (1h 3m 31s): That's easy for us to hear, but also the difficult stuff that challenges us to live our lives, to deliver our lives above reproach, to be holy, even as Christ is holy to live in such a way that we're honoring God all the days of our lives. How do we do that? Well, we just simply get up every morning and say, God, this is my desire. I'm going to keep my eyes on you. I'm not going to be fearful. I'm just going to take the challenges of th of the day, trust you with them and move forward. As a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ, Deuteronomy six 16. You must not test the Lord. Your God, as you did, when you complained at Massah, you must diligently obey the commands of the Lord, your God, all the laws and decrees he has given you do what is right and good in the Lord's sight. 6 (1h 4m 20s): So all will go well with you. Did you hear that? Do what is right and good in the Lord's sight so that all will go well with you. Then you will ensure an occupy, the good land that the Lord swore to give your ancestors. You will drive out all the enemies, living in the land, just as the Lord said, you would in the future, your children will ask what is the meaning of these laws and decrees and regulations that the Lord, our God has commanded us to obey? What does it mean? All of this stuff? Number one, we must teach our young people to commands decrees and regulations of the Lord. Number two to our young people must understand the full character of God. 6 (1h 5m 0s): Number three, our young people must know the backstory and the blessings about our faith. Our young people must know the backstory and the blessings of our faith verse 21. Then you will, then you must tell them we were slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand. And so you have the opportunity to share your story with your children so that they don't think mom and dad have always been Christians, but they see that there's a backstory where once they were lost and now they are found. So when it's age appropriate for your young people, you can begin to tell them your backstory. 6 (1h 5m 45s): I waited for a years before sharing my whole backstory with my young people, because it wasn't age appropriate. They, they couldn't process what life used to be like before Christ. They just couldn't understand it. But as they've gotten older, now they can, they've lived some life. And so now they can process the information. So when it's age appropriate, they begin to see the depth of our lives. We haven't always been followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ, but God brought us through a process where once we were lost and now we were found. And so in this story, we can look at Egypt as a picture of the world. What has God done to deliver us out of Egypt? Verse 22, the Lord did miraculous signs and wonders before our eyes dealing terrifying, blows against Egypt and Pharaoh and all these people. 6 (1h 6m 31s): So imagine you're a young Jewish boy or girl, and you're hearing your parents recite the story that God delivered them out of the slavery and the bondage that they endured in Egypt. And they get to see the power of God that delivered them and set them free. He brought us out of Egypt so he could give us this land. So he bled, he brought us out of slavery so he can bless us with abundance. He brought us out of Egypt, so he could give us this land. He had sworn to give our ancestors in the Lord. Our God commanded us to a bay, all these decrees, and to hear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives as he has done to this day. And so we get to tell them stories about how God has been faithful to preserve us and to take care of us and to bless us every step of the way for we will be counted as righteous. 6 (1h 7m 21s): When we obey all the commands, the Lord, our God has given us. So if we're not intentional about these things, we will fall into the cultural norms. The cultural norms are not a good thing to fall into the evangelical church. Isn't catechizing or teaching our kids. The fundamentals, the fundamentals of the faith were simply encouraging him to be nice and love Jesus. We're not giving them really anything to live their lives by be nice and love Jesus. That's the depth of it. It was, we jettisoned abandoned the gospel. Our students are never hit with the full impact of the law, their sin before God and their desperate need for the atoning work of Christ. 6 (1h 8m 4s): And so we've traded a historic objective faithful gospel based on God's graciousness toward us for a modern, subjective, pragmatic gospel based on based and focused upon achieving our goal by following life strategy. So rather than being faithful to the foolish simplicity of the gospel of the cross, we've set our goal on being successful, ending growing crowds, our kids have become well. They become lost in the world. They're confused about who they are confused about what they believe and when challenged by others, they don't have answers. 6 (1h 8m 46s): Our job is to make sure that they have answers. One of our pastors, one of our associate pastors was interviewing this young lady who at 21 years of age, she had lived her whole life in church, not here at harvest, but other evangelical churches in the world, in the community. And so he said, Hey, tell me your story. What's your faith journey been like? What, what do you believe about God? And she just kind of rambled on with miscellaneous information about God saying, well, God loves me. And I'm basically good person. So I'm okay. 6 (1h 9m 27s): 21 years in the church. And she's giving random thoughts about God concerning her faith. As someone who spent 21 years in the faith. There's, there's no foundation of understanding. There's no understanding of who she is and what God has done to make salvation available to her. I know that God loves me and I'm basically a good person, was her answer to her faith journey. After 21 years, we know that we are saved by grace through faith. We know that we are all sinners by birth and by choice. 6 (1h 10m 11s): And so we're actually not welcomed to the, into the kingdom of God because of our goodness. We know that all have sinned and fall short of the glorious standard of God and that by God's grace and his grace alone, that we are entered into that we were able to enter into the plans and purposes that God has for us. We, we got to do better, I guess is the point. We gotta do better to prepare our young people, to know God and to know why they believe what they believe. This happens in community is young people rub shoulders with the whole cross section of the body of Christ. Young people need to be served this way. And young people also need to learn to serve this way. 6 (1h 10m 51s): And so if they're growing up in this and they're understanding through their experience, both being taught and caught what it means to be a disciple, a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ will be easy to replicate that as they grow up, they will be able to do what has been done with them. This is essentially what Jesus did with the 12. He discipled them so that they could disciple others. And that's, what's been going on for 2000 years. Jesus called his 12, the 12 disciples, the others, and it's just blown up. And for 2000 years, people have been following Jesus man called the Jesus. 6 (1h 11m 32s): You're here today because someone called you to serve Jesus. Someone gave you the opportunity to hear the gospel message and you made a decision to follow Jesus. Jesus made a call to whole hearted commitments. He said, come follow me. And I will make you fishers of men. Bible says in John three, three, that unless we're born again, we won't see the kingdom of heaven. We must be born again. We were given a new life called into new life as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. We're going to commemorates what made all of this possible as we take communion here in just a moment. 6 (1h 12m 12s): So I'd like to invite the worship team up just as quick review a call for wholehearted commitment. Number one, we must teach our young people, the commands, decrees and regulations of the Lord. Number two, our young people must understand the full character of God. And number three, our young people must know the backstory and the blessings of our faith. And so, as we are seated here, my hope is that everybody has communion elements. If you do not have communion elements go and raise your hand and we'll make sure we get you some communion elements. I actually need some. So use it for service. Thank you so much. You're amazing. 6 (1h 12m 54s): So we have a song. It's a communion song that we're actually going to meditate on as we get ready to take communion. And then afterwards, Hey Kathy. Right up here. She likes it. When I call her Kathy, it's actually my mom. So mom, right up here, here we go. All right. So Lauren, as we get ready to take communion, as we think about this song, as we ponder this truth, Lord God, I pray that we would have a fresh understanding of what we're about to do, worshiping you as we remember what you did to accomplish our salvation and to adopt us into your family and to usher us into kingdom, the kingdom of God. 6 (1h 13m 34s): So thank you Lord, for who you are. As we sing this song, be glorified. We ask. Amen. 6 (1h 18m 54s): Thank you, Lord. That on days like today and every day that we choose to Lord, we are able to be refreshed in the truth of this act of worship called communion. We read from first Corinthians 1123, and Paul said for, I pass on to you, what I received from the Lord himself on the night, when he was betrayed the Lord, Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, this is my body, which is given for you do this to remember me. So before we take the bread, Lord, we just, we remember you and we thank you for the sacrifice that was offered on the cross some 2000 years ago. 6 (1h 19m 42s): And before we take the elements. God, we want to take it properly Lord. So we, we want to make sure that we've confessed our sin, that we've decided to again, today to follow you, to recognize your Lordship in your leadership in our lives. So if you're here today and you're not ready to do, just let this opportunity pass, use this as an opportunity for people who remember and recognize the significance and the power of the cross. And so we take communion to honor the Lord. And so with that, let's take the bread. 6 (1h 20m 39s): In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper saying this cup is the new covenant between God and his people in agreement confirmed with my blood, do this to remember me, as often as you drink. And for every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord's death until he comes again. So anyone who eats this bread or drinks, this cup of the Lord is an unworthy is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. This is why you should examine yourselves before eating the bread and drinking the cup. So Lord having examined ourselves, we've taken the bread and now we take the juice remembering what you did for us. 6 (1h 21m 24s): Thank you, Lauren. Thank you Lord. For the opportunity to worship you, to remember you, to take the opportunity to examine our lives before you, God, we dedicate our lives to you to follow you, to serve you all the days of our lives Lord. So day by day, as we look to you, as we refuse to be fearful. And as we take one day at a time, knowing that today's worries are enough for the day, we need not worry about tomorrow because you are God of tomorrow. 6 (1h 22m 4s): And so Lord, we trust you. We worship you. We thank you for this time. Let's go ahead and stand up. We're going to sing some more as we head out and as we wrap up the service. So Lord, thank you for this time. 0 (1h 22m 18s): How can he, the, there is a table for all who would come for all who sees now and see there is a table for all who wait for all, who would say 7 (1h 24m 43s): Raising or you see Ronan Nevin trailer that you'd be seated on the throne of our lives. Thank you for the privilege that we have and the freedom we have to gather as a family, worship you as a family of believers, take that for granted, go with us. As we celebrate the fourth tomorrow with our friends and families, fill us with your spirit. Lord. We love you. He's a state.

Alrighty then, we're back for another exciting adventure here on the Chaotic Navigator podcast. I am Murphy Ganz, the Alaska Outlaw and today I would like to speak to those who have just figured out they need to be prepared, but may be confused as to how to start. Today, I'd like to take a minute to discuss some basic necessities, some of them are FREE!! That's right boys and girls, I said free!

Alrighty then, we're back for another exciting adventure here on the Chaotic Navigator podcast. I am Murphy Ganz, the Alaska Outlaw and today I would like to talk about knowing your neighbors. Just like we've witnessed internationally, alliances bind people together in times of troubles, which is why it should be a critical component to your prep to get to know your neighbors. Like we are currently seeing in Eastern Europe, Poland is a part of an alliance that will engage many different countries if it's drawn into the war against Ukraine.

Alrighty then, we're back for another exciting adventure here on the Chaotic Navigator podcast. I am the Alaska Outlaw and today I would like to discuss about the fifth and final in a series of our “fab five” by discussing the protective equipment. While some of it we already covered in the temperature control, back in episode two, this week I want to do a deeper dive on avoiding unnecessary risks.

2 (3s): This morning. So I'm 100 says come before his cousins 1 (13s): With joyful. 2 (14s): He said this morning, 1 (15s): the passion. the cross at these? No, 3 (4m 29s): All right. Welcome. Welcome everybody. My name is Curtis. If we haven't met before, it's great to see you. I've got a couple of announcements, but before we do that, you can sit down and give somebody a high five while you're doing it. And also give the other person a fist bump and whatever else you can think of greet each other. All right. Awesome. As you can see, we've got these awesome kids lined up behind me. We've got a kids choir coming up right after announcements. So that's going to be super fun. Yeah. So if you're unfamiliar with this space, we've got restrooms behind this wall and then there's handicapped restrooms downstairs, more restrooms upstairs. 3 (5m 9s): We've got water back there as well. Water fountains and battlefield stations we have out on the courtyard. We have coffee and next week we've got graduation Sunday. So if you have kids that are sixth grade, eighth grade or 12th grade, we're going to be honoring them next week during the 11 o'clock service, it's going to be super fun. So we're excited to do that. So make sure you bring them here during the 11 o'clock service, and we're going to have a little thing for them. So it's going to be great as well. Just, just FYI for everybody. We're working on the chapel venue had some technical issues, first service. So we're not opening it, this service, but hopefully next week we'll have that all up and running and operating well. 3 (5m 53s): So with that, let's put our hands together for the kids. 2 (11m 41s): Awesome. Job choir. Let's give them another round of applause. Awesome. Church. Will you stand with us as we continue to worship this morning? 8 (12m 40s): How I love to breathe. it is God in mercy fields, the street to look upon the one who pled to save me, walk with . 1 (13m 10s): Yeah, we'll be heard today. When all little bow before him will be when death will be no more standing face to face with he who died and holy, holy And DeVry when he reads to why there will be Dawn that day we join the rest and Sam beside hear Rosa, the thing with one boys, a thousand shit seeing worthy is the lamb who was I just want to speak the name of cheese over every hot. 1 (17m 36s): Yes, I know there is please within your pres hi speak. Geez. Hey, just want to speak the name of Jesus. That'd be dark. Diction starts to Bray declaring. There is hope and there is freedom. I see. Jeez, your name is Shout Jesus from the mountain Jesus in the street. 1 (20m 5s): Jesus saying doc. So me. Jesus for my family. Hot speak, the whole name 10 (21m 47s): Lauren. It's great to celebrate your name, the name by which people are saved and sanctified, healed, and delivered and set free. God. It's your name? That is powerful and full of healing and grace and kindness. Lord God, it's your name? That challenges us to live differently and to live according to your plans and purposes, it's your name that gives us the power. It's your spirit that gives us the power to your grace. That gives us the power to do what you've called us to do to live the way that you've called us to live and to be who you've called us to be. So Lord God, we just continue to invite you. 10 (22m 28s): We invite you into this place, Lord, all over this campus, God is people are gathered online and watching and just in different venues around this place. Lord, we just invite you to download your grace and your truth and your power. God, for those of us who sing about it, but don't really fully grasp it. Lord, I pray that we would get it out on a whole new level. Lord for power, for deliverance, for freedom over addictions, Lord for a new faith for our marriages and for the people in our lives, Lord God, we want to have renewed faith and confidence that you're able to save and sanctify our kids and our grandkids and every future generation that we know, Lord God, that you would do a wonderful and mighty work. 10 (23m 10s): God, not just here at harvest, but in every church on the central coast, that lifts up the name of Jesus. God that we be United in one pursuing you, Jesus, going into all the world, making disciples Lord, that we would make disciples that we would, that we'd be discipled Lord. That would become the people that you've called us to be. So Lord that, I just know that we want to reflect you and honor you with our lives. So, so Lord, as we gather on a Sunday morning for corporate worship and to be equipped to go back into the streets and into the lives that you've called this into God empower us, equip us, give us what we need. Strength, hope, confidence, vision, and purpose. We pray. Thank you for who you are. 10 (23m 51s): We love you. We bless you Lord in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Attorney greet your neighbor. We will come back in just a moment. 11 (24m 5s): Jesus 10 (25m 23s): Alrighty, come on back. Grab a chair, grab a chair. How many it's your first time in this new venue here today. First time in the new venue today, I'm still getting used to it. Now, here we go. I'm still getting used to it. I'm so grateful. You know, for service, we're able to look out and see people that used to be kind of scattered in different venues. And now we get to look at a second service the same. It's just delightful to see your faces in person. And I'm so grateful for what God has given to us here. We're so, so excited about that. Hey, we're going to take a moment and pray for Eva. Is Eva here today? Eva Kessler. Come on up. 10 (26m 3s): Yeah. So Eva has been, how long have you been at this church? 8 (26m 10s): As long as I can 10 (26m 10s): Remember, as long as you can remember. So I remember when you came in our, so you're 21 now almost 21. So you were about to, I think when you showed up. Yeah. So you were about right here, right here. Yeah. And when you and Nolan and your parents showed up, it was just, just such a blessing. And so we've had a chance to watch you grow up. You're getting, you just graduated from quest to college. Congratulations. And now for summer missions. Yeah. Give her a damn that's awesome. And for summer missions, Eva's dedicating the next two months of her life to go to south lake Tahoe. 12 (26m 44s): I 10 (26m 45s): Know it's hard. It's a hard sell, right? Like support me. I'm going to south lake Tahoe to do the Lord's work. Right. It's a hard sell David is another guy that's going out about a month and he's going to Hawaii to do the Lord's work, but he's going actually, he's going to Kona, Hawaii to be a part of a submission standing there with why wham and then D Jacob Erdmann is in Juneau, Alaska. Yeah. So he's there doing where he's already left. He left so quickly. We didn't get a chance to bring up, up to pray for him, but we'd like to pray over him today. And so tell us what's going to be happening in south lake Tahoe. 12 (27m 23s): Yeah. So it's with crew, which also is called the campus crusade for Christ. And what's really cool is they've been doing this summer mission for, at south lake Tahoe for 50 years now. So they have a really awesome community in south lake Tahoe. And part of our missions there is holding a full-time job. So I will be working at heavenly mountain resort as a recreation attendance. Super exciting. And, but yeah, pretty rough. But the other part of our missions up there is going to be discipleship training and evangelism to the locals because there, there is a good like religion up there, but it's very much like new age. 12 (28m 12s): So not good in that sense, I guess, but 10 (28m 15s): Sorry. 12 (28m 16s): But so a lot of these people have a sense that there is a higher power and there is no greater things beyond our own life. However, they're putting their trust in the wrong things. So it'll be a really cool opportunity to serve in our own nation and yeah. Get a taste of that. 10 (28m 33s): Yeah. I'm excited. I heard that there's a possibility after south lake Tanya, that you might be going off to Spain as well. Is that a possibility your dad told me he whispered in my ear that Spain might be coming. So Hey, we just want to say thanks for going. Thanks for committing two months of your summer to this and possibly three months as you go to Spain to do some missions, work there as well. We just want to bless you. Have you raised all of your money, how much you need to raise? 12 (28m 57s): I have $598 left and I leave on Wednesday. So, and then Thursday is our official start date. So I am praying to be fully covered by the time I get up there 10 (29m 9s): And you will be. Yeah. Yeah. If you'd like to give to missions work that these three young people are going to do, just let us know on your check. If you say, Hey, harvest church and the memo, we just put missions and we'll make sure we get it out there. Jacob, Erdman raised all of his money. Eva's almost there. And David Salamanca has got a long way to go. So we will, if you want information about what David Solomon is doing on the info center, there's a flyer there that will help you understand what he's doing. And then in about three, four weeks before he goes, we'll bring him up and pray over as well. So let's, let's go ahead and stand up, extend our hands. And let's pray for this woman of God, Lord. We pray for Eva. She is. 10 (29m 51s): She is so awesome. Lord. So grateful for the years that we've known her really, since the beginning of harvest shirts, she's been here, Lord, her family I've been serving here had been a part of what we're doing here at Lord. So we bless her. Lord, God, we say, thank you for bringing her into this community of believers, Lord. And we believe in her Lord. We believe that you've called her for this purpose Lord to go be salt and light in south lake Tahoe. As she serves at heavenly ski resort, Lord, that she would be salt and light that people who are searching would be drawn to her, that she would have insights and wisdom, what to share. She would have versus a scripture to communicate and, and just the opportunity to pray powerfully for people and speak powerfully into people's lives Lord. 10 (30m 35s): So that the people that she comes in contact with with her whole team, Lord, that they would never be the same again, that they would have seeds planted into their lives and that they would be haunted by that truth in a good way, Lord, God, they'd be haunted by your goodness. And they would, would surrender and submit to you. So we bless her Lord, keep her safe from the schemes of the enemy. We pray God that she would be safe and productive and fruitful for the kingdom work that you've called her to do. And, and director steps regarding Spain as well. Lord, if that's an open door, I, we pray that you would direct her heart. Give her wisdom about that. Lord. We pray for David Salamanca. Who's going to be going to Kona, Hawaii. Lord bless him, Lord. As he's trying to raise money and he's going to be spending an extended amount of time there, we bless David Lord in his work there. 10 (31m 20s): We pray for Jacob Erdman as he's already in Juneau, Alaska Lord, we just pray that you would watch over him and for the things that he's about to do and is involved in, we just pray for fruitful, powerful kingdom type stuff. Lord God, that, and that each of these young people going out would never be the same again, they'd be impacted and that their lives would be marched for your work and that they would just move forward in life, whatever they do that they'd be salt and light. So bless them. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. We love you. Thanks. Yeah. So as we send out, people just make a note and remember to pray for them. You know, they're gone kind of, you know, the 10 tendencies, maybe it's out of sight out of mind. 10 (32m 2s): So just write their names down and then just remember to pray for them every day, they're really making a kingdom impact in the places that they're going, Hey, I was made aware of this Ukraine relief efforts. And so what we'll do is we're going to be teaming with brace, infra coast and a host of other churches. And so we're going to try to get containers of supplies out to people in Ukraine, people fighting on the front lines and that sort of thing. So we'll put this on our website and we'll make you aware of it. The they're trying to get stuff like right away. So if you'd like to be a part of that effort to bless the Ukrainian people in their time of need, then we'll make this available to you. So it'll be on the email updates going out this week and it'll also be on the website. 10 (32m 45s): So my team's like, what, what are you talking about anyway? So that's what, that's what we're going to do. So anyway, just like to encourage you to do that. So, Hey, we're going to be in James one 19 through 27. We're talking about becoming people with godly integrity, people with godly in Tegrity that's that sounds like a tall order, right? You're like, you don't know me. I've struggled with integrity and being a person of my word my whole life, but I just tend to look at people in scripture and I find encouragement there. You know, as we study the book of James, we realized last week that James couldn't even believe that Jesus was the Messiah until after the resurrection, James is the half-brother of the Lord, Jesus Christ. 10 (33m 32s): And so James watched his brother grow up and all of his perfection, I'm sure there was some competition there, some cat competitive brotherly sibling type stuff going on. And so when James finds out or has heard that his brother's the Messiah, he's like, whatever, right? I can't believe that's true. And so he just, he and most of his siblings, I think maybe all of his siblings just failed to get ahold of the reality that Jesus is the Messiah. And so James who doubted in the beginning until he saw evidence of the resurrection, that his brother was indeed the Messiah, he began to press in and begin to believe that Jesus is indeed who he claimed to be in. 10 (34m 14s): His life was completely transformed. We learned last week that they called him camel knees. James was called cam on these because he became such a man of prayer that he just wear his knees out and they look like little Campbell's knees. And so he became a man who was completely transformed. They called him James. The just because he was well in their estimation, the most righteous man that they've ever met. And so we see that transformation. We think through guys like Peter, and we think through Matthew, the tax collector, we think about all of these people who had their lives radically transformed by the gospel, the same gospel that we hopefully proclaimed the same gospel that we believe the same gospel that we have embraced and want to live out in our lives. 10 (34m 57s): And so there's this transformational process that's possible for each of us. Why? Because as we trust Jesus to be our savior, to be the one who forgives us, he's the one who sets us free. He's the one that fills us with this holy spirit. He's the one that empowers us for transformation. He's the one that empowers us for new life in Jesus Christ. We're actually born again, according to John three, three. So we're born a new born, a fresh, and God's given us fresh purpose, fresh identity. And part of that fresh purpose and fresh identity has godly integrity. Our lives need to be marked by godly integrity. 10 (35m 39s): You know, when we sin, we sin and either word thought or deed, these are the ways in which we sin and word, we say the wrong thing. We think the wrong thing, we do the wrong thing. And so James challenges us to allow the word of God to accomplish its intended purpose in our lives. This scriptures are written to give us God's story that written so that we might understand who God is and what he's accomplishing in the year. And so we get his story. Other otherwise known as history. We get the history of God in the pages of scripture. Also we get his plan, his desire for our lives. 10 (36m 21s): We get his blueprint as it were for our lives. And we get this plan for this world. He's got a plan for this world. He's got a plan for eternity. As we study the pages of scripture and the old and the new Testament, we get to see what God intends for his people. What he has designed us for James speaks to us in this section about God's plan for our personal integrity and really throughout the five chapters from the book of James, it's really much about our personal integrity, where James is just nailing us with some pretty sober truth, sober reality about how we are meant to live our lives. 10 (37m 2s): And so if you haven't done it yet, go back and re reread. All of James, it'll take about a half hour or so to read those five chapters, but just soak yourself in the book of James, as we teach through it these next 10 weeks or so, and just watch what God will do. What does integrity mean? Even? I mean, what if we're talking about integrity? What does that even mean? So I've got some definitions for us, integrity, steadfast adherence to a strict, moral or ethical code. The state of being unimpaired, soundness, the quality or condition of being whole or undivided completeness sounds like a heavy duty, heavy duty load, right? 10 (37m 47s): And it kind of is a heavy duty load, but listen, everything that God wants to do in us and with us and through us requires that we're empowered by the supernatural power of God. So we look at this, we think in our own strength, we'll never gonna, we're never gonna measure up, but I'm right there with you in my own strength. I'm never going to measure up, but with God as my source and my resource, God is the one who strengthens us to do this stuff that he's called us to do and give us the grace to be the people that he's called us to be. We can, we can measure up by his grace, God, we're called in the scripture to be perfect, even as God is perfect. So we have this responsibility and this opportunity to raise the bar in our own lives and not no longer settling for what we've maybe settled for along the way, person with integrity is the same in private as they are in person. 10 (38m 44s): Not interesting. That's a challenge, right? And by the same here in front of you, as I am in private, that's the challenge. That's the personal integrity that God has called us to step into by his grace. So it's overwhelming because there's a big tall order, but by God's grace, we can do it. And James encourages us because he has lived a life where he has seen transformational things happen, where he's become, he's become more and more like Jesus, the sanctification process, where it becomes less and less like his old man who is fearful and unbelieving and maybe jealous and angry. And now he's become a man of prayer, man of conviction, man of righteousness, a man of integrity. 10 (39m 28s): So being people with becoming people with godly integrity is the title of our message. Today. James one 19 gives us opened up here. Let's jump in to James chapter one verse 19. It says, understand this, my dear brothers and sisters, you must all be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry. Why? Because human anger does not produce the righteousness, God desires. So number one in your notes, allow God to develop in you his righteousness. We have to cooperate allowing God to develop within us, his righteousness. 10 (40m 13s): What does the word righteous mean? Well, let's define the word righteous in a broad sense. It's the state of him who is assay ought to be righteousness, that condition acceptable to God. So God's got a standard, a condition for our living. He wants us to live a certain way. That is acceptable to him. The doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved by God. So we're saved by grace through faith. And we have the righteousness of God imputed to us. And we it's called the great exchange where we give God our sin. 10 (40m 54s): He takes our sin and our failures, any imputes to us righteousness. And so we have the righteousness of God. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus for salvation, but then beyond that, he calls us to live righteous in our personal lives. And so we're given the righteousness of God that gives us an invitation into heaven that takes us into the family of God. But then we're challenged through these books of the Bible to live as righteous men and women in the faith. So this is the doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved by God. It's speaks of integrity, bird shield, purity of rightness, correctness of thinking, feeling and acting. 10 (41m 41s): This is what we're talking about. Integrity. And in righteousness, we have a tall order before, but by God's grace, he gives us the ability. This is why we challenge people all the time. You gotta be in the word, you gotta be connected to who Jesus is. You gotta be filled with the holy spirit because in doing so, you will have the desire and the ability and the power and the grace to do the stuff that we're called to do in the scriptures. Verse 20 says human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. So God in his mercy gave us steps. He's given us steps to avoid anger and we see it right there in the scriptures. You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry. 10 (42m 25s): I wrote this message, finished it up on Friday. And I live this message on Saturday because I was in a conversation with my wife on Saturday and things begin to get a little heated. She said something that I didn't like. And then I said something that she didn't like, I think it was kind of tense the rest of the day. Have you ever experienced? Not just me. Okay. For me. Let me just tell you firsthand experience. It was a little tense yesterday, right? So like you have these moments of disagreement, like, so all throughout the day, I'm like, Hey babe, are you mad at me? She's like, no, just thinking if she's still mad at me. So then we call them bed it last night. And I put on my C-PAP machine. 10 (43m 5s): So I look like an astronaut and I'm laying in bed and my dad feels like things are a little off between us ever since that conversation. Are we okay? You don't want the, you know, the sun go down on your wrath. And so I'm like, are we okay? And she's like, we're okay. We just need to talk some more or whatever. She's like, okay. We're okay. We're going to survive the night. So let's go to sleep. And so I read this and wrote the message on, you know, finished it up on Friday and then actually lived it on Saturday. I said, I wish I would have just listened. Right? Because once a word is spoken, you can't get it back. 10 (43m 45s): Mean it's like out there for all eternity. You can't get it back. It must be quick to listen. I believe this is the solution to anger, deciding to, to listen and just deciding to not speak until the time is right. It's a decision, right? It's and it's about self self control. And it's not. It's about wanting to honor the other and bless God and live in right relationship with people in our lives. And so if I would've just listened a little bit longer and waited just a little bit longer to speak, I would have spoken something that would have been more gracious and kind. 10 (44m 27s): So we need to practice what we preach and we need to practice what read, not listening, hinders our ability to understand fully the situation. So sometimes we hear something we're like, no, that's not it. Or we want to react or respond quickly. But if we'll just stop and just listen, God will give us the grace to respond in a kind and appropriate way. So holding your tongue is always a good idea. And James talks about it a little bit later in this chapter. Again, once a word is spoken, you can't, you can't get it back. So these two steps are a good remedy to help us keep our anger controlled human anger is to be rooted out of our lives. 10 (45m 12s): If we are to be people of integrity, we can't allow ourselves that permission to be angry people and still pursue integrity in our lives. We actually have to root it out. We have to prayerfully ask God for help. We have to slow down, not react to the circumstances of our life, but allow ourselves just to be prayerful. Lord, I don't like what's going on. Would you help me to respond to it with a humble way, Lord? I dunno. I don't like what was said. Would you help me to understand the heart of the person who communicated it? Lord, I don't understand the circumstances of my life. Would you give me grace to walk through this in a way that honors you on what? 10 (45m 52s): My, my words to be seasoned with salt, to be seasoned with grace, to be seasoned with compassion. And I want my life to be a life of integrity. You know, last week we talked about the testing of our faith and our faith is tested when things don't go our way, our faith is tested. When, when we don't get our way, w will we get angry or will we choose to trust the Lord in those circumstances where we get angry about it? Or will we take a place of faith and trust and say, Lord, I don't understand. I'm going to trust you. I don't know how this is all going to pan out, but I'm, I'm going to believe you. 10 (46m 33s): And I'm going to trust you. And I'm going to move forward as a believer, as a follower in the Lord, Jesus Christ it's is our trust in our is our trust in our ability to make things happen or in our ability to believe that God's plan is unfolding. It will change the perspective of your life. When you believe that you don't have to make everything happen, that you don't have to control everything or pressure people to make your plans on folder God's plans unfold. If we just believe that God is sovereign, he's omnipresent, he's omniscient. He knows everything. He's every word president. Once he knows exactly what is needed in every, in any and every given situation. So we can just rest in him. 10 (47m 15s): Will we respond to heart and maybe even unfair circumstances with human anger or supernatural faith and integrity. As we yield ourselves to God and his plans and purposes, as we allow the spirit of God to fill us in the word of God, to teach us, we will more and more, not with perfection, but more and more becoming more like Jesus, less like our old person will be well. We'll become people, men and women of integrity who properly reflect the person and work of the Lord. Jesus Christ human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desire. So verse 21 says, so get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts for it has the power to save your soul. 10 (48m 6s): So number one, allowed God to develop in you, his righteousness and part of allowing God to develop in you, his righteousness, his righteousness is by being proactive. So number two, in your notes, get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives. I told you, James goes right for the jugular, you know, so he uses a word filth and this word filth is actually not used in any other part of the Bible, not in the old or the new Testament. It's a word that is only used in this burst. And this is what it means. It's the word filth. And it means exactly what you think it means. There's actually no fancy definition for it. 10 (48m 48s): It just means to make filthy. It's talking about our anger and our sinful compromises. It's they use the word, be foul B E F O U L. And it means to make dirty or to pollute to defile or this honor. So we gotta be proactive in getting rid of any filth that is in our lives. Then, then there is the word evil in verse 21, get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives. He's, he's a bit being a little bit redundant, but the definitions of the two words are different. 10 (49m 29s): And so that second word evil actually has a definition, a deeper definition that will really challenge the way that we live our lives, the word evil. It means the wickedness remaining over in a Christian from his state prior to conversion. So whatever sins we dealt with and wrestle with and fought and enjoyed in our lives prior to Jesus, if those things are allowed to stand our lives after conversion, that's the evil that James is talking about. So he's challenging us to root out the filth and the evil. So sometimes we get saved and we go along as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. 10 (50m 14s): We give our lives to Jesus and a lot of things change in our lives, but then there's those sins. Those things that we're not quite ready to deal with, those things. And sin is just something that is, it separates us from God. And so really we don't want any kind of evil, sinful filthy things left in our lives. And it's God's plan that he would deliver us from all of those things as we were even singing about the name of Jesus. And so James is dialing in a little bit, the filth, but also the evil, those things that we've just allowed to stay in our lives. Maybe the, maybe the pet sins, you're like, man, I'm 90% better and I've done so good. 10 (50m 57s): And God's glorified in that. But what he's not glorified in is the permission that we're giving to that other 10% of our lives, the other areas of our lives, where we haven't fully surrendered and fully submitted to God. And so that other 10% is often the problem that the area that gives us the biggest problem, moving forward as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. So we need to get rid of the evil. In other words, God considers whatever residue, any wickedness remaining or leftover from our days before knowing Jesus, he actually calls it evil. He actually calls it evil. He challenges our purity by zeroing in on our lives, in the nitty gritty, the details of our lives. 10 (51m 48s): We must be intentional about removing any remaining wickedness from our lives. Peter grease first, Peter two, one through three says, so because you are born again, get rid of all evil behavior, be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy and all unkind speech like newborn babies, because we've been born again in the kingdom of God, like newborn babies, we must crave. You must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. 10 (52m 28s): We don't grow into a full experience of salvation, the freedom, the joy, the peace, the relationship with Jesus until we work on this stuff, that's polluting our lives is filthy stuff. That's remained this evil stuff that's remaining in our lives. If you want to experience the full experience of salvation, you got to deal with like stuff. You've got to get rid of it. Some people say, I don't know why Christians are so happy and because they've been dealing with stuff and others are so sour and you didn't wonder why, why it's all because of the stuff that's left over in a person's life. We got to deal with that stuff. So like newborn babies, we must crave pure spiritual milk so that we will grow into a full experience of salvation cry out for this nourishment. 10 (53m 11s): It's like, there's a desperation there. We need to pursue it with desperation. Like I want this nourishment now that you've had a taste of the Lord's kindness. I'm, I'm kinda getting the feeling that Jesus wants his church to be like a bride without spot or wrinkle. He's actually got expectations for the way that we live our lives. He desires purity and humility and integrity from the people of God. And fusions five tells us that this is true. Ephesians 5 25 B through 27. He, Jesus gave up his life for her, the church to make her holy and clean wash by the cleansing of God's word. 10 (54m 1s): He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church, without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. You think about a bride on her wedding day, walking down the aisle with her white dress, everybody's dressed to the nines of his looking great Evers. And when the bride walks and everybody stands up, right, because she's just beautiful. And she walks down the aisle. This is a picture of the church. We are the bride of Christ, and we need to pay attention to the details. Even as a bride pays attention to every detail, every tiny little detail in her gown. 10 (54m 41s): There's just attention to detail because she's going to get married. So we've been married into the kingdom. We've been adopted into the kingdom. We become the bride of Christ. And now we need to make sure that our apparel, that our lives inside and out represents who it is that we're married to and who it is that we're serving. So James 1 21 tells us humbly, accept the word. God has planted in your hearts for it as a power to save your soul. So we have to humbly accept this word. It has the power to save our souls. Becoming people with godly integrity requires that you, number one, allow God to develop in you, his, his righteousness. 10 (55m 25s): So it's his standard. It's his plan. We've had our own standard, but it always falls short of what God's standard is. Number two, get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives. And number three, you must humbly accept the word. God has planted the word God has planted in your hearts. Why, why do we have to humbly accept it? Why is it has the power to save our souls? It's not just a good idea. The word of God. It's not just a thought that God had, but it's the power of God that has the ability to save our souls. What is your soul? Your soul is your mind, your will and your emotion. It's eternal. 10 (56m 5s): Your soul is actually E the eternal part of you that will live forever. Endeavor a man. The soul is the seats of the feelings, desires, affections, the versions. It's our heart. It's our soul. The human soul is in so far as it is constituted that by let me read that again. The human soul in so far as it is constituted that by the right use of the aids, offered it by God. It can attain its highest end and secure eternal blessedness. The soul regarded as a moral being is designed for everlasting life or everlasting conscious separation from God in hell. 10 (56m 53s): So your soul is essentially who you are. The word of God has the power to save your souls, to redeem your life, to put you on a path of righteousness, a path of integrity that the word of God is the only thing that has the power to do that in your life. Your soul is essentially who you are. It differs from the physical body and is not dissolved by death. Your physical body will. We're all getting a little older. Aren't we, even if you're young, you're getting older and your body will begin to break down. And when you get after death, it will decay. And then you'll be given a new body, a glorified body in heaven, but you'll keep your soul, your mind, your will, and emotion. 10 (57m 37s): So when we are told to humbly accept the word, God has planted in our hearts for it as a power to save our souls. That's a powerful promise. I love Matthew 10 28, the king James version. I grew up reading the king James version. I memorize lots of the king James version, but we don't use it as much. It's just hard to read. And so, but I love what it says. And we're gonna look at a couple of verses in Matthew from the king James version. It says fear, not them, which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him, which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 10 (58m 19s): That word destroy means to give over to eternal misery in hell and Matthew 16, 26, it says for what is, what does a man profited? If he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul, or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? We, we decide, what will we give in exchange for our soul? Will we give well, it's, it's my own desire that I want. It's my own plans that I want. It's my own, whatever. And you fill in the blank. Well, when we give an exchange for our soul, it's the word of God, the transformational power of the word of God that has the ability to save our souls. This is why we must humbly accept the word. 10 (59m 0s): God has planted in our hearts. When we're wrestling with God's word it's because we've got some arrogance in us that says, no, I want my will to be done. And so that's why throughout the scripture, we're told to humble ourselves before God, it says that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. So we're told to humbly accept the word that God has planted in our heart to summit. It's really a matter of spiritual life and death. We have a challenge before us, what will we do with God's word? Will we allow it to have its full impact in our lives? The apostle John understood this power of the word to be true. 10 (59m 41s): He writes in first, John, two 14 in the new living translation, he says, I've written to you who are God's children? Because you know the father I've written to you who are mature in the faith because you know, you know, Christ who existed from the beginning. I've written to you who are young in the faith because you are strong. Why? Because God's word lives in your hearts and you have won your battle with the evil one. You want to win your battle with the evil one and stop wrestling with this flesh, the world, the flesh and the devil. You want to give up your old life, man, just allow humbly. 10 (1h 0m 22s): So the word of God to be planted in your life. So how do we humbly accept the word God has planted in our hearts? How do we humbly accept that? Let's look at verse 22 because it tells us James 1 22 James says, but don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Right? Pretty straight forward. Don't just listen. Don't just read it. But like listen and do do what it says. You must do what it says. Otherwise you're only, you're only fooling yourselves for, if you listen to the word and don't obey it, it's like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, you walk away and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free. 10 (1h 1m 8s): If you look into the law, God, that sets you free into the perfect law that sets you free. And if you do what it says, and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. If you claim to be religious, but don't control your tongue is another verse about the tongue. If you claim to be religious, but don't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself and your religion is worthless. So we've got this challenge before us through this half-brother of the Lord, Jesus Christ, to he to think soberly about our lives, to take a personal inventory of our lives in the begin to one by one, allow God to just take control of those areas and deliver us from sinful distractions that have plagued our lives maybe for ever and ever verse 27. 10 (1h 1m 58s): James says, this is what pure and genuine religion is pure and genuine religion in the sight of God. The father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupts you. So he's calling us into ministry, caring for widows and orphans, but then also refusing to let the world corrupt us. And we have to be intentional about that. 24 7 with all of the media and social media, all this stuff coming in our lives, 24 7, we're being bombarded with information, temptation distractions, hindrances. And so we just have to be careful that we don't allow the world to corrupt us, that we actually refuse it. 10 (1h 2m 40s): So it's an, it's a decision I'm refusing by God's grace to allow the world to corrupt me. That's what needs to be our decision. As we get up every day, I'm not going to allow the world to corrupt me. If I stumble, I'm going to keep short accounts with God, because we might stumble from time to time, right? We're all going to stumble throughout the day. So we just say, okay, Lord, I'm, I've stumbled there. I don't want to stumble there anymore. I'm giving you this area of my life. I'm refusing to let the world corrupt me, a guy in our church, Shane Koch read this. And a lot of, you know, Shane, he was reading James chapter one and he read this part pure and genuine religion. The sight of the father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress. 10 (1h 3m 21s): And so he goes online and he Google searches, orphanages that he might be able to serve in. So, you know, Shane's a single guy and he's got freedom and flexibility and he read what the scripture said and then wanted to do what the scripture says. So he's in Baja, California, about three hours south of the border for 10 to 14 days, just serving in an orphanage there. And so he emails me while he's already there. And he said, Hey, I didn't have a chance to say goodbye. I'll be gone just for a little bit. I'm serving in an orphanage in Baja. And the decided this verse says, perfect example. Now we can all uproot and go to Baja, but some of us can, we can do the work of God in other ways in our community and our culture. 10 (1h 4m 10s): But what are we going to do about the word of God? When we read something, how will we respond? And so the answer is, Lord, I AF what I want to do this. We just bring everything to the Lord and pray, Lord, I want to do this. I don't know what that looks like. Maybe I give financially. Maybe I go personally, maybe I pray for, and we participate in the kingdom work that God has called us to do not allowing, not allowing the world to corrupt us. In fact, refusing to let the world corrupt us, becoming people with godly integrity. Let's invite the worship team up, becoming people with godly integrity requires that you, number one, allow God to develop in you. 10 (1h 4m 52s): His righteousness that we get rid of all the filth and evil in our lives. Number three, that we must humbly accept the word God has planted in our hearts without it's going to stand up, we're going to worship some more. I would encourage you just to, as you worship, think about what has been communicated. Think about the message that God has spoken. Then ask the Lord. Okay, right now, Lord, what is it that you would have me to do right now? Lord, what is it that you're calling me to do? And then just be committed to begin to walk in that direction and watch what he will do. So Lord, we just avail ourselves to you this Sunday and every Sunday and throughout the weeks and months and years, Lord God for the rest of our lives. 10 (1h 5m 34s): We're committed to listen and obey become people who are filled with godly integrity. So Lord shape us, make us God, help us to honor you and glorify you with our lives. God, as we worship, help us to worship in spirit and in truth, watch over your people. We pray. Lord, we love you in Jesus name. Amen. 1 (1h 8m 1s): Jesus 15 (1h 10m 26s): Amazing. As you love for us, Lord, we just pray that this would be our song on our heart for the rest of this week. Horrifying you thanking you, praising you for how much you love us in Jesus name. Amen.

Alrighty then, we're back for another exciting adventure here on the Chaotic Navigator podcast. I am the Alaska Outlaw and today I would like to discuss about the fourth in a series of our “fab five” by discussing the three weeks without food. Not only concerning ourselves with having food, but having the right food stores to sustain us throughout a disaster. When considering the nutrition necessary to survive, we need to account for those among our teams who may have special needs.

Alrighty then, we're back for another exciting adventure here on the Chaotic Navigator podcast. I am the Alaska Outlaw and today I would like to discuss about the third in a series of our “fab five” by discussing the three days without water. In addition, we need to consider the acquisition of usable water for the multiple uses it's going to have keeping us alive.

Time young children spend in learning centers is precious for their development. And yet, it's one of those strictly school-related activities, which is why we must do our very best to set them up for success.Creating a successful learning center requires lots of strategic planning and effort. There are many questions you need to answer first, including…How many centers should you create? How long should the center time be? What are the centers going to be about? How will your students know which centers to go to?I know, right?! Makes your head spin! And that's just barely scratching the surface.Luckily, in over 20 years of teaching, along with 11 years in mentoring early childhood educators, I've gained plenty of experience with learning centers, as well as methods for improving and fine-tuning learning centers. For this episode of Elevating Early Childhood, I'm going to share my top 5 methods, along with some additional tips to help tie everything together.Alrighty, Changemakers! Let's get to it! Key Takeaways:How to create learning centers that set kids up for real success (00:00)Questions you NEED to answer before creating a great learning center (01:39)Do THIS if you're having challenges with learning centers (02:35)My top methods for fine-tuning your learning center time and make it run smoothly (06:29)Method 1: Applying labels so kids could recognize and organize them easier (7:24)Method 2: Creating a picture schedule for clarity on the order of their daily activities (8:48)Method 3: Making visual routines explaining how each learning center works (10:36)Method 4: Adding a visual planning component to your center time (11:54)Method 5: Implementing a cleanup routine at the end of center time (15:20)Real results from someone who implemented these learning center methods (16:48) Additional Resources:- Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.- Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.- Learn more about my exclusive mentorship program, “Teaching Trailblazers”.- Get my FREE guide on how to create successful learning centers here.- Get our Teacher Success Bundle here. Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.--Onward & Upward!--Disclaimer:Pre-K Pages is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. The word “affiliate” means that we may earn a small commission if/when you click on or make purchases via these links at no additional cost to you.As a policy, the Company will only affiliate with products, services, consultants or experts that we believe will provide value to our customers and followers.You recognize that it remains your personal responsibility to investigate whether any affiliate offers are right for you and will benefit you. You will not rely on any recommendation, reference, or information provided by the Company but will instead conduct your own investigation and will rely upon your investigation to decide whether to purchase the affiliate product or service.

Alrighty, folks! It's exactly what you've been waiting for! Elf guys! Troll guys! Other magical being types! Villages! Winter! Mysterious adventures! Wolves! Did I get everything? Okay, admittedly there isn't any fire. So far. We shall see how that goes. Thus! Enjoy the first episode as we delve into Palladium Fantasy and hovering trolls!Pledge/donate on Patreon: www.patreon.com/thatdndpodcastSend feedback to: ThatDnDPodcast@Gmail.comVisit our website: http://www.thatdndpodcast.comAmazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/?rw_useCurrentProtocol=1&tag=thdnpo07-20

1 (2s): Good morning. Welcome to church. Will you stand as we worship this morning, it's good to be in the house of the Lord this morning. Would you raise your faith? Would you lift your voice as be safe? we thank you for your presence. 2 (4m 24s): All right. Hey church. How's it going this morning? All right. Awesome. Awesome. That's great to see all, all of your faces here. Love you guys, and just got a couple of announcements for ya. My name's Curtis, by the way, so glad to have you here. If you need anything at all, the info center is the spot for you. So it's just up the driveway. Go check that out. If you want to sign up for anything again, more connected. Otherwise we do have a quick parking update that next door we've had some parking issues with other businesses and stuff. So just know that if you're parking behind these businesses over here, you can only park in the something different or the Anderson Burton spots. 2 (5m 7s): All the other ones are our businesses are using the on Sunday mornings. And we just want to be conscious of that. In addition to that, we've got right now media, we subscribe to it as a church for each and every person who wants to, to watch the videos and grow in their faith and their amazing discipleship videos, or just learning platform for anything that you can imagine in our Christian walk. So if you'd like to get connected with that, you can sign up on our website, just fill out a connect form and give us your email and just let us know that you want to sign up for that. Or you can stop by the info center. So with that, let's pray and we'll get back into worship. 2 (5m 47s): Jesus. We love you. We're so grateful for the opportunity to worship you this morning. We just pray that that your holy spirit would penetrate each heart. That's here in any building and every space that the people of the Lord are captured on this campus. Jesus, we just pray that that your word would penetrate through bone and marrow and Jesus that we would just focus on you wholeheartedly this morning. So God, we love you so much and we love worshiping you Jesus' name. Amen. 0 (6m 29s): The word . Now what a beautiful name. 0 (7m 16s): nothing. 0 (8m 12s): with my 4 (15m 32s): Lord. Thank you. 0 (15m 34s): God, 4 (15m 39s): God, that our praise would be fit for a king in Jesus name, God that our lives, The content of our lives, God, that there would be fit for a king Lord, that there would be God that our lives would speak of our adoration. Speak of our Love for you and our commitment to you. God, that we would be anxious To fall in line with your plans and purposes for our lives. 4 (16m 21s): Lord God, to say yes to you, Lord God that we'd be hungry For your will and for your word, Lord God, that we would, that we would long for your presence. God, not just on Sunday morning and when we gathered corporately, but God that we would long for your presence every day, Lord, every moment of the day, God, that we'd pray without ceasing Constantly in your presence Constantly checked in with you and looking for your leadership and your wisdom and your counsel. God, that would be we'd be filled with the peace of God and the joy of God that we'd be hungry, hungry for the things of God. 4 (17m 8s): So Lord, as we gathered today, We thank you Lord, that we have this freedom and this opportunity and this privilege to gather as the church and Lord for everybody gathered here on this campus or for those watching online Lord, I pray that you would reveal yourself and just tangible and powerful and profound ways. Lord God, for those who have been distant from you, I pray that you would reveal yourself to them, your plans, your purpose, your grace, your love, Lord God, that we're where we need to be challenged in our souls and our lives. 4 (17m 50s): Lord, we just avail ourselves to you. God, we say convict challenge, speak, teach lead guide, Phyllis, Lord God, to overflowing. I got to help our lives or every part of us Lord, to just align with your plans and purposes. God. So do you do something supernatural in us that maybe, maybe we've been trying to break get breakthrough in the natural in the flesh. Maybe we've been trying to get a victory over addictions or a bitch will sins. Lord, I pray God that supernatural, you would just do a work Lord God. And that the desire for those things would just be gone because of the work that you're doing in us. 4 (18m 37s): And because of the love that we have for you, God, that love would overshadow and make our love for those other things seem like hatred that we, we, we would just love you so much that those things would seem like what? How could we ever be distracted by those things, Lord God. So Lord do what you want to do today. Lord, I'm convinced that you're up to something good and powerful. And so your will be done. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Greet somebody. We'll come on back in a minute. 0 (20m 32s): Jesus Cruz. 4 (21m 60s): Alrighty, come on back. Let me fix this really quick. Something happened there. Thank you. Oh, welcome. How is everyone doing? Good. Good. I've got to figure out what to do with this bottle here. I need like a little cup holder or something, I guess. Ah, man, it's been a, it's been a good week. I had most of the last like week off or so. And man, it was really, really refreshing in some ways, in some ways it was just a challenge, but we're getting ready to go on this. 4 (22m 44s): I don't know why I want to talk about this backpacking trip, but we're getting ready to my son and my son-in-law. We're getting ready to go on this backpacking trip. And so I spent most of the day yesterday kind of getting my backpack ready to go for my birthday in April. I got this really light backpack. Remember the first time we went backpacking, I carried like 50 pounds. I'm like, this is net you can't backpack with. I mean, I can I, so the next time it was down to like 40 pounds and then 35 and yesterday I packed everything in there except some water and a couple other little things. And I'm at 20, just under 25 pounds. So I'm getting, getting there and it got me thinking about life a little bit and just wondering, what are we packing around? 4 (23m 26s): You know, how much do we pack around in our lives? It just kind of weigh us down and wear us out and make really the journey. So, so much more difficult because we're just loaded down with stuff. And I feel like, I feel like in our culture, we're loaded down with all kinds of stuff, just culturally speaking. And then life, life is challenging for so many people. Life is glorious for others and, but there's just, there's just heaviness that we carry. So my prayer for us as a church is that we would leave all of those heavy, heavy burdens just at the foot of the cross, know that we would just offload those things. 4 (24m 16s): And the, the result of that is just a greater capacity to, to, to do what God has asked us to do. It's it's a greater joy. I don't know when you're, when you're carrying around all this stuff, it's hard to have the joy of the Lord and the peace of God. You just feel this burden all of the time. So my prayer is that we would live in such a way that we would recognize when we're starting to get weighed down and burdened down and just get that stuff dealt with, confess the sin, whatever it is, deal with that heaviness that burden the enemy is always trying to heap condemnation on us. 4 (24m 59s): I woke up a couple of days ago what's today, Sunday. So I woke up on Friday and I was just feeling kind of out of sorts with the Lord. I said, Lord, I didn't, it took me like 24 hours to figure out to, to pray, you know, cause I'm just trying to figure it out, you know? And, and then sad, I think it was yesterday, maybe it was Thursday or Friday. I don't know whenever it was, but I I'm like Lord, I finally just awaken to the reality that God is, God, God can do something about this. You know, sometimes we live our lives and we forget that actually God's got the power to lift burdens and speak clarity and give us victory over things. And so I said, Lord, I don't know what I'm sensing. 4 (25m 41s): I'm trying to figure it out. If I've, you know, whatever I said, Lord, if this is from you, then show me if it's not, then just let it get away. You know, just, I rebuke it in Jesus' name and just immediately was gone. And I don't know how many times I've done that throughout the course of my life, but it's enough. And I was surprised that it took me like 24 hours to figure out, Hey, I just need to go to the Lord with this. So encouragement to you, to us, to always just, just be going to the Lord, praying without ceasing and just watch it with the Lord will do. We're talking about practical faith living today. 4 (26m 21s): The, the faith life is, is supernatural, but it's also very practical and we do the practical things that God calls us to do as he empowers us supernaturally through his word and through his spirit. And we actually can't do the practical things that he called us to do without the power of God at work in our lives. We just can't do it. We can muster it for a day or a moment, but we can't do it regularly and throughout the course of our lives. So that those practical faith things that we're talking about, mark our life and we're identified, we've known, we're known for those things. We can't muster it. And really why would we want to win the power of God to give us the grace to do what he's asked us to do is so present and available to us. 4 (27m 11s): We just have this power that is supernatural and wonderful. So we've talked and as we kind of looked at Hebrews chapter 13 and week one, practical faith living, we talked about loving each other and more specifically loving strangers, loving the forgotten, loving our spouse. And in all of that, we said, love all of these things, but don't love. Don't love money. Don't love money. Don't live in fear and, and then love your leaders was the seventh point there. And then week two, two weeks ago, more practical faith living. We said, keep focused on the changeless perfection of Jesus. 4 (27m 55s): And we said, live boldly and be willing to look the fool for Jesus. And then number three, we said, demonstrate faithful allegiance to Jesus. And this week as we look at the end of Hebrews chapter 13, and I know Ron preached the end of the same passage last week, but I, as I was trying to figure out where to go, I was going to be going into James. And I just kind of felt drawn back to Hebrews chapter 13, to wrap it up. He, Ron did a phenomenal job. I think he talked about me way too much last week, but, but he did a phenomenal job teaching through the last part of Hebrews chapter 13. And I was super honored by the way he taught that and what he communicated. 4 (28m 39s): But I, I want to go back and just kind of relook at it, not to correct anything that he said, but just to look at it from a different angle. So this will be Hebrews chapter 13, verses 17 through 25. Again, I promise you, Ron did a better job than I will ever do with this passage, but I'm going to give him my best shot here. So this week, even more practical faith living and we see in Ron talked about spiritual leaders last week, but number one, support your spiritual leaders. And so Ron talked about me a lot last week and I'm so blessed and honored that he did. And I was embarrassed as I was watching it at home, the first service last week. And Ron and I had been working together for 14 years and we've known each other for longer than that. 4 (29m 23s): And for him to say what he said was very, very, very humbling. And I appreciate it. So we'll talk about supporting your spiritual leaders today. What does that look like as we get into Hebrews chapter 13, verse 17, the word says this obey Hebrews 13, 17, the first part there says obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say again. So Ron said is probably more appropriate for him to speak that truth. And for me to speak that truth, but I want to broaden that a little bit and broaden the, the thought of spiritual leadership. Just just a little bit, but, but first of all, Hebrews 13, 17, obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say. 4 (30m 8s): Why, why does the writer of Hebrews challenges readers to do this while their work, the verse says is to your spiritual leaders, their work is to watch over your souls. And they are accountable to God who as a big deal, right? I mean like our work as spiritual leaders is to watch over your souls and we are accountable to God. So who, who is the spiritual leader? Well, obviously pastors and elders, they're spiritual leaders, but beyond pastors and elders, we have other spiritual leaders in our lives. 4 (30m 59s): I, I didn't have this in my notes until this morning, but I like to read Ephesians five 15 through 33 because it broadens for us. This thought about spiritual leaders. I think the most, probably some of the most important spiritual leadership is, is in the home. We relegate spiritual leadership to people who are in spiritual leadership at church and that sort of thing. And that's all very good and appropriate, but, but the best opportunity to be spiritual leaders that we have is with our family, with our kids and with our grandkids. 4 (31m 40s): And so Hebrews chapter or Ephesians chapter five talks about the responsibility of especially dads, fathers, dads have a significant and, and a much more, much more opportunity than like pastors or elders. Cause you guys, you live with your kids. For those of you who have young kids. And for those of you have older kids, you, you have lifelong access. Like I've had lots of pastors in my life and I've got relationships with most of them still, but they don't speak into my life like they once did. But as a dad with my four kids, I ever raised four kids, two are, men are in the thirties already. 4 (32m 25s): So, and then I got grandkids. So my spiritual responsibility as a father continues and will continue all the days of my life. We've got that spiritual responsibility. And so it starts when the kids are young, but it continues. And so I, I just want to challenge us with Ephesians chapter five, verses 15 through 33. I'm just gonna read about half the chapter and it's not on the screen cause I just added it this morning, but I think it's pertinent. I think it's important. I think it's powerful for, for, for our understanding that we, that we hear this and that we apply it to our lives. 4 (33m 6s): It's just so it says, so be careful how you live. We could preach a whole sermon series on that one little line, be, be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. So don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don't be drunk with wine because that will ruin your life instead, be filled with the holy spirit, singing Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves and making music to the Lord in your hearts, that powerful making music to the Lord in your hearts. 4 (34m 1s): So there's something very personal and internal. It, it's not just about what comes out of our mouth, but it's about what comes out of our hearts. We, we have this responsibility to worship the Lord from our heart and that's from a place of sincerity and honesty. And it's, it's, it's really the deepest place in our lives. And this is the place that we're meant to worship the Lord from and give thanks for everything to God, the father in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. And then we get into verse 21. 4 (34m 41s): It says and further submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. What does this mean? Husbands and wives for wives. This means submit to your husbands as to the Lord for a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He's the savior of his body. The church has the church submits to Christ. So you wives should submit to your husbands in everything. So that's a heavy statement for men, for husbands and for wives for husbands be because you've got to live. We, we have to live in such a way that we have the ability to lead spiritually in our homes. 4 (35m 22s): I mean, this is what Paul is telling us as men, that we are the spiritual leaders of our homes. And that, that means we as men are going to stand before the Lord and give an account to God, the way that we've spiritually led in our homes. So how, how are we doing in that regard? Now I know there are women here who don't have husbands who are men of God and, and the scripture teach, teach, you know, speaks to that. And in some cases, women, by default, they just have to be the spiritual leader because that's just the way it is. 4 (36m 5s): But man, we have this profound responsibility to be leading. And so that's a 24 7 responsibility that we will give an account to God for. We will stand before God and we will give an account for our lives. And he will look at how we've led in our homes spiritually. We, he will examine our lives and look at how we've been leading in our homes spiritually. So for husbands, what does spiritual leadership look like? 4 (36m 46s): This means love your wives. Just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean washed by the cleansing of God's word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church, without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead she will be holy and without fault in the same way. Husbands ought to love their wives. As they love their own bodies for a man who loves his wife, actually shows love for himself. And no one hates his own body, but feeds and cares for it just as Christ cares for the church. 4 (37m 28s): And we are members of his body. So a woman submitting to her husband actually is it won't be difficult when the man, when the man is loving his wife, as Christ loved the church, just the way it works. God, God has put it in the hearts of men and women to live in this way. And so man, if you're loving your wife, as Christ loved the church and serving her as Christ, serve the church and giving yourself to her as Christ gave himself to the church, your wives will have no problems submitting to you by and large. 4 (38m 13s): I mean, there's always a, you know, exceptions to the rule, but we, we have this profound opportunity to lead. I th I think about past generations, I've thought about this a lot lately, the, the impact of past generations, we are, we were watching a show last night about this ranch family. They've I don't know why this speaks to me. So, so, so much so impactfully. So, but so eight generations ago, this land was deeded or given to this family. 4 (38m 53s): Eight generations go thousands and thousands of acres in long poke in the Lompoc valley there. And eight generations later, they're still working the land and still do so. My point is that something happened generations ago. That's still blessing the families today. So I think about our opportunity and responsibility as men, men of God, to impact future generations, by the way that we live our lives today, we often think in, in terms of the here and now, but when we think about 50 years from now, if we, if we think about 10 years from now, 30 years from now, 50 years from now, a hundred years from now, how will our impact in this earth impact our family for generations to come? 4 (39m 44s): I pray almost every day that every future generation that that's coming out of me will, will serve Jesus every future. So like until Jesus returns like every future generation. And so we have this opportunity to invest in the future generations. This is more important than your job guys. It's more important than your hobbies. You're going to be on your death bed one day and you're not gonna, you're not gonna have regrets about anything other than your family. If you don't get that right, you're not going to say, oh, I wish I would have played more golf. And you've heard this before. I'm I wish I would've gotten more trips when we're on our deathbed guys, we're gonna think back missed opportunities. 4 (40m 32s): Did I take advantage of every opportunity? You, you are spiritual leaders and this is your first and foremost priority. So you can drop your kids off to Sunday school and we will do our best to partner with you. You can drop your kids off to fifth and sixth grade, high, high junior high high school. You can do it, but if you are not taking this serious responsibility of discipling your kids, there's nothing. There's not much we can do as a church. Our job is to help reinforce and partner with you to disciple the next generation. We're doing our best to make that happen, but we need to reevaluate everything. And this goes for women too. 4 (41m 12s): We met wives. We, you have a profound opportunity to disciple the next degeneration of kids and boys and girls that are coming up in your home. I, I, I don't think we talk about this enough. We get so busy in our culture. We're, we're busy taking our kids to soccer and baseball, all of these extracurricular activities. And we're barely, barely investing in them spiritually, maybe praying before meals, but are we really speaking life and truth and grace into our kids? Are we, are we like communicating hard and good trues with our kids? 4 (41m 53s): We, if we don't do it, they won't get it. And so we have this profound. So when we talk about spiritual leadership, it doesn't just fall on my shoulders. Thank God for that. It falls on all of our shoulders. And if we're not, if we're not even just talking about our kids, we're talking about other people who see us as spiritual leaders, people that are in our Bible study groups, people that are in our neighborhoods, we all have spiritual leadership responsibilities because we're all called to go and make disciples of all nations. We're all called to go and make disciples. 4 (42m 35s): Meaning we go and it's our responsibility to exercise with grace, our spiritual leadership and people's lives. And we will stand before the Lord and we will have to give an account for the way we've spent our time. What does I talked two weeks ago about our allegiance? What do we, what are we by our lives demonstrating our allegiance to, is it to the culture? To I, we could fill in the blank with a thousand distractions, A thousand distractions that are keeping us from doing the one thing that Jesus told us to do to go make disciples of all nations. 4 (43m 20s): So this begins with our kids and it continues with our grandkids and our great-grandkids. And the job is never ends until we stop breathing. Brisbane's this means, love your wives. Just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean washed by the cleansing of God's word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any other blemish and said she will be holy and without fault in the same way, husbands ought to love their wives. 4 (44m 4s): As they love their own bodies for a man who loves his wife, actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body, but feeds and cares for it just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body as the scripture, Sabres 31, a man leaves his father and mother, and is joined to his wife. And the two are United into one. This is a great mystery, but it's an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again, I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself. And the wife must respect her husband. 6 (44m 41s): Hm. 4 (44m 45s): Spiritual leadership falls on all of us. So what are we doing as spiritual leaders to make sure that those following our leadership are getting a good example and seeing what they need to see are, are we modeling for them integrity in the way that we speak and the way that we live and the way that we respond to God and act in response to his word, we just have to examine our lives because God will examine our lives. 4 (45m 26s): When it's all said and done our lives will be examined. God's keeping record. He's keeping everything is Before the Lord. How do we support our spiritual leaders by, by obeying them? We are to bear spiritual leaders according to scripture. What w how, what does that even look like? So as a spiritual leader, 6 (45m 55s): If, 4 (45m 56s): If your spiritual leader is telling you something that isn't aligned with the word of God, then you should obey your spiritual leader. If your spiritual leader is telling you to do something, that's contrary to the word of God, you're off the hook, because our first allegiance is to God. God's given us his word as an outline, a plan for life. And so our first allegiance is to God and God's put spiritual leaders in our lives to help us navigate life. And so we're to walk in obedience before our spiritual leader. So you, you have actually the responsibility to discern and to be knowledgeable of the word of God, so that when you're hearing something from me or from other, another spiritual leader, you say, was this aligned with the word, but it doesn't align with the word you're off the hook, but if it aligns with the word, then your responsibility is obedience. 4 (46m 54s): Just like my responsibility to my spiritual leaders is obedience. I've got elders in the church who are my spiritual authority. And if I come with the great idea that I think is a great idea, and they say, no, then we just abandon it. We There's there, there has to be authority in all of our lives. Men especially need that kind of authority, spiritual authority, cause we can become, and women, we all need that spiritual authority, people that were Hearing from and learning from and growing as a result of the apostle Peter under the inspiration of the holy spirit, wrote some words of wisdom for church elders. 4 (47m 41s): So now it's moved back to pastors and elders and because it helps us as spiritual leaders to understand that kind of our role and our responsibility. First Peter five, one through five says, and now a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, I too am an elder and I witness and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I too will share in the glory when he is revealed to the whole world as a fellow elder, I appeal to you care for the flock that God has entrusted to you care for the flock. So you imagine cheap. We were in, we'd been in Israel a couple of times and we see there are still shepherds in the fields watching over their flocks. 4 (48m 24s): And that's just their job. Their job is to live and to watch over and to care for their flocks, protecting them from bad water that they might drink from predators that might try to eat them from bad food, bad scenarios, dangerous situations. So our responsibility as spiritual leaders is to care for the flock care for the flock that God has entrusted to you watch over it willingly, not grudgingly, not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God, don't Lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. And when the great shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never ending glory and honor in the same way you younger men must accept the authority of the elders and all of you serve each other in humility for God, opposes the proud, but favors the humble. 4 (49m 16s): So place a spiritual authority is never about hierarchy. It's never about lording over. It's never about any of that stuff. It's about tender care with humility, recognizing our responsibility, doing what God has called us to do with the power of God and the spirit of God and the grace of God. So that people under our leadership don't have any problem obeying what we're asking them to do. So supports your spiritual leaders through obedience, Hebrews 13, 17 B again, their work is to watch over your souls and they are accountable to God support your spiritual leaders through obedience, but also be gracious to them. 4 (50m 6s): Hebrews 13, 17, the third part says, give them a reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That was certainly not be for your benefit. So that just simply means as we're under spiritual authority or spiritual leadership, we just need to be humble and teachable. And as spiritual leaders, we need to be humble and teachable, and we'll never get people to be humble and teachable. And unless we're humble and teachable, we do people will model or will live their lives and follow our example. So we have to be humble and teachable as we submit to authority. 4 (50m 51s): And then how else can we support our spiritual leaders? We can pray for them. Hebrews 1318 says, pray for us. Pray for us. For our conscience is clear and we want to live honorably in everything we do. And especially pray that I will be able to come back to you soon. So you can hear the, the heart of the writer to the Hebrews. He, he needs prayer. He's acknowledging his need for prayer. So he's being humble and he wants to be back with people. Why? Because it's his responsibility to care for the flock. And so he wants to be with them. So pray that your spiritual leaders stay spiritually strong, pray for your spiritual leaders, protection, pray, pray that God protects them. 4 (51m 35s): I, I pray all the time that people are praying for me. And I asked you all of the time to pray for me. Pray, pray, pray. It's a, it's a job, right? Pray that your spiritual leaders stay spiritually strong and pray for God's protection over them and pray that they would have God's wisdom for leading. I was been reading in the old Testament and been in first Kings and Solomon prayed for wisdom to lead the people of Israel. He said, man, who, who am I demonstrating his humility? He found that humility and saw that humility and his father, David David was a humble man is a Solomon saw that and emulated that he said, who am I? 4 (52m 24s): And God gave him the wisdom that he needed so desperately. And you see throughout the course of Solomon's life, for the most part, he, he was a godly man, stumbled, but godly in his approach to his leadership, pray that we'd be healthy and humble and kind and tenderhearted filled with the joy of the Lord. Faith filled and obedient to the Lord. These are all things that you can pray for your spiritual leaders. So support your spiritual leaders. Number one, number two, even more practical faith living allow God to equip you. So all of these things that we're talking about require that God equipped us. 4 (53m 6s): First of all, with the desire. First of all, maybe before that the knowledge that we have a responsibility, maybe you're here today. And for the first time, you're really waking up to the reality that you've got a spiritual responsibility as a spiritual leader in somebody's life, your kids, your coworkers, your employees, your family, yeah. You have a spiritual responsibility and this can start really at any age. It doesn't have to start when you're 25 or 35 or 50, you, you carry a mantle of spiritual leadership when you're just walking humbly before the Lord. 4 (53m 52s): And it starts you, you can actually see it on people's lives when they carry that, that mantle, that spiritual authority, that, that mantle of authority. And so whatever your age is, you're not too young. You're just not C and you're not too old. So just begin to walk in that, begin to be that man, that woman, that God has created you to be, because we're all called to go make disciples of all nations. So allow God to equip you say, I'm not prepared for what you're asking me to do. Well, none of us are prepared ever until God equips us. 4 (54m 36s): And then by his grace, he gives us the boldness and the, the ability to do what he's asked us to do. But there's an equipping process. Our whole life is about equipping growing. Tell my leaders around us at the staff level all the time. I say, guys, we're never done growing. And if we're, if we're done growing, we just need to get out of the ministry because we're just going to get set and we're not going to be all that effective. We've got to constantly be growing in grace, growing in truth, learning how to love people, learning to obey God, learning, how to lead people with tenderness and, and, and passion and conviction. So it's, it's a, it's a learning it's it's. 4 (55m 20s): I was reading in first Kings this morning and I, I was late to church because I, I just was, I was, I didn't want to stop reading Kings because I'm learning from what Solomon was doing as the second king of the people of Israel. And I, I just think this is what God has called us to do. Equip, allow God to equip you. So we see the benediction here in Hebrews 13, 20 and 21. And now may the God of peace who brought up from the dead, our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep and ratified in eternal covenant with his blood. 4 (56m 1s): May he equip you with all you need? And so we read all through Hebrews and really the scriptures of the old and the new Testament. And we see that God equips people to do the work that he calls them to do. What is the equipping as for the verse goes on for doing his will, he's equipping us for doing his will because his will is above and more important than any other agenda, or will your, will your agenda it's it needs to be submitted to God's will and his agenda. So God equips us to do his will and we're to live our lives, perpetually doing the will of God perpetually you don't get a vacation from it because it's just something that God has perpetually doing in us. 4 (56m 54s): And through us, it's just, it becomes a lifestyle. So Christianity, isn't some appendage that we attach to ourselves. Some thing that we do on the weekend or something that we do part it's, it's an all-consuming born again. Life changing life altering forever. Never. You'll never be the same. So allow God to equip you for doing as well. Once while Francis of Assisi was hoeing his garden, he was asked, what, what would you do if you suddenly learn? What would you do if you suddenly learned that you were to die at sunset today? 4 (57m 38s): Hmm. He replied, I w I would finish hoeing my garden. Why would he say that? I mean, doesn't, he have things to do like important things to do. I think Francis of Assisi was able to say that because he'd been busy doing all of the important things. He'd been busy as whole life doing all of the important things. So if I die at sunset, I'm going to hoe get this part done. Cause I reading into it a little bit. I no regrets. I, if the news that you were going to die today at sunset, radically changed the way you thought or acted, then there's some things that need to be changed right now. 4 (58m 29s): Often we're S we will say, ah, I want to wait until I get out of high school or no, I'm going to wait until I get out of college to do what God wants me to do. Cause you know, I want to play. I'll wait till I have kids before I kind of get serious about the Lord, because then, you know, I got some responsibilities there. And then, you know, one excuse leads to another, excuse, leads to decades of lost opportunities. Instead We can right where we are right in the here and now begin to do what God has asked us to do, allowing God to equip us to do his will. 4 (59m 9s): So what is his will for your life? Are you going to wait until tomorrow? Because if you're going to wait until tomorrow to do his will for your life, you're probably going to put it off longer than just tomorrow. I'd probably wait until next week. Next year, we're half about halfway, the year 2020 to mid may. We're halfway through another year of our lives. I've been doing this long enough. I know that there are some in the room who won't make it till the end of the year. He just won't. Some will be dead because that is the journey of life. We it's appointed once for man to die. And then the judgment. 4 (59m 50s): And so somebody in this room will be dead. Maybe many will be dead. I don't know. Maybe I'll be dead. I don't want to die. Nobody wants to die, But you're going to die and I'm going to die. So are you ready to die? I mean, I want to go be with Jesus, right? I, But I, 6 (1h 0m 23s): I 4 (1h 0m 24s): Want to do what God's work is for me here and now. So if you knew that at sunset, you were going to be dead. What would you do differently? And why not just do that anyway? Is there somebody that you need to make amends with? Well, why not just go make amends with that person? Is there a step of obedience that you need to take? Why not? Why not just do that? You're gonna be dead soon, physically dead soon. You will. 4 (1h 1m 6s): You're going to be dead soon. What do you want? What in the world are we waiting for? We're going to wait for Retirement. Are we going to wait till what? What's, what w what is the excuse that you're using right now? And why not just eliminate that to do what God has called you to do, you know, this time next year, another year will have gone by and how will your life be different? Why not make a different right now? I mean, what's the harm and just saying, I'm doing this now, and then just stepping into it. 4 (1h 1m 47s): And maybe you're, maybe you're afraid to you. You sh you shouldn't be afraid to do anything that God calls you to do without his equipping. You should be afraid because you're not. You're up to your eyeballs in that's good. It's a good place to be, to be up to your eyeballs in your unpreparedness, because God will prepare you to do what he's called you to do Love your neighbor, serve God, making, manage, share the gospel. What do you need to do? God's desires to equip you for, to please him. Hebrews 13, 21 continues. May he produce in you through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that pleases that is pleasing to him, that's not, that's not really interested in your agenda besides that while he's not interested in your agenda or my agenda, because his agenda is just better. 4 (1h 2m 44s): It's like when your kid says, you have like, you know, whatever, you're like, you know, I've got a better plan for you than that, right? But we've got this limited, the kid perspective. What pleases God, well, first Timothy two says, praying for others, pleases God for some of the five taking care of elderly parents, pleases God for speed or for suffering. Sometimes pleases God. If you're suffering for the right reasons, God desires to equip you to glorify him. Verse 21 continues all glory to him forever and ever. 4 (1h 3m 26s): Amen. This is what, this is what Christianity is all about doing his will for his glory period, doing his will for his glory period. If you're not willing to do his will for his glory period, you've gotten into the wrong faith. Leave Christianity, because you're not actually living proper Christianity. And that's not meant to be critical. It's just a statement of fact, if your life isn't meant for doing his will for his glory, then you've, you've totally missed it. When Jesus called the disciples, he said, come follow me. I'll make you fishers of men. Like leave everything and follow me, leave it and follow me. 4 (1h 4m 10s): I don't know what that means in your life, but there's some things that probably need to be left so that you can follow him. Practical faith, living number three, pay attention to God's written instruction. Hebrews 1322. I urge you dear brothers and sisters. You pay attention to what I've written in this brief exportation. So the writer of Hebrews is referencing all of Hebrews and on a larger scale, he's referencing all of God's word, the scriptures of the old and the new new Testament. So paying attention means actually doing, I mean like you can hear, we can hear all day long, but we're not doing, we're not actually paying attention. 4 (1h 4m 58s): We need to be doing what is written and following the instruction. The word of God has written so that it's like, it's like a mirror held up to our face and the fool reads it and walks away from it. And there's no change and no transformation. Verse 23. I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released from jail. Why is he in jail? Doing the will of the Lord for the glory of God and suffering, being willing to suffer. If he comes here soon, I will bring him with me to see you greet all your leaders and all the believers there. 4 (1h 5m 43s): The believers from Italy send you their greetings. May God's grace be with you all. Let's go ahead and stand up and invite the team forward. What I don't want to happen today is I don't want us to leave and do nothing. That would be a tragedy. 4 (1h 6m 26s): That would be a tragedy Lord. I pray that we would do and live God. The very breath of our being would be to do your will. And to glorify you, God, that we would be saturated in that desire. And as a result, Lord, I just know that we'll be transformed. And the things of this world will begin to fade and pale in comparison to doing your will for your glory. 4 (1h 7m 10s): Lord, God, wake us up, wake me up, wake us, Lord, God, God. We've got to people all around us culture, all around us. You who don't know you, Lord, I pray that we would start helping people to know you, that we use our spiritual gifts for the edification of the body of Christ. Lord God. So that people might be encouraged to, to know you and to, to walk with you, Lord, I don't know what you want to do, Lauren, but I know that if we will avail ourselves to you every day and every moment of the day that we would pray without ceasing, that we would stay in the spirits and listen that you will direct our steps. 4 (1h 7m 60s): You will cause us to pray for our enemies and love those who have been hard to love. You'll give us a hunger for the souls of people and a desire to minister it'll. It'll come out of the overflow of our lives. Lord God, thank you, Lauren. We are spiritual leaders to someone pray that we'd be spiritual leaders. The way that you've called us to be spiritual leaders. Lord, thank you for your grace Lord. We love you in Jesus name. Amen. You can leave it up. There is. 0 (1h 9m 2s): How has I've got a one with my aunts. 0 (1h 10m 24s): 1 (1h 13m 20s): Thank you, Jesus. Thank you. That we are here. Singing holiday. Thank you that we are here listening to your word. God, we want to go deeper. We want to grow in faith. We want to grow in our, in our spiritual walks with you. So we worship you. We give you things, you deserve all of our gratitude. You deserve all of our worship, all of our moments, all of the minutes in our days. So we surrender again. 1 (1h 13m 60s): We reminded of the cross. We are reminded after your salvage of salvation, God, your death and resurrection. We love you. Jesus is in your name. We pray. Amen.

Alrighty then, we're back for another exciting adventure here on the Chaotic Navigator podcast. I am the Alaska Outlaw and today I would like to discuss about the second in a series of our “fab five” by discussing the control of temperature we expose our bodies to during a disaster. As we may recall, the “fab five” is based on the unwritten “rule of three” that most in the survival/preparedness arena have established as the needs for successful survival. Today, I want to continue this series by talking about having some boundaries to the temperature we expose ourselves to, and more specifically combining exposures to amplify the effect.

Alrighty then, we're back for another exciting adventure here on the Chaotic Navigator podcast. I am the Alaska Outlaw and today I would like to discuss about the first in a series of our “fab five” by talking to the air we breathe. As we may recall, the “fab five” is based on the unwritten “rule of three” that most in the survival/preparedness arena have established as the needs for successful survival. Today, I want to open this series by talking about being without clean air for longer than three minutes.

Reddit rSlash Storytime maliciouscompliance where You want to go WHERE? Alrighty, then! Wanna pass? Fine by me. SHOW ME TWO FINGERS! P***** I took a long lunch? OK pay me overtime... and then some. Ex husband backed out on his agreement - ended up costing him so much more in the long run See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The pool party is underway, beginning with some timely Mindfulness (1:53) before setting the platter for the kiwis sporting weekend (4:06) and then cracking into a Steven Adams vibe update (7:14) as he nears a hopeful return to the court in the NBA playoffs. Next up we go in on NZ NBL styles (17:06), then gotta chat about this Blackcaps Test squad that's been named to face England (21:41). After that we've got some Warriors vs Sharks NRL previewing to do (36:18) as well as some other Kiwi-NRL matters at hand. And some quick late-season notes about the Wellington Phoenix to finish up (1:03:06). Alrighty then. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/elnichecache Email newsletter: https://thenichecache.substack.com Aotearoa sports blog: https://www.theniche-cache.com

Alrighty then, we're back for another exciting adventure here on the Chaotic Navigator podcast. I am the Alaska Outlaw and today I would like to discuss the necessity of researching the information we receive. How can we apply filtering, especially if it's information we are going to be passing on to others. Given that many of the threats facing us average citizens today are based in a framework of time relativity.

1 (1s): Welcome to churchy stand. As we worship this morning, how beautiful it is to be in the house of the Lord. 0 (14s): Finding the nine. She Oh, to him. 0 (1m 35s): And before the I stand complete, Jesus died. She To him. 0 (3m 11s): I see. And have that to cramped and stayed. He watched Jesus, paid it 2 (3m 27s): All 0 (3m 28s): To him. I 2 (3m 31s): See 0 (3m 32s): Dan had left a crazy insane. He watched, he washed, he washed it a wide as, 3 (3m 52s): Hey, everybody. Welcome to harvest church. My name is Curtis and I just got a couple of announcements for you. But first you should know that the info center is like the hub around here. So if you want to get connected, then that's the way that's where you should go from here. You just go up the driveway. If you're in the patio, you go down the driveway. If you're in the left, you'd like to the left. You'll you'll figure it out. It's got big signs. Can't miss it. So if you want to get connected with any life groups, there's life groups for men and women, recreational groups, there's every kind of group you can imagine. So please, if you want to get further connected, you can join a life group there. Let's say, if you want to give, you can give in here at the collection boxes in every venue at the collection box or online at the gift task. 3 (4m 37s): So with that, let's just pray. And also if you have kids sixth grade and up visit six fifth, and they're going to be released after worship. So just be aware of that. So Lord Jesus, we just thank you so much that you paid it all. Lord, you paid it all on our behalf. Jesus, and you have given you gave everything so that we could have life in you so we can have relationship with you. And so that we don't have to feel condemnation because of her sins because of her doing so Jesus, we are so eternally grateful for setting us free for giving us new purpose in you and God. 3 (5m 21s): So we just want to worship you with everything in us. And we just, we just praise you, Lord Jesus name. Amen. 1 (5m 35s): Where should you this morning? Jesus. We are expecting God. You are here. You are. So this morning we, we don't waste time depressing. We know that you were the king of Kings and the Lord 0 (6m 4s): The people see The people. 2 (6m 38s): See 4 (10m 54s): I just want to speak the name of Jesus, Every heart and every mind. Cause I know there is peace within your breasts. I speak G I just want to speak the name of Jesus. Every God Declare me there is hope and there is free. 4 (11m 38s): I speak G Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. 4 (13m 36s): In the dark, every yen I fam I span the whole 5 (15m 14s): Thank you, Lord. Thank you for the power. That is the name of Jesus. Goodness. I think we forget sometimes Lord, the power of your name to break through strongholds Lord. As we speak the power with the name of Jesus, the person and the work finished work of the Lord Jesus over our lives and families. Lord there's there's hope. There's the ability to endure Lord God in your name. Jesus. So Lord God, give us a glimpse of your power. The resurrection power of Jesus that heals the sick and raises the dead and sets people free. Thank you, Lord God. 5 (15m 54s): We're wherever we need to be healed in Jesus' name. We pray that your power would just touch our lives. Lord God, I think about pastor Rick at Calvary chapel in Nepal, Mo and Cheryl are missionary to Israel. Lord, both of them battling cancer right now, we just got, we just ask Lord God that you would release your power in their bodies. Lord God, for the host of others who are dealing with chronic illness and pain and discomfort in their bodies, Lord God cancer and sickness and disease. Lord, I just pray in Jesus name God that you would work powerfully and intentionally in our lives. Lord God, there would just be a healing outpour of your power and your grace. 5 (16m 35s): Lord God. So minister, Lord to minister, to our friends and family who are in need today. Bless pastor Rick Jenkins, Lord touch every spot in his body. Those five areas that he's got cancer. We just pray that you would touch him and heal him. God, that you would encourage his wife, Tina encourage their congregation. I'd pray their church in Nepal Mo bless them with hope and encouragement, guidance, provision, and direction. Lord for Cheryl Lord as she's she's been so faithful Lord to preach the gospel, to proclaim the good news in Israel and everywhere she goes, Lord God. We just pray to God that you'd bless her Buster with healing and grace and power for what she's needed, what for what she needs in her body. 5 (17m 22s): Lord God do wonderful and supernatural things. Lord things that only you can do, God, God, we call out to you for things that only you can do. And we ask that you would do that now. Lord, thank you for your grace. We love you, Lord. Thank you for loving us in Jesus name. Amen. Turn to greet your neighbor. We'll come right back. 8 (18m 38s): The words 5 (19m 47s): Alrighty. Welcome back. Yeah. I had to get a little throat lozenge. My throat was I'm not cooperating and the while I'm back there, my son's on the, on the command central back there and he gave me just this amazing little massage just now. So that's why I was taking a while. He's like, let me get it. He's just digging into me. Have you ever gotten a good back rub, whatever We're in Hebrews chapter 13 today and the title of the message. More practical faith livings. We talked about practical faith living last week. We're talking about even more practical faith, this, this week more practical faith living and kind of be covering some verses. 5 (20m 31s): So Thank you Lord. 9 (20m 38s): Yeah, I feel like we should, 5 (20m 39s): Again, Lord, we just invite your presence. God, God, that we've, we've all kind of greeted and worshiped and prayed together Lord, and we're praying together some more Lord. I just pray that you would have opened our hearts to you. God, I, I just know that you're going to speak something to us and encourage us and challenge us. And we want you to do that. Lord. We want you to do all of those things, building us up in our most holy faith Lord. So God do what you want to do. Lord will, will be submitted to that. Lord harvest church is your church and where your people. So we want to hear your, your, your word today. So bless us as we do in Jesus name. Amen. 5 (21m 20s): More practical faith living Hebrews 13, eight says keep focused on the changeless or excuse me, Jesus. That's the first title. Go ahead and put it up there. First point. Keep, I just preach this message. Do you think I'd have it like down right now, but I got, I think I got distracted from that neck rub. So I've got to get focused again. Number one in your notes, keep focused on the changeless. Perfection of Jesus. Hebrews 13, eight says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. I grew up in a Foursquare Foursquare church for about six years. And that's like their theme verse as Hebrews 13, eight, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. He's immutable. 5 (22m 1s): He doesn't change. He is faithful. He is reliable. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He's our past sacrifice for sin yesterday. Like he died for our sins past present and future sins. He is our present intercessor today. Like he's at the right hand of the throne of God, constantly making intercession for us. He's praying for you. He's praying for me. So he's died for us, cleansing us of our sin, removing sin from our lives and then he's interceding for us. And he is our future forever. 5 (22m 43s): He is the purpose of our lives. Not before we know him, but when we come to faith in him, we realize that he is the purpose for our lives. He saves us out of darkness and he plants our feet on a solid foundation who is Christ the Lord. And then he gives us purpose in the earth. When we come to faith in Jesus, we begin to realize that whatever it was before, it's not it now, whatever our focus and our priorities were before now, Jesus takes the throne of our lives and he is our priority and our focus. And honestly he makes everything else better. So if you're your family was your priority for make Jesus your priority, your family will be better than ever. 5 (23m 24s): If your marriage was your priority before make Jesus your priority and your marriage will be better than ever. If your vocation was your priority before make Jesus your priority. And you'll bless that area of your life as well, seek first, the kingdom of God and his righteousness and everything else, everything else will be added unto you. The scripture says, so we need to keep focused on the changeless perfection of Jesus. So the writer of Hebrews is challenging the people to stay focused in a world that is full of distractions. Then, and now we have to constantly be thinking about Jesus, making him our priority, keeping focused on the change of this perfection of Jesus. 5 (24m 7s): Jesus Christ is changeless and perfect in every way. His sacrifice on the cross is the only answer to man's sin. So he met our needs. He, he is constantly interceding for us on our behalf and he's got this incredible eternal plan. Jesus, his sacrifice, intercession, his plan. It's all about Jesus. And it's all because of Jesus, his plan, his purpose, his way. He's the same yesterday, today and forever. He's immutable, eternal and final. He is the judge. He's the bedrock of our faith. And so we always need to come back to Jesus, right? 5 (24m 47s): We never graduate and beyond Jesus, we never moved beyond Jesus. We're always in this state of dependence on him, where we need to forever make him our priority and the foundation of every area and arena of our lives in a culture that says you're the most important person in a culture that says your needs are the most important needs in a culture that says you are your own little God. We confront that culture with the reality that Jesus has God in Jesus is Lord of our lives. And when we come to faith in him, scripture says, if you confess with your mouth, that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart, that God has raised him from the dead. You will be saved. 5 (25m 29s): And so we're talking about Lordship leadership. I mean, he gets to tell me what to do. He gets to tell me how to do it. He gets to tell me how to spend my life, gets to tell, tell me how to spend my time, my money, everything he gets to tell me whatever he wants to tell me, because I've submitted my life. I've come under the authority of the person of the Lord, Jesus Christ. I wonder if we fully grasp our need for Jesus and his gospel or is Jesus and the gospel something we've just kind of added to our lives. It's an appendage. We carry it around with us or has it been all consuming? Has, has Jesus made himself so real in our needs? So of him so real that we've just, we've taken him in and breathed him in and we've consumed him and we've allowed him to consume us. 5 (26m 14s): If we haven't done that, then we probably are missing the reality of the situation that we are desperately lost without him. We are not good at all in a culture that tells us we're good. The Bible says there is none righteous. No, not one, not even one. John Calvin wrote only those who have learned well to be earnestly dissatisfied with themselves and to be confounded shame at their wretchedness, truly understand the Christian gospel. We don't like the word shame, but, but as we look at the sinfulness of our lives, we need to be ashamed of that. 5 (26m 58s): We need to, we need to have a humble disgust Discontentment with our lives. I'll read that again. Only those two have learned well to be earnestly dissatisfied with themselves and to be confounded with shame at their wretchedness, truly understand the Christian gospel next verse, Hebrews 13, nine. So do not be attracted by strange new ideas then. And now the church has to be challenged, not to be attracted and distracted by strange new ideas. The enemy will always try to attract us to strange new ideas and the enemies pretty. 5 (27m 43s): I was actually reading this recently. The enemy is actually pretty good at delivering on his promise for a moment. Like if you do this sin, that will feel good and he's right for a moment. Right? But, but we don't see the full cost of that decision because the enemy is not going to show us that I was reading a story about a pastor who had many, many affairs extramarital affairs. And you know, the temptation is if it feels good, do it. And it feels good for a moment, whatever it is. But the price tag is unbearable. 5 (28m 26s): So for that guy, the price tag was his marriage for that guy. The price tag was his children for that guy, that price tag was his grandchildren for that guy. The price tag was his church and his ministry and his life as he knew it. And so the enemy will deliver on his promise to please you for a moment. But we got to remember the wages of sin is death. The penalty is always death. There's always a price to be paid. What are we willing to pay? So, Nope, don't be attracted by strange new ideas. Your strength comes from God's grace, not from rules about food, which don't help those who follow them. So let's look at these two, this verse in two sections, the first part of this verse. 5 (29m 10s): So do not be attracted by strange new ideas. First of all, there's nothing new under the sun. So everything that we're being tempted with today, the enemy has been tempting. People for generations, for thousands of years, strange or new stranger, new would be anything contrary or foreign to God's plan of salvation, anything different than the good news that Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross provided that Jesus provided the means of forgiveness and eternal life. If we're beginning to build our lives on anything else we're missing the mark, the enemy will always try to introduce subtle changes to sound doctrine. 5 (29m 50s): Why? Because if your doctrine can be corrupted, then your conduct can be corrupted. And if your conduct can be corrupted, your lives can be destroyed. And that's the goal is to steal, kill, and destroy. That's his purpose in the earth is steal, kill and destroy the apostle Paul address. This problem in gold, in the Galatians church in Galatians one six through eight, he wrote, I'm shocked that you are turning away so soon from God who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. They began to fall back into their old ways of relating to God and maybe earning God's favor that they begin to move back into the old covenant way of thinking the old law way of thinking and Paul so surprised, but I kind of get it. 5 (30m 47s): You know, we can kind of manage the law in our, you know, when we're delusional and think we can actually keep the law. The Bible says, if you break one part of the law, you're guilty of breaking all the laws. So the reality is that we can't keep any of the law, even if we're good in one area, we broken the other. And so we're guilty of breaking the whole law. So, but we, we kind of come up with this convoluted idea that I can do a, B and C one, two and three. And so the enemy gets us focused on those things, but in doing so where we've divorced ourselves from our need for Christ, whose grace is sufficient, who said, Hey, because you weren't or enabled to keep the whole law because you weren't able to attain righteousness in your own works. I came and it became your sacrifice. 5 (31m 28s): Your final sacrifice, you were following a different way. Paul said that pretends to be the good news, but it's not the good news at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. And this is the reality. Every other faith, every other religion under the sun will always twist the truth about who Jesus is. So they describe him and define him in a lesser way than this. Holy scripture is define and describe him. They will always limit him. He will always be less than what the scriptures declare him to be. 5 (32m 10s): So he's not the king of all Kings. He's not God incarnate. He's a God. The Jehovah's witnesses will say, he's not the king of the eternal one. He's the spirit brother of Lucifer Mormons will say new agers will say that he was a good teacher, that he was an enlightened leader, but that's not what the Bible says. The Bible says he is king. That is eternal. And that he is the one way to the father. Jesus said, I am the way the truth and the life. And no man comes to the father except through me. Every other faith in the world, humanism secularism in any ism will, will define and describe Jesus in lesser terms than what the scripture describes and defines Jesus. 5 (32m 55s): And so this is why we always go back to the scripture. We always find our theology and our, our beliefs about who God is through the word of God, not even internal sources, although some external sources will help us understand the word of God, but that's the word of God that ultimately speaks to our understanding. Galatians one continues, let God's curse fall on anyone, including us, or even an angel from heaven who preaches a different kind of a good news than the one we preach to you. I say it again. What we have said before, if anyone preaches any other good news, then the one you welcome. Let that person be cursed because that person is leading people astray. 5 (33m 42s): God's coming, that we might have life and life abundantly. People preaching a different gospel. Once you lay heavy burdens on us and distract us from the life that God has called us to live. Second part of verse nine says your strength comes from God's grace, not from rules about food, which don't help. Those who followed them. Paul explains to Timothy in first Timothy four, one through five. Now the holy spirit tells us clearly that in the last times, in the last days, some will turn away from the true faith. They will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. 5 (34m 22s): So I'm going to say something it's unpopular. Every other faith in the world that isn't about Christ is demonic. It's it's, it's, it's, it's in their religion and their experiences. Four is informed by the enemy of our soul. It's demonic. Even those who seem like they're doing some incredible work. It is. It's an invention of Satan. It's a counterfeit, it's demonic. And this is what we see here. I'll read it again. Now the holy spirit tells us clearly that in the last times, in the last days, some will turn away from the true faith and they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. 5 (35m 8s): These are people, these people are hypocrites and liars and their consciences are dead. They will say it's wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods, but God created those foods to be eaten with. Thanks by faithful people who know the truth, since everything God created is good. We should not reject any of it, but receive it with thanks for, we notice made acceptable by the word of God and prayer. So there's this temptation to become a POS state, to begin to move away from the truth of the gospel, to begin to dilute and to redefine what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. And we begin to mix in like, it's our option to mix in new age philosophies and ideologies and thinking and other religious and worldly things we get. 5 (35m 56s): We think we can kind of mixed all that in and serve Jesus. When the reality is that we need to examine our lives, eliminate everything that is godless and new age and contrary to the scripture and eliminate it and just make the word of God, our focus and our priority. So there's this apostasy, this kind of falling away. We see it. More people just begin to slip, begin to compromise, begin to change, begin to fall away from the truth. It's demonic. It's this apostasy is falling away. It's demonic, it's deceptive. And it's distorted in its origin. 5 (36m 38s): These deceiving spirits are evil and work in individuals to promote chaos and to seduce them into believing false doctrines concerning God, Jesus concerning the church concerning the Bible and especially the way of salvation. So the enemy is constantly trying to confuse us about the truth. And so we just need to be constantly opening up the word of God. Every time I open up the Bible old or new Testament, I get clarity. No matter what I'm dealing with. If it's an old Testament passage or a new Testament passage is I open up the scripture and just avail myself to the word of God, my heart, my mind, my spirit. I just get clarity about things. I get clarity about who I am in Christ. 5 (37m 20s): I get clarity about who God is and about what he's doing in the world. I get peace. I get, I get joy. I get clarity because of the truth that is spoken to me. So our spiritual strength comes from God's grace, which is communicated to us through God's word, not from religious rules, that demand conformity, but lack any ability to spiritually strengthen or give eternal life. I mean, that's what the religious elite in Jesus' day were all about. The Sadducees and the Pharisees. They were about he being expectations on the people, never lifting a finger to actually help them work called as the body of Christ to use our gifts, to Edify, to build up the church, to build people up in their most holy faith. 5 (38m 0s): And so God has called us to do what he's doing. He's speaking to people to lighten their load. Jesus said, come to me, all you who labor and every lady I will, I will give you rest of your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. So anything that's contrary to scripture, maybe you're feeling experiencing it. If you're, if you're feeling the weight of something on your, your shoulders or in your soul, you need to figure out what it is. Maybe the Lord's trying to convict you. Sometimes conviction and condemnation seem very similar. But the difference is that when we ask the Lord, what's going on, am I feeling convicted? Or am I condemned? And the Lord will show us, he'll show you a sin that you're being convicted about, or he'll show you that it's the enemy of your shoulder trying to condemn you. 5 (38m 43s): And so if it's the enemy of your soul, trying to condemn you, then you just need to cast that out in Jesus name. I just say, Lord, would you get rid of that in Jesus' name? That's not from you. I don't want to carry that around. And if it's a conviction for a sin or something, I've in word thought or deed, I've done. I say, Lord, forgive me. And then we just move forward. I always encourage us to keep short accounts with Jesus, keep short accounts. If you stumble, acknowledge it, admit it, repent of it and move forward. That's the gospel. That's your whole life. You'll be doing that until you go to meet Jesus until he arrives until he takes us home, we will be doing that same thing. Get used to it, get humble about it. Get excited about it. 5 (39m 23s): Because when we confess our sins, he is faithful. And just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, our spiritual strength comes from God's grace that is communicated through his word and his, the reality of who we are in Christ, Romans 14, 17 says this for the kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the holy spirit. When you're walking with Jesus, the way that God has invited us to walk with him, this is what you'll be experiencing life of goodness and peace and joy in the holy spirit, goodness, and peace and joy in the holy spirit. And that our aim like I wanna, I wanna experience that. 5 (40m 6s): Well, w the way you experience it as just by honoring Jesus, by walking with Jesus, to just be with the Lord, constantly be praying with, without ceasing. You're just, you're, you know, I was out in the garden yesterday, pruning things, and I'm just praying the whole time. And I, it just, there's just something about that lifestyle. Yeah. I don't do it perfectly, but there's something about it that brings goodness and peace and joy in the holy spirit. Verse 18. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, in that great news. We're always wondering how do I please, God, right? This is how you please God living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the holy spirit. 5 (40m 49s): If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God and others will approve of YouTube verse 19. So then let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up harmony in the church when we're operating out of any other priority, out of any other motivation, there's going to be pride in our lives. I don't know about you, but well, pride I'm con I'm like harsh with people and critical of people think I'm better than I really am. And then God gets my attention. Then I realize, and then all of a sudden, out of that reality, that truth I'm I I'm able to extend grace and I'm able to do what God has called me to do in my life. 5 (41m 30s): Not just as a leader, pastor, but as a father, husband, grandfather, all of us things let's continue. Continue in Hebrews 13, 10. It says we have an altar from which the priests in the tabernacle have no right to eat. Why? Because that old system, that old religious system is dead. It's obsolete. Jesus has made it dead and obsolete. So the writer's making a clear distinction here, the old and the new system, Jesus has called us into this new covenant, whereby we are saved by grace through faith, and that he has offered himself as the final sacrifice. 5 (42m 13s): And so these priests who are stuck in the old system have no access to this. Alter the priest under the operating under the old system, have no access to the altar of the Lord. Jesus Christ. When we're operating out of works and trying to please God through our good works, we've got no access to the grace of Lord Jesus Christ. We're saying, Hey, I'm choosing works. We need to choose Jesus Christ offered his life on the altar of sacrifice once for all time, making final atonement for the sins of man once. And for all the old covenant is obsolete. Hebrews 1311 says that under the old system, under the old system, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the holy place as a sacrifice for sin. 5 (43m 1s): And the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp. Under the old covenant, constant sacrifice was needed to atone for the sins of the people. Hebrews 7 23 says this. There were many priests under the old system for death, prevented them from, from remaining in office. But because Jesus lives forever. He's eternal. His priesthood lasts forever there for, he is able once and forever to save to save. And that word means to save completely. The word is so Zoho. It means to save completely, to make whole and to heal. This is the power of the salvation that's available to us in Christ. 5 (43m 44s): He's able to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. Hebrews seven continues. He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people, but Jesus, but Jesus did this once for all. When he offered himself as a sacrifice for the people's sins, as we serve God, it's imperative that we keep focused on the changeless perfection of Jesus. 5 (44m 30s): There's a thousand things that try to distract us. Why do we need to stay focused on the changeless perfection of Jesus? Because our strength comes from his grace. Our strength comes from the reality of who he is and the reality of who we have become as followers of Jesus. Hebrews four 16 says, so let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There, we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it. Most. Number two more practical, faith living number two, live boldly, and be willing to look the fool for Jesus, Live boldly and be willing to look the fool for Jesus. 5 (45m 13s): Most of us aren't willing to do that. We're uncomfortable even bringing up the name of Jesus. If we're honest, most of us would have a hard time even telling somebody that Jesus loves them, let alone look the fool for Jesus, but really that's what he's called us to do to live completely devoted and committed to him, Willing to say, do, go wherever, whatever the Lord would have us to do. Verse 12 says, so also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. So Jesus is crucified out side. The city, a picture may be of his separation from the old religious system. 5 (45m 57s): Normally the priests Could eat, whatever was left over after the sacrifice was made. But on the day of a Toma, the leftover sacrifice is taken outside the city to be burned. Jesus' atoning work was accomplished outside the city, outside the religious system of the day. So verse 13 says, so let us go out to him outside the camp and bear the disgrace. He bore. What disgrace did he bear? He hung naked on a cross 9 (46m 27s): Scorned, 5 (46m 28s): Beaten, pierced Crucified for my sin. He hung there naked in front of everybody dying for my sin. And I'm afraid to even tell somebody about him. 9 (46m 43s): There's 5 (46m 43s): Something's got to shake loose in us, Whereby we decide in Jesus' name, that we're not going to be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ whereby we're. We're going to stand firm as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And we're going to point people to him. We're, we're declaring to the world, to our friends, with our family, with, with tastes, but with kindness and love and with conviction, we're declaring that Jesus is his Lord. So let us go out to him outside the camp and bear the disgrace Gracie board. We should be willing to at least emulate the one we follow. Maybe this will change your mind. The Bible says here in verse 14 for this world is not our permanent home. 5 (47m 26s): This world is not our permanent home. We are looking forward to a home yet to come. And yet we're so settled in into this life. We're trying to make this life so comfortable and so amazing. We're not even thinking about the world to come. So we're not thinking about our friends and family who will die one day apart from Christ and go straight to their judgment straight into the fiery pits of hell. We're not thinking about that because we're just trying to, we're just trying to make this life comfortable. We're just trying to make investments so that we can retire someday and travel and do all of the things that we want to do. Not once thinking about the people around us, I was talking to a friend of mine over lunch on Friday, and he was saying, my dentist, that I've been going to for 25 years passed away. 5 (48m 12s): And I realized when I heard that he passed that I had never once shared the gospel with him. And I'm thinking to myself, I've never once shared the gospel with my dentist. You know, we've got these people in our lives and we compartmentalize them. Like I'm here for a checkup. I'm not going to bring Jesus into the conversation. I'm just here for this or my gardeners here to cut the lawn. I'm not going to bring Jesus into the conversation or my coworkers, or I've been working with them for decades, but I'm not going to bring Jesus into the conversation. I don't want things to become awkward. I don't want things to be come uncomfortable. The gospel is awkward. 5 (48m 52s): It's uncomfortable. It confronts our sinfulness and it needs to confront our sinfulness. I'm so glad that the gospel was communicated to me. It radically changed my life forever and all my descendants forever. It's changed my life. So glad somebody decided to broach that uncomfortable conversation. Tell me that I'm a sinner in need Jesus. We want to soft pedal it. Jesus will make your life great. And you give your life to Jesus is going to be like one of the hardest things did you ever do? Trying to walk that out, trying to remain faithful, opening up the word every day. Praying constantly. I'm reading the scripture in the old Testament king David, before he's anointed king, but he's not there yet. 5 (49m 35s): He becomes king at age 30, but as he's working his way there, he's praying at every turn about battles about confrontations, Lord, what do you want me to do? It's just, it's this life of surrender to God where we're saying, God, is this what you want for my life? Is this the path? Is this the conversation? Is this the confrontation? Whatever it is, Lord, I w I'm willing to do that. So we can't soft pedal it because soon as things get difficult for people like we know it gets difficult for people. Is it ever been difficult for you as a follower of Jesus? Absolutely. So don't say it's going to be easy and all you're going to receive as God's grace. I mean, that's, you'll receive God's grace, but you're entering into a battle. That's worth it. It's like you've got enlisted into the Marine Corps and you're going to the front lines. 5 (50m 20s): So we need to be honest about the truth of what's going on. Hey, you need Jesus. He died for your sins. Give him control of your, and he will radically change your life forever. That's really what it's all about, right? It's not about just showing up to church on a Sunday morning, click in that box. And it's about giving your life to Jesus. If you confess with your mouth, that Jesus is Lord, how do we miss that Lord over everything. My time, my talent, my treasure, my whole life. Jesus. I'm surrendered to you. My whole life belongs to you. Nothing is withheld. That's that's the call. Jesus said to his disciples, come and follow me and I'll make you fishers of men. 5 (51m 2s): Leave your boats, leave your family, come and follow me. And I will give you a whole new purpose in life. We had Christianity like it's an appendage or like something in our tool belt. Like it's something, you know, and we totally miss it. And I wonder, we've never felt passionate about sharing the gospel with people. It's, hasn't really impacted our lives very much. When Jesus begins to impact your life, you'll start telling people about him. Cause he matters to you. He's transformed your life. I was talking to a friend of mine earlier this last week and she was talking about a pastor in north county. His name is pastor Pete. Before he got saved. 5 (51m 42s): His name was pistol. Pete. Not because it's cute, but because he had 15 felonies on his record and he earned his nickname, pistol, Pete. Now they call him pastor Pete, because his life has been completely transformed. I don't think that needs to be. That's not like the rare thing. That's like the thing. This is what God does. He trans forms our lives. And if he hasn't transformed your life, you've got to go back to the drawing board. Yes, he got I'm I'm coming back because I don't feel like I'm getting it. My life has not been transformed. I'm still watching the same stuff. I still talk the same way. I still entertained by the same things. 5 (52m 22s): I'm still having sex outside of marriage. I'm still lying on my taxes. I'm still cheating my employer. I'm still doing all these things. My life hasn't changed. Go back to the drawing board and confess and just let Jesus know that you've missed it because you have, you can't do those things and follow Jesus. You can't do those things and follow Jesus. It's oxymoron. It's your swimming up. There's two separate places you're trying to go. And you're gonna just be miserable For this world is not our permanent home. 5 (53m 3s): God will bless us with places to live and roof and all of those things, but that's not the priority. Jesus. And the kingdom is his priority. I was reading in second Samuel chapter six recently. And in this chapter king, David is bringing in the Ark of the covenant back into, into Jerusalem. And he's so excited. He's so excited that the presence of God, the Ark represents the presence and the power and the blessing of God. He's so excited that the arc of the covenant is coming back into Jerusalem. He's dancing and celebrating as the arc is ushered in. 5 (53m 44s): This is the king of Israel, but he realizes he's not the king, but Jesus is the king. He's the king of Israel, but God is the king of all Kings. And he will be submitted and live his life before the Lord. David's wife was embarrassed by his adoration of the Lord. Why was she embarrassed? Because she didn't know God, she'd never been touched and encountered the God of king David. So she said in first 16, first Samuel six, it's not up there, but it's an Ark of the Lord to enter the city of David. Michael, the daughter of Saul looked down from her window. And when she saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him. 5 (54m 30s): That's, that's what the world will think about us for a while, till Jesus shows up and they're going to think completely different about us. And if we haven't shared the gospel with people, with love and grace and conviction and, and truth and compassion, w w w David was, was willing to live boldly and he was willing to look the fool for Jesus. Number three, more practical faith living demonstrate faithful allegiance to Jesus. It's kind of what we've been talking about. 5 (55m 12s): Demonstrate faithful allegiance to Jesus. Therefore, first 15, let us offer through Jesus. A continual sacrifice of praise to God proclaiming our allegiance to his name. Our praise should proclaim our allegiance. It has to be focused and our praise should be committed to the focus and the allegiance of Jesus or a love for him. Verse 16 says, don't forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please, God, person's greatest need salvation. 5 (55m 53s): Everything else is secondary and temporal. Person's greatest need is salvation. They need the gospel. Everything else is secondary and temporary. The gospel is what is primary and eternal. Our actions should proclaim our allegiance. The way that we live should demonstrate that our allegiance is to Jesus. And yet we live as if our allegiance is our retirement accounts. Our next vacation, our family, our kids are animals. 5 (56m 34s): Our hobbies are sports, anything but Jesus and people look at our calendars and they see church from nine to 10 on Sunday morning that doesn't demonstrate allegiance to Jesus because the other hours of the week are focused on everything else. It's not to be a condemning message. It's just to wake us up in this culture. What is our allegiance to is our allegiance to Jesus, or is it to everything else in our lives? Does Jesus get to decide what we do with our lives? With our time, our talent and our treasure? Does Jesus get to the side or are we just deciding and hoping he blesses it? 5 (57m 14s): Does Jesus get to the side is again, as David would go into battle before he would even go into battle, he'd say, Lord, is this the direction that you would have me to go before I move into a town? Lord, is this the town that you want me to go before? I have this conversation? Is this the conversation that you want me to have? And you let God be God, and you let him direct. You you'll save yourself a whole lot of heartache. If you let God be God in your life, you've come to Jesus. I've come to Jesus because I can't be God in my own life. I've messed it up from start to finish. Jesus comes in and everything gets put in his proper place. And don't forget to do good and to share with those in need. 5 (57m 54s): These are the sacrifices that please God. So our actions should proclaim our allegiance. Our words, thoughts and deeds should demonstrate our faithful allegiance to Jesus. The use of our time, our talent and treasure should demonstrate faithful allegiance to Jesus time. I don't know what the statistics are at harvest church, but everybody should have a ministry in their lives. God has equipped each of us with a, a talent that's to be used for the kingdom. So maybe it's work within the church. Maybe it's work within ministries like lifeline or whatever it is, but you've gotta be using your gifts for kingdom work. 5 (58m 40s): And so none of us should be here without being a part of it. Like every one of us should have a job, like a responsibility within the kingdom, within the body of Christ time, reflecting our allegiance to Jesus. We spend our time doing everything else, making time for everything else, except for Jesus time talent using our gifts to do what Jesus has called us to do our treasure. What are you doing with your money? 5 (59m 21s): Is it demonstrating your allegiance to Jesus? Where is it demonstrating your allegiance to your next vacation, your retirement? What's your priority with your resources? I, from the earliest time I talked to my kids about tithing giving 10% of your income. I was show them, check, see, this is what tide looks like. Here's my paycheck. Here's my tie. That's 10% at least of what I make I'm giving to the work of the kingdom, because I want to disciple my kids in truth. So many young people are growing up and they're not giving their time, talent or treasure to the kingdom. So many old people are living life, not giving anything of their time, talent, or treasure to the kingdom. 5 (1h 0m 2s): It demonstrates your allegiance to the world. When you live like that, it doesn't demonstrate your allegiance to Jesus. What are you doing with your time, talent, your treasure? Does it reflect your allegiance to Jesus time? Are you investing yourself talent, using your talents to expand the kingdom? We pray every, every day, every morning, Jolene and I pray and we pray that everything we do, we would just expand the kingdom that we would use our gifts and talents to expand the kingdom. We've been praying that not just for, since we've been in vocational ministry, but since we've been married for the last 32 years, we just pray this all the time. We want the kingdom to be expanded. Not because we're professional ministers, pastors, not because I'm a pastor. 5 (1h 0m 42s): I've done this my whole life. Since I knew Jesus. Since I've known Jesus, we're all called to do what God has called us to do. What has God called you to do are using your time talent? Your treasure ties means 10%. So if you make a thousand bucks, a hundred bucks goes into kingdom work. That's how that works. 10%, not 1% or 2% or 3%, 10%. That's just, that's what the ties means. Say, well, I don't believe in the tithe. Well then you don't believe in the Bible. Not saying it God's bus. Do what you want with this information, but I hope I've at least triggered something in your soul that helps you to realize, helps me to realize that Jesus, I, every part of my life needs to be reflect my allegiance to him. 5 (1h 1m 34s): So I could preach a softer message that would fill seats. But you don't want to hear that. I don't want to preach that kind of stuff. My job is to preach the gospel. And if you get mad at me, it's okay. It's probably good. I got kicked out of puppet ministry when I was in high school. Junior high school. Yeah. I joined the puppet ministry cause Jolene was in a puppet ministry, but my life wasn't quite squared away with the Lord. And so I was partying on the weekends and doing all kinds of stupid stuff. And my youth pastor said, you can't do puppet ministry until you get your life squared away. 5 (1h 2m 15s): And I was mad about it. It's like, you can't do that. And he's like, I just did. All right. We need people to yank our chains from time to time. It's not gonna do any good. If I just stand up here and both smoke, you need to hear the gospel need to hear the truth and your life needs to reflect your allegiance. So don't leave here and just go back to life. As it is, go back and reflect and think, how is my life reflecting? Jesus. We've got work to do. I don't want to do it alone. I know I'm not, but what has God called you to do? What has God called you to do with that? Let's go and stand up and invite the worship team. 5 (1h 2m 56s): More practical, faith living Lord, if we need it, thank you for it. Lord convict us where we need conviction. Encourage us, where we need encouragement, help us, where we need help. Lord, forgive us where our faith is. Small. Forgive us for our lack of belief. Our lack of obedience. God, we repent in Jesus name. Repent means I'm not doing that anymore. So I pray God from the youngest to the oldest, everybody would use their gifts, their time, talent, and treasure to honor you to reflect the allegiance. Thank you, Lord. Proper allegiance. 5 (1h 3m 37s): Amen. 0 (1h 3m 45s): Jesus paid it 2 (1h 3m 50s): All 0 (1h 3m 51s): To him. I see it had led to cribs and Steed. He washed . She says 1 (1h 5m 44s): Thank you, Jesus, that you have washed our sin away. Thank you that you have made us clean. Thank you for the cross for salvation That we get to have a hope in eternity because of your son. Thank you. That we got to be in the house this morning and worship your name In Jesus name. We pray. Amen. If you would like prayer this morning, we have a prayer team at Fred, so you can make your way forever forward. Otherwise have a wonderful day and we'll see you next week.

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Alrighty the clip mentioned in the beginning of this episode is the Issa snack bite before this. If you'd like you can go back and listen however it is not necessary to understand what's going on in this episode

1 (2s): Welcome harvest 2 (3s): Church. Welcome this morning. Stand and worship with us. 1 (1m 48s): . 1 (3m 4s): I am who you say you are for me? Not against me. I am who you say hi. I am chosen show. Who's not foresee. Can you say you love for me? 1 (3m 43s): Not against me. I am who you say you love for the kids? 1 (4m 3s): 4 (4m 54s): Good morning, everybody. Go ahead and have a seat on no. Okay. Hold on a second. I'm good. I'm good. Okay. I was on, but I wasn't on whatever that means. So good morning. Welcome. Love to have you all gathered together today, a beautiful day out. So want to welcome you, those of you in the sanctuary, also in the loft and the patio, and those are tuning in online. So my name is Ron and I have a few pieces of information you might be interested in. So the first of which is today is, is what we call family Sunday. So the fourth, Sunday of each month, what we do is we encourage families to worship together. 4 (5m 36s): And so if you have kids that are first grade and up, they don't have class today. They're they're in with mom and dad with a family. And if you have kids younger than first grade, if you want to keep them with you in church, that's totally fine. We encourage that. But if you want to take them to class, we do have class for the little ones. So you'll feel, feel free to do that. Also on family Sunday, it's popular because we have donuts. So I head up the driveway, right near the info center. You're going to find a bunch of donuts, feel free to help yourself. There's coffee up there, and just a fun time to gather together and have coffee and donuts. But more importantly, today, we also have communion. And so towards the end of Steve's message, he will be inviting us to partake of communion and have communion together as, as the family of God. 4 (6m 22s): So we can look forward to that. If you're new to harvest church, we want to welcome you super happy to have you with us today. And if you have, if you'd like any information you need about harvest church, you can head up the driveway to the info center. There's some folks who would love to talk to you about what's going on here. Or if you prefer, you can go onto our website or our church app, and you can find out what's going on that way as well. So what we do three or four, three times a year, we have life groups that we start up. I should know this, right? If I'm making the album is I should know about this. So what we have is, is a new flyer. We put together about the different life groups that are coming up quickly. 4 (7m 2s): It beginning in may. So a life group is simply a small group of folks that gathered together in somebody's home may be here on campus, smaller venues during the week. And we w we really encourage everybody to get involved in a life group, a small group, because that's where you really get connected with people. And you really get into the, you know, the life of the church and make relationships and all that kind of good step. So feel free to pick one of these up there, up again at the info center, but just to let you know, we've got groups going on in a row grand day, we've got groups in Grover beach and a Pomo. We've got a couple of different men's groups that are happening. A bunch of women's groups that are happening as well. Probably the most important group of all. We've got a prayer group that meets on Thursday mornings would encourage you to be a part of that. 4 (7m 45s): There's a singles Bible study, and there is what we call recreational groups. So this is the good yarn club. So they get together and have fellowship and, and knit things, which is super fun. So check that out. Okay. What else is going on? So I want to update everybody on the worship center. That's just down the street at 1 0 2 branch. Okay. So here's, what's going on. We're getting close to Mo moving into the worship center. We will. I'm going to say we're definitely going to be in there in may. We're not exactly sure which Sunday in may, but we're, we're fairly positive about that final preparations are, are being made and getting, you know, getting the final permit on everything permission to occupy it. 4 (8m 26s): So we're gonna announce it in the future, the exact date, as soon as these things come together. So we're going to be shuffling around some different things. And with, with things like this comes some change. Okay. So sometimes change is a little difficult to, you know, get, get, get a handle on. Most of us don't really like change, but here's what's happening. Okay. So the new worship center is going to be called the east campus because it's east, this, this campus is going to be called west campus. And so here's a couple of other things. So the worship center is at 1 0 2. So whenever we talk about the worship center, that's what we're talking about. The east campus at 1 0 2 and over there, it's also, they're also going to have an outdoor courtyard venue where we're going to have coffee there. 4 (9m 12s): We're going to have some seating out there, some TVs to watch what's going on inside. It's a really cool garden area. If you hadn't had a chance to check it out. And also in the new worship center, we're going to have a nursery with his birth through two years. And we're going to have a mother's room over there as well. So at the west campus, we are actually changing the name of the sanctuary to our chapel. So we're going to have a chapel livestream happening here, right here in this venue. So if you prefer to hang out here, you're welcome to do so at the, the chapel live stream. So the, the kids' worship center is going to be moving into the loft. 4 (9m 54s): So again, the lock, which is right behind me is give me the new kids' worship center and kids classes, ages three, and up as well as youth classes are going to stay put right where they are currently. So that's, what's happening. As soon as we get to our, our new space. And as we open up the new worship center, we're going to need a lot more volunteers for various things that are happening because we're growing. So, for example, if you would like to get involved in, in the coffee ministry, greeting ministry, safety team, worship, team tech, team, kids, team, youth team, and many, many other things are going on. So what, when we get there, we're gonna have a better idea of all the things that we need to fill. So what you will find is if you get involved in a ministry team at church, it's super fun. 4 (10m 41s): You're going to get to know a lot of new people and, and it's a way to serve the Lord. So it encouraged you to get involved again, to, to volunteer for any of those things. You can go on our website and click on the connect tab, and that's what we're going to do. All right. So last Sunday, what happened last Sunday? Oh, that's right Eastern the park. We have a little clip. We want to share with you so you can see what, what went on last Sunday. Okay. You ready? Okay. 5 (13m 19s): And I invite you to stand in. As we continue to worship, we're going to introduce a new song this morning. It's called strong God. It's taken from verses in Psalm 68. And those verses are father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home. He leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land. This has God in his holy place, 1 (13m 52s): Father to the fatherless 5 (13m 56s): Defender 1 (13m 57s): Of the weak Freedom for the prison. We see this is God in his holy 7 (20m 45s): God, you are surely great. And we're humbled your presence here today. Lord is so as we've gathered to pray, and as we've gathered to worship God, we've gathered for you to remember you, to worship you, to be in your presence. Lord God, as the family of God, we want to be with you, Lord God, we want to be in your presence, Lord God. And as we teach your word today, Lord, we want to take it in and believe it. So Lord God give us faith where we lack faith, give us clarity where we lack clarity, give us the help that we need. Lord God, to believe you, Lord, to believe your promises, to walk in those promises, Lord God, that our lives would be actually changed and transformed as a result of your word, your promises, your guidance, your direction. 7 (21m 36s): So Lord lead us. We pray. We humble ourselves before you today. We say, we need you. We say, we love you. We, so we say, we're so thankful, Lord God, that you've adopted us into your family. We think we're thankful that your grace is sufficient. Lord God. And so I pray that your grace would be extended all over this campus Lord, for whoever needs it, especially this morning, Lord, we all need it. But there are those who especially need just to an extra dose of your grace, Lord God, a truth to saturate their hearts and lives. Lord God. And so for those who are doubting fearful, unbelieving, Lord, we pray that you would reveal yourself in powerful and significant ways. 7 (22m 16s): God, that there would just be a move of God in each of our lives today, Lord all over this campus. And God, we just want to say thank you for our new worship center for what you're doing there. Lord, it's been a, it's been a long time in the, in the, in the making Lord, God, we're so thankful Lord for the way you've are bringing that to fruition and making that possible for us. Lord, we just continue to give that to you, God, for the expansion of your kingdom Lord. So we just want to honor you with that space. So be glorified Lord. Thank you for this time in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Turning green. Somebody will come right back. 7 (23m 44s): I got a feeling it's going to get 8 (23m 45s): Rowdy. 7 (24m 13s): Alrighty, come on in and grab your chair. How's everyone I'm blessed and no less is what I keep hearing. Hey, I'm so grateful for every person who came out last week to help us get that space set up. But when we were setting up the chairs and when we were cleaning up the chairs, I didn't think we would ever end. I mean, those chairs just continued. They were, they were just a ton of them. I'm not sure how many we had set up. It was almost 900. And so it was really, really good. And then the sound and audio video stuff. It's all, man. It all just came together. We were having so many technical challenges on Saturday. 7 (24m 55s): It was ridiculous. We didn't, we weren't sure what was going to happen, but, but our team got it together and I need a bigger podium is what I need. I've got all this stuff. Can we work on that? Like a four by just getting so thanks for that to everyone. Yeah. Great turnout. It was so good to be back at the, at the park. After two years through COVID of not being able to be out there. It was, I mean, we had a great time last year at our back lot back here, but we just love being in that park. Love the opportunity to be salt and light and in the neighborhood there in our community. And so we're just really, really grateful for that. 7 (25m 38s): And we're going to be in Hebrews 13 today kind of wrapping up in the next few weeks, our study through Hebrews. And we're just going to continue to March right through the rest of the new Testament. And so we'll be teaching through revelation here in a few months and I think it'll be really, it's really good timing, I think to get into a study through revelation and so wanted to let you know that that is coming. I, I taught last through revelation 15 years ago in that crazy. Yeah. I was looking at my old notes and I thought, man, it's been 15 years since I've taught through that. So a lot has changed in our world and last 15 years. So it's time for an update and the word of God never changes, but our culture, our circumstances certainly change don't they speaking of change, my son Curtis got engaged yesterday, go ahead and stand up. 7 (26m 30s): Curtis Curtis St. Clark. So we just did a wedding for Steven and Amanda a few months ago and our cup two and a half, three months ago or whatever it's been now. And, and so now we get to plan for another one. So the more the merrier. And so we're excited about that. So congratulations to you too. And you guys want to just get married now you want to just go, I happen to know somebody you can make that happen for you. So it would be zebra. I know, right? Get things done. What are the cupcakes say to the frosting? 7 (27m 13s): I'd be muffin without you. There we go. Told you, I'd tell you a joke on family Sunday. Hey, a lot of us, thousands of people throughout the state went up to Sacramento last Monday and Tuesday to, to lobby against assembly bill 2, 2, 2, 3. And I mean, it was just a huge outpouring of people throughout the states who showed up and, and people from other states. And so sadly the assembly health committee passed AB T T two three last week. 7 (27m 55s): So the bill will go next to the assembly appropriations committee before making its way to the assembly floor. So continue to pray, just continue to pray. It's re if you've done any research at all, you know that this assembly bill is, is heinous and it's, it's so grieves the heart of God to see this type of legislation making its way through and into, into, into law. I mean, it's not just California, there's other states who are trying to do the same thing. So anyway, take a look at it. We don't often talk about political things, but this is not just a political thing. It's a political thing, but it's a moral thing first and foremost. 7 (28m 36s): And so that when we're talking about moral things that contradict the word of God and God's direction for our lives, then we talk about it and we encourage action. So do some research, pray, pray, pray that this thing gets stopped in its tracks. And so we're going to just pray right now for that. And then we'll get into Hebrews 13, one through seven Lord. We do pray, God, God, we ask Lord God for it's just a supernatural intervention here, Lord God that she would stop this bill, this proposed bill or God that it would not become law. 7 (29m 17s): Lord God, that you would not allow it to become law. That born babies would not be allowed to legally be killed in our state Lord God. And as goes California as goes the nation. So it goes the nation, Lord God. And so we pray God that this would be stopped here. And then it would be a message to the rest of the nation that we, we don't, we don't want to stand for this kind of stuff and we will not stand for this kind of stuff. So Lord, I pray that the, the, the people of our nation be aware of what's going on, that these, this type of legislation is being moved forward. Lord, I pray that we would be alert. 7 (29m 58s): That'd be that we'd be wise to what's going on in our world and that we would be prayerful and lobby against things like this. It's our, our responsibility Lord. And so I pray God that we would take serious this responsibility, remember to pray and trust you, Lord God. So speak to those who will be deciding in this next step, Lord, God, speak to their hearts. Thank you Lord, for the opportunity to pray and to petition and to lobby against things like this, help us. We pray Lord in Jesus name. Amen. So last Tuesday we were walking through the buildings. We were out in front of the Capitol, on the lawn there. 7 (30m 40s): And then we were walking through and being able to, which we were trying to lobby the people who are a part of the part of the assembly health committee. And they wouldn't even open the doors for us. We would go knock on their door and they would say, Hey, we're not taking guests at the moment. And so just dozens and dozens of people would just pray outside of their doors in the hallways. And so we went to each office and just prayed and petitioned by God's grace, that, that things would change here. And so let's continue to do that and that we wrestle not against flesh and blood enemies, but we're in a spiritual battle. 7 (31m 23s): And so let's continue to fight against things like AB 2, 2, 2, 3. Amen. Hey, we're in Hebrews chapter 13, we're going to be looking at verses one through seven, the title of the message today, practical faith living. So it will be in Hebrews chapter three verses one through seven. The book of Hebrews is all about challenging your religious activity and tradition so that genuine faith life can be experienced and lived. And I think we need to do that all throughout the course of our lives. We need to be challenging religious activity, things that seem good, but are actually a hindrance to our intimate walk and commitment to Jesus Christ. 7 (32m 8s): So the book of Hebrews is all about challenging religious activity. It was written to Jews. This, we don't know who the author of Hebrews is, but it was written to Jews who had made a decision to trust Jesus as their Messiah. And they were breaking away from a religious tradition, a tradition of lots of works and that sort of thing. And so this book is written to this group of people, giving them practical insight. These are the things as we wrap up Hebrews, this, these are the things that we should be doing. These are the things that should mark the lives of believers, the lives of people in God's church. 7 (32m 53s): So Hebrews three 13 brings to light, very practical things that mark the life of a follower of Jesus Christ. And so as we look at the first seven verses of Hebrews 13, we find seven points that define for us practical faith, living seven points in seven verses. And so it's going to take us about three weeks to get through Hebrews 13. And, and then we'll, we'll just jump right in with number one, practical, faith, living, number one, love each other. We see that throughout the scripture that God has called us to love each other. We see that in Hebrews 13, one says, keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. 7 (33m 36s): And so the author saying, Hey, keep this up. You're doing it. The marks of a godly person is that we would continue to love one another. So love each other. The transliteration of the Greek word for love here is Philadelphia. The city of Philadelphia is the city of brotherly love, right? If you've ever been to Philadelphia, you have, I'd never been there, but I've, I've heard that it's not necessarily living up to its name. I don't know, but in 1994 at Gallup poll named Philadelphia, America's most hostile place. So maybe there's some truth to what I'm hearing. 7 (34m 17s): So good intentions only take us so far. So the founders of that city had great intentions. Let's call this place, Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love with the expectation that the goal that this place would be marked by brotherly love. And instead though it's become hostile and one of Philadelphia America's most hostile plays. So good intentions only take you so far. Have you experienced that? Like I'm gonna do better. I'm going to love this person better. And then we fall short, listen, we can't love people effectively unless we're filled with the grace of God, the presence of God and the power of God, because some people are just very difficult to love, but by God's grace, he gives us the ability and even the desire he refreshes our hearts and minds so that we actually have the desire to love people who are on lovely. 7 (35m 11s): How do we love each other? Romans 12, 10 says this love each other with genuine affection. So now we're kind of getting some action points here, genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other. So we're to love one another with genuine affection honoring each other. I would just reading in first Samuel this morning, and I was reading about the relationship between Jonathan, the King's son and David, the newly anointed king, who was yet to take the throne. But as we read through first Samuel, we see the, the, the love relationship that David and Jonathan had. 7 (35m 57s): There was, there was a sacrificial commitment to one, another to protect one another. And you can see how Jonathan over and over again, protected David from Saul's wrath. Saul was jealous of David and Saul was envious of David saw was, was, was angry at David. And so over and over again, Saul was trying to kill David and Jonathan would step up over and over again to protect him. He had, he had genuine love and affection for David and he honored him. And so there's, there's great examples in the scripture and there's great examples in our own lives. Maybe where people have loved us with genuine affection. 7 (36m 40s): And with honor, I can think back in my life about different people who have loved me. So well, my wife, for sure, being one of them for the last 32 years, she just loved me really, really well, genuine affection and honor. And I really do think that's part of like the recipe for longevity in marriage is that we would love and honor one another, a genuine affection can only come from a genuine heart. And so we need to regularly ask the Lord, God, what's going on with my heart. Why, why am I having a hard time loving this person? Maybe it's your spouse. You're having a hard time loving you. 7 (37m 21s): Say, Lord, what's going on with my heart because we can't love when we can fake it, but we can only love people with genuine affection. And honor, when we have a pure hearts, when our hearts are in the right place, we've, we've got to guard our hearts and make sure that we've confessed sin, that we've forgiven, that we're walking in purity and honor before the Lord so that we can lovingly serve others and love others with a genuine affection and honor. So genuine affection can only come from a genuine heart. And honor only comes from a humble heart. So we need to check ourselves. What's the condition of our heart. 7 (38m 2s): Are we being, are we being humble? Are we pure in our heart? Or are we do we have guile and unforgiveness and hatred in our heart brother and sister Lee love can only happen when we choose to extend grace from a genuine and humble heart. So part of doing what anything God has called us to do, what it requires that we're empowered by God, but that we always extend grace. If we think about our relationship with God, what is he always doing with us? I don't know about you, but he's always, always grace to me, right? I mean, I think about the person who loves me more than anybody who has the capacity to love me more than anybody that's God. 7 (38m 45s): And he knows all of my failures and shortcomings, but he genuinely loves me. And he genuinely loves you with affection. And he honors us in that relationship by loving us unconditionally. So in order for us to love, like, God loves us to love others. Like God loves us. We need to, we need to be constantly extending grace to the people in our lives. If you've been alive for any amount of time, you know that you need to extend grace to people constantly in work relationships and marriage, relationships and sibling relationships. And in every relationship, there's going to be opportunity for you to be offended or for you to offend others. 7 (39m 30s): And so there needs to be that constant extension of grace, constant extension of grace meets you. You to me, we, to each other, we just constantly extend grace. The apostle Paul wrote in Philippians four 13 for I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength. So maybe you're here today. And you're like, this is like a really impossible thing. There's this person in my life that I just don't like at all. I don't respect this person. I don't like this person. This person gets under my skin every time I see him or her. And so Lord, I don't know how all things are possible. When we submit our hearts to the Lord, we can love people. 7 (40m 11s): I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength. God will give you the strength to forgive great story. When the first missionaries arrived in Alberta, Canada, a young chief of the Cree Indians named Masco opportun, savaged, savagely, opposed them. But he later responded to the gospel and accepted Christ shortly afterward. A member of the Blackfoot tribe killed his father mascot. Batoon rode into the village where the murderer lived and demanded that he be brought before him confronting the guilty man. 7 (40m 51s): He said, you have killed my father. So now you must be my father. You shall ride my best horse and wear my best clothes in utter amazement and remorse his enemy exclaimed. My son. Now you have killed me. He meant, of course, that the hates in his own heart had been completely erased by the forgiveness and kindness of the Indian chief. This is the power of the gospel. When we've been touched by the grace of God, we, we find capacity. 7 (41m 33s): Expend extend that same grace to others. Even those who have done us rate great harm. God's grace, as we're filled with the spirit of God and the word of God, the truth that God gives us the capacity to extend grace to others in Luke 10 27, the most important commandment says this. You must love the Lord, your God with all your hearts, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind and love your neighbor as your self over and over again. We see this in the scripture. We see that God calls us to love others. The world. We will know that we are his disciples by our love one for another. 7 (42m 17s): So the love that we're exposed to be feeling for one another and extending to one another is constantly under attack. The enemy wants us to be at odds with one another, because then we're not properly representing the person of the Lord. Jesus Christ. Jesus was gracious in all that. He did. He extended grace and love to everybody. Even to those who executed him on the cross. Jesus tells us in his sermon on the mountain, Matthew 5 21 through 24, he says, you have heard that our ancestors were told you must not murder. 7 (42m 59s): If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment. But I say, if you were even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment. If you call someone an idiot, you're in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell. So if you verse 23 are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the temple. And you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar, go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and off your sacrifice to God. You think God is serious about what he's talking about in his word. He's very serious. 7 (43m 40s): He modeled it for us. He communicates it and the old and the new Testament, he's very serious that we would love one another. So that means we've got to constantly be forgiving, extending grace like 70 times seven. That means essentially that there's no limit to the number of times that we will extend grace and forgiveness. Number one, love each other. Number two, love strangers. So now we're getting a little more specific, loves strangers. We see that in verse two, don't forget to show hospitality to strangers for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it. That's kind of a neat thought, huh? Well, some, some of us have entertained angels without realizing it. 7 (44m 22s): Have you ever wondered about that in your own life? Like, was that an angel? I wonder like, was that a messenger of God that I just entertained? Like, I didn't know who that person was and I haven't seen him since. I wonder if that was an angel of the Lord, that text refers to what happened to Abraham to lot and to Gideon in the old Testament, Genesis 18 Genesis, 19 judges, six and 13, they all entertained angels unaware. They were ministering to angels as they reached out with love to these strangers. One of the best pictures of a person loving a stranger, seen of the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10 when Jesus was asked and who is my neighbor? 7 (45m 13s): So that's the question. I'm like, okay, if I'm supposed to love my neighbor, then who is my neighbor? Right? We're always looking for loopholes, right? Luke 10 30 says this Jesus replied with a story. A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and left him half dead beside the road by chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed by him. Also a temple assistant Levi gets walked over and looked at him, lying there, but he also passed by on the other side of the road, then a despised Samaritan. 7 (46m 1s): So Samaritans were half blood, half blood use. They were, they were a mixed race and they were despised by the Jewish people. Then despise Samaritan came along. And when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with all of oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an end where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, two silver coins to denari were essentially the wage for two late to two days of labor in the day. So he had an two days of work of pay to continue to take care of him, take care of this, man. 7 (46m 46s): If this bill runs higher than this, I'll pay you the next time I'm here. So this despised Samaritan served this stranger paid for his well and made sure that he was going to be taking care of until he was completely healthy. Now, which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits? Jesus asked the man replied the one who showed him mercy. Then Jesus said, yes. Now go and do the same. So we have an opportunity to, in a practical way, love those who we don't know as we see people in need. 7 (47m 33s): Now we can't help everybody in need, but we do have the responsibility to help people in need. So we need to pray as we know of people in need and say, Lord, what is my role here? What is my place with this person? How can I serve this person? How am I supposed to serve this person? And as the Lord leads, you, you can minister to that person, but we've got to be prayerful, listening, responsive obedience so that we can do the things that God has called us to do. So there are going to be people in your life that are going to require your love. People that you don't know, maybe people don't like, but God has given you an assignment responsibility to serve them. 7 (48m 21s): Being essentially Jesus with skin on practical, faith living involves loving strangers, but also number three, loving the forgotten, loving the forgotten verse three says, remember those in prison as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated as if you felt their pain in your own body. Often we think about people who are incarcerated. We think, well, they deserve to be there. Well, we, if the truth were told, if we all got busted for things that we have done throughout the course of our life, then we would probably be in there as well. 7 (49m 3s): Truth, be told we've gotten away with a lot of stuff over the course of our lives and found out we might all be in that same place. I often say that apart from Jesus, that I rather either be dead in prison or addicted to something. I mean, apart from Jesus that's, that would be my lot. I just know myself way too well. And I know my life before Jesus came in, remember those in prison. One of my first ministries was to those who were incarcerated. And so we had ministries at the county jail. We had three services on Sunday morning. We had a service for the men's side of the jail and then a service for the women's side of the jail. 7 (49m 43s): And then we'd go over to the honor farm and we would have a service over there. So Sunday mornings, we have three services over there and it was a pleasure to minister and to serve those who are incarcerated. And in my early sales life, as an outside sales rep for a company might part of my territory included me service going into and serving those in prisons. And so I would go in to, I think I had six or seven or eight prisons that I would go into on a regular basis. And what I realized with a few exceptions, most of the people that I was seeing in these prisons, they, they had just made mistakes and they serving their time. 7 (50m 29s): And the truth is they were, they were worthy of love. They were worthy of respect and what I treated them with love and respect that was returned to me. And now I know that's not the case across the board, but overwhelmingly. So that was the case. It's only went to San Quentin prison. San Quentin prison was an altogether different scenario. I walked in that place and it was dark and cold and scary. It was scary. I went in there. I spent about half a day at San Quentin prison once and I decided never to step foot in his hand, Quentin prison. 7 (51m 9s): Again, it was a scary place for me. I didn't want to go back and it was my choice to go in or not. And so I decided not to. So I continued to serve the other prisons, but at San Quentin, I decided to stay away. Now I've heard it's gotten easier at San Quentin, but all the same, I steer steer clear. So we need to remember those in prison. Sometimes we, we think, well, they're not, you know, they're, they're incarcerated. We have an incredible opportunity. Mike and Sharon do tra take their curriculum into prisons and jails all over the country. And they're having a huge impact inside the walls of jails. Now, people who are there, most likely they deserve to be there. 7 (51m 49s): They're not all innocent. Like they would probably say, but we need to take the opportunity to serve people who are forgotten. And remember, remember also those being mistreated as if you felt their pain in your own body, we need to with empathy, remember those who are being mistreated. And so that's why we stand up for bills against bills like AB 2, 2, 2, 3. We believe in life. And we believe that those who are born and the unborn deserve life. And so AB 2, 2, 2, 3 is just another step that eliminates life in our nation. 7 (52m 39s): We need to remember those who are forgotten. There's a young man in our community. He's a homeless guy and he we've known him for years and he doesn't work around the church from time to time. And we've helped him from time to time. And he came to me recently and he said, Hey, I'm trying to get my life back in order. Would you help me get to teen challenge? And so I said, absolutely, we'll get, we'll help you get to teen challenge. And so we gave him a train ticket to get over to Shafter, and we helped him to get there. And we it's important that we are for people who are trying to get their lives back in order. 7 (53m 20s): And so he wanted to go to this Christian program and get his life back in order. So we sent him over there earlier this month and I've been praying for him. And then I got a text from him yesterday. He said, I got kicked out for fighting. So he's out. But that doesn't mean we stop trying. I mean, often we'll try stuff. And in our estimation, from our perspective, it looks like it failed, but it's just maybe another step in the journey that people are taking. And we need to continue to give grace and extend mercy. So he asked me for a train ticket back to the coast and I told him, you are on your own. 7 (54m 4s): He got kicked out. So now the rubber meets the road and he's got to figure out his own path forward. And so we'll figure out, we gotta figure out with good boundaries and good grace, how to serve people, but not enable people. So there's a lot there. We could probably talk about it for a very, very long, a long time. So number three, love the forgotten. Number four, love your spouse. That's actually in the Bible of your spouse, mess something we should just do naturally. Right? We should just love our spouse. We get engaged because we're in love. We get, we want to spend the rest of our lives together because we're in love. And so why is it so hard for us to love our spouse? 7 (54m 44s): Well, typically people coming together to get married are completely opposite of for whatever reason opposites attract. And so there begins to be a rub. Maybe you've never experienced it. And then in your own marriage, but there can be a rub sometimes in marriage, right? I mean, you guys are brand new, married if you guys experienced any rub. Never. Okay, good. So Amanda saying yes. Even saying no. So there's going to be a rub. Whether you've been married for two days or 20 years or 40 years, there's always going to be some kind of an opportunity to love our spouse. When there's a disagreement verse four says, give honor to marriage and remain faithful to one another in marriage. 7 (55m 30s): God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery. So how do we love our spouse? Well, we give them honor. We honor them find different ways to honor your spouse. What is your spouse enjoy? What is your spouse? Not enjoy. Figure out those things, answer those questions and then honor them when the way that you live in relationship with them, speak with respects, with tenderness, with kindness, I've heard some men talk to their end vice-a-versa spot, talk to their spouse and very damning and hurtful dishonoring ways. 7 (56m 17s): And so those things need to be, we need to pay attention. Sometimes we can get comfortable in our relationships and we get sloppy about the way we communicate. We get insensitive about the needs of our spouse. And for as long as we're married, we need to be working on honoring one another. Speaking with tenderness, with respect, with kindness, with humility, and just watch what the Lord will do to heal up. Whatever's going on in your marriage remain faithful. So someone's heard this quote recently when a man says yes to a particular woman, he is saying no to every other woman out there. 7 (57m 5s): And that's true for women, either women too. When, when a woman says yes to a particular man, that means she is saying no to every other man out there. So that's part of the deal. We, we honor one another by loving one another and saying, faithful remaining, faithful to one another. Then you make your spouse, your priority, make your spouse your priority. Often in life, everything else becomes priority. The kids that becomes priority. But what happens when your kids grow up? Like your kids are all grown up and maybe you spent the last 20 years making your kids your priority. And then now you're just kind of stuck. 7 (57m 46s): Just the two of you, right? Like now what do we do with each other? Right. Often people get divorced after their kids are raised because they've spent the last 20 years making their S their kids a priority and really everything else, a priority. And so when it's just the two of them in the house, it's, it's like, what do we do with each other? I couldn't wait for my kids to get out of house. It just, the two of us, you know, my wife and I, we, we just, I love my kids, but at 18 it's time for them to go, right. We raised them to be independence. Self-sufficient relying on God, loving Jesus and getting out of the house. 7 (58m 27s): Like they can show up anytime they wanted, they need food or laundry done while they have to do their own laundry. But if they need, they can rate my cupboards. If they need money, I'll give them whatever I have, but they need to be out. Right. Because I just, I want to hang out with my bride. We got, we got married in 11 months and three weeks later we had Caitlin, right? So like, there's no honeymoon period. Like she got pregnant immediately. And then 14, 15 months later, Steven was born. And then like 16 months later, Curtis was born. And like two years later, Leslie was born. So I'm like, Hey, I've done my duty. 7 (59m 7s): Right. Lights out. Time to go. And so no Jolene and I can walk around the house naked. It's wonderful. She would never do that. Me on the other hand, I might buy the house is right. So let's enjoy. Let's enjoy what God has given to us. I forgot his family Sunday, but sorry. Lastly, my daughter's dying over there. He's like, we need to love our spouse. And like, like I, I believe, and like after decades of marriage, that the spark can still be there and be magical and wonderful. 7 (59m 52s): And it needs to be there. It needs to absolutely be there. And if it's not there, work on it, get it back, begin to date your spouse again. All right. Let's take a look at things that hinder our ability to love love of money will hinder our ability to love others. So number five, don't love money. Money is a terrible thing to love. It's it's a one way street. I verse five says don't love money. Be satisfied with what you have for God has said, I will never fail you. I will never abandon you. 7 (1h 0m 34s): When money is a person's focus. Inevitably God loses first place in that person's life. And when God loses first place in a person's life, everything else begins to diminish as well. Loving money is the ultimate selfish thing. I mean, it's, it's about making sure that I have what I need, that I have my safety, my provision. I have everything that I need. And so it's all about me and my money. And, and so then we're not allowing God to be on the throne of our lives. We're not honoring our spouse and others and loving others with our resources because it's all selfishly belongs to me. 7 (1h 1m 20s): The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. It's the root of all kinds of evil. So don't love your money, money. This prob I think he's a proverb says, man, it's just like, takes on wings like an Eagle and just flies away. It's just, it's temporary. You can't take it with you. It doesn't bring lasting satisfaction. It's not helpful for most things in life. I mean, we can be thankful that, you know, we've got homes and food and things like that, that things that money buy, but man money can never be our priority. Our driving force, the kingdom of God has to be our driving force, doing what God has called us to do in the scripture. That needs to be our driving force, getting up every morning and making sure that Jesus is the Lord Lord of our lives. 7 (1h 2m 5s): That needs to be our driving force. Matthew 6 24, no one can serve two masters for you will hate one and love the other. You will devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. Love of money is the root of all kinds of evil money can be a blessing when handled properly. And it can be a curse. I've watched so many families over the course of my life and ministry get blown up over, over money. 7 (1h 2m 45s): Inheritances. They divide families, squabbling over possessions. I'm just, I, I, I'm sick to my stomach of the stories that I hear when money gets introduced into a family and there begins the squabble. It's like, oh, we love each other until money shows up and you're not getting mine, man. I tell ya, I I've been so blessed by my, my brother in Denver. He's my half-brother. So my dad passed away six months ago or eight months ago. It's been awhile now, number of months and six months before that, my dad's second wife passed away. 7 (1h 3m 30s): My step-mom. And so my brother who lives in Denver, where my dad lived is handling the estate. And he's been so completely gracious with the way he's handled everything. I, I just tell him all the time I'm so Shane I'm so thankful for the way that you're handling all of this, because the last thing we want is for our family to be blown up because of a few bucks, right? It's not worth it. Relationships. We, we need one another. Am I done with time? How far over am I? I still got like 14 points left. Here we go. 7 (1h 4m 10s): I got five minutes. Thank you very much, Amanda. Here we go. So don't let the love of money. Dictate whom you will love the antidote for the love of money is contentment. Contentment. Godliness with contentment is great. Gain our culture. We don't understand contentment. We see the next new shiny thing. We want it. We, we, we need to have that next thing and I'm can be just as guilty as the rest. So we need to learn to find this place of contentment. Verse five. Again, for God has said, I will never fail you. I will never abandon you. 7 (1h 4m 51s): So that's where our focus, our hope our priority is has God. He, he will never fail you. He will never abandoned. You'd often were hoarding money or save, hold on to stuff because we're afraid of the future and the world's a crazy place. And so we're afraid. And boy, if, if, if we just honor the Lord seek first, the kingdom of God and his righteousness, everything else will be added on to us. Someone said, if you fear God, you've got nothing else to fear, right? Like fearing God means to obey him, to honor him to do what he's called us to do. We put that kind of priority in our lives. Everything else will be taken care of. 7 (1h 5m 30s): Everything else will be taken care of. Another hindrance to love is fear. Don't live in fear, verse six. So we can say with confidence and we'll wrap this up quick. The Lord is my helper. So I will have no fear what can mere people do to me. So the writer of Hebrews is writing to people who are under persecution, Jewish people who have said I'm breaking away from Judaism to honor Christ to enter into this covenant relationship with the Lord. Jesus Christ. I recognize that Jesus is the Messiah. Well, this was a threat to the church, the Jewish church. 7 (1h 6m 14s): This was a threat to the church. And so there was persecution, the Orthodox religious use of the days, guys like Saul of Tarsus before his conversion were persecuting the church, pressuring the people to follow the laws of Moses. And so they were feeling fear. And so the writer is saying, Hey, you've got nothing to fear in light of eternity, which is where we're going to be spending. Most of our time. This, this life here is a blip on the screen of eternity. It's just a blip. It's an important blip. Jesus died for this blip that we might live for him, that we might take as many people with us to heaven as possible. 7 (1h 6m 57s): So it's an important blip, but, but it's not the whole thing. We'll spend eternity with the Lord or not depending on how and what we choose in this life. 9 (1h 7m 11s): Ah, 7 (1h 7m 12s): What can I skip here? This is good. An adverse or number seven, practical faith living number seven verse seven says, remember your leaders who taught you the word of God, think of all the good that has come from their lives and follow the example of their faith. So how do we, how do we love our leaders? We've all got leaders. I've got to leaders, you've got leaders, we've all got leaders. And so we have this responsibility. I submit to my elders. I submit to their leadership in my life. 7 (1h 7m 54s): We all have people that we must submit to because we all have leaders in our lives. So how do we, how do we love our leaders? I w I would say guard against criticism. It's easy to get critical of leaders. Often. We don't understand what our leaders are going through. The decisions that they're facing, the expectations that are upon. So if we can just be careful to extend grace and avoid criticism, and if we can pray for our leaders, that's governmental leaders, that's church leaders. We need to pray, pray, pray for our leaders. Often I'll ask the church. Will you remember to pray for our elders, our staff, our, our church. 7 (1h 8m 34s): Would you remember to pray for me specifically when we praying for people praying for the operative word, they're praying for people, not against people like Lord help his car to crash into that telephone pole. That's not praying for that's bringing again. So don't pray for Lord that they would be blessed and walking in grace and experiencing your clarity. That's what we need to be praying for. People decide to extend grace, understand our human limitations. I think we need to be able to look back at the, of our lives and be able to speak well of people that have led us currently and in the past. And if there's things sticking in our crawl a little bit about past leaders, we need to pray for them and watch the Lord change our hearts. 7 (1h 9m 16s): And then we begin to see their human limitations and begin to see the things that they were up against. And we can extend grace so that we're living in harmony with those who are in leadership over us. I don't think we can honor our earthly leaders very well. Let me, how do I say this? I think we really are. We begin to honor our earthly leaders really well when we figured out how to honor our heavenly leader. When we figured out how to honor the Lord, there's just something that of a work of God in our lives that allows us to honor our leaders and really everybody in our lives. So love each other. Love strangers, love the forgotten and love your spouse. Don't love money. Don't live in fear and love your leaders. Hey, let's take communion. 7 (1h 9m 57s): So thankful for communion. I, once a month, we remember what the Lord has done, and hopefully often more often than that, but especially once a month on family Sunday, we remember. And even as I flipped my elements, I'm like, that was the wrong thing to do. So I don't mean to take it. Forgive me for that. I it's really, we need to honor what God has given us in this active worship that we would honor the Lord. So I'm going to read first Corinthians 1123. 7 (1h 10m 39s): And then as I get ready to read that, just get your hearts, pray that you get your hearts in the right place. And that be a time of confession, time of humility, time of brokenness and contrition that we would go humbly before the throne of grace and say, thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for salvation for new life and forgiveness for I pass on to you. What I receive from the Lord himself, this first grand thing is 1123 on the night when he was betrayed, the Lord, Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. 7 (1h 11m 22s): Then he broke it in pieces and said, this is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me. It's taken away from Got I'm filled with joy, and I'm also perplex. Lord. I I'm grateful that you Allowed your body to be nailed to a cross. Allow your board, your blood to be poured out for my sins. Lord God, I'm perplexed. Lord God that you would love us me enough to do that. Lord, I, I, I don't have the capacity to understand why you would do that Florida, But thank you. 7 (1h 12m 10s): Thank you Lord. For your grace. It is sufficient Verse 25 in the same way. He took the cup of wine after supper saying this cup is the new covenant between God and his people and agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me. As often as you drink it for every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord's death until he comes again. Let's go ahead and take the cup. Thank you, Lord. 7 (1h 12m 51s): Thank you for your blood. Thank you that you poured out your blood for my sins. You took the wrath of God that belonged to me upon yourself. And you gave me an exchange. Your righteousness. You gave us an exchange, your righteousness. If you're here today and you need the righteousness of God in your life. If you need God to take that weight of burden from sins and mistakes and failures and shortcomings, if you need God to lift those things off you and you want to enter into a relationship with God, a saving a life, changing, born again, relationship with God you say, Lord, I, I need you to lift this burden of sin. 7 (1h 13m 32s): I need you to forgive me. I repent. I change my mind about the way that I've been living and I'm going to turn and live for you. I'm going to turn and follow you. I want you to be the Lord and the leader of my life. I will submit to you in all things. I will follow you in all things. And I will love you always Lord by your grace. So Lord come into my life, forgive my sin and help me to follow you all the rest of the days of my life. And as you do that, you, you began, you began a journey of being a follower of the Lord. Jesus Christ. It's not about getting sins forgiven. 7 (1h 14m 14s): And then you move on. It's about submitting your life to Jesus and following God, the rest of your life into eternity forever and ever. Amen. It's about allowing God to transition your life from what it was to new life in him. To allow you to be born again into the kingdom of God, adopted into his family. So Lord, this is a life altering transaction that we're believing you for, help us to walk in that life-changing way. We pray this way that you have designed for us. We love you Lord in Jesus name. 7 (1h 14m 54s): Amen. Let's go out and stand up and worship. 1 (1h 15m 22s): You give you a green light to the job 0 (1h 15m 34s): You 1 (1h 15m 35s): Restore and every house that is . It's your breath in? praise. Praise. It's your breath. You bring right John? 1 (1h 16m 33s): Oh, hi. That is Oh, the wish shout shoe tricks cry. 1 (1h 18m 20s): These bones 2 (1h 19m 51s): Lord. You are great. You are awesome. And mighty, we praise you this morning as we go about the rest of our week. Lord, we just pray that you'd be filling us with your holy spirit so that we can shine light to the rest of the world. And everybody we come in contact with. We can glorify you in everything that we do in Jesus name. Amen.

1 (2s): Happy Easter. What'd you stand as we worship marking this morning. 2 (2m 23s): I give my to this by the lamb who was 4 (4m 44s): All right. Good morning. Good, welcome. Welcome to Horace church outdoor Easter service. Hey, my name is Jeremy. I'm the youth and family pastor here at harvest church. And we just want to say welcome. Thank you for joining us. And there's been a long standing tradition in the church that is to say he is arisen, and then you respond with, he is risen. Indeed. Can we do that? All right. So he is risen. Amen. That is the, that is the day that we celebrate today. The risen savior. So, so welcome. Hey, just a few announcements this morning. We've got some great stuff on. Normally we meet at 1 0 2 west branch street right there in the village, and that's our normal service, but sooner agree, moving to 1 0 2 west branch. 4 (5m 28s): The something's different location. That's be our new worship center will be in there shortly, but we're excited about that. Just to let you know the lay of the land. We have the info center back here, and you can get all the find out all about CA harvest church and ways to plug in. We have our coffee and water over here as well, as well as the bathrooms are right back there. So you want to know where those things are. That's where they well, that's where they are. But we just want to say thank you. If you're joining us for the first time, feel free to go back to the info center and fill out a communication card. We'd love to find out more about you and ways to get plugged into harvest church. And for those kids that are here, we're so glad you're here in, in service with us. 4 (6m 11s): Normally we have an amazing kids program, but this morning, it's family Sunday. What a great day to celebrate Easter with a family. So kids are in service parents. If you just keep an eye on your kids, that the service has been amazing, but the kids afterwards, we have a special egg hunt for you guys. So there'll be more on that in a bit. And then lastly, Hey, we're going to be having some baptisms today. We're believing that there's going to be some people who are going to make their decision to follow Jesus for the first time this morning. So after service, pastor Steve is going to give the, the invite and we have a baptism tank right over here. We can baptize you today, fully immerse you in water, just like Jesus was. 4 (6m 51s): And it's going to be an exciting Sunday. We already have a bunch of people signed up. So it's going to be a, it's going to be an incredible day to see, see that that take place in the life of the, of the believers. So we're going to have baptisms after service. And if you're thinking, well, I didn't bring my shirt. I didn't bring shorts. I didn't bring a towel. Put those things aside because we have all those things ready for you. We got, we got stuff to go. So if you've never been baptized and you believe in the Jesus as your Lord and savior, we want to baptize you today. So amen. Let's say he is risen. Amen. Let's worship again. 2 (7m 52s): The stars just shy. They're half screen moms to have the words to see There is it time to see Jesus. 2 (12m 24s): This song is food. 6 (12m 55s): I cast my, my two Cauvery with And Todd for me, I see his, his hands, his fee. I say, if you're corsetry His body and dressed, and two, they laid him down and Josephs to the streets. 6 (13m 39s): You buy Haffey stone. 6 (15m 27s): In robes of why the blazing shall Pierce. The hand-eye will ride among the same. My gaze transfixed on Jesus. 7 (17m 55s): We are so grateful. So grateful for sunshine and overwhelmed by your goodness. Every time we do an outdoor service, you just make things happen for us. Thank you, God, that you are in charge of the weather and overseeing all things in life for God. And so we just invite your presence. Lord, we invite you to eat to us, to continue to move among us. God, every person's in a different season of life, dealing with different challenges and struggles. And as we've gathered, Lord, you've got the capacity and the desire to speak to each of us, to minister, to each of us. 7 (18m 39s): And so we invite you to do that and just a powerful and profound way. Do what only you can do work supernaturally in every soul gathered Lord, we prayed. We are so thankful for your love. So, so thankful for your goodness. We bless you Lord in Jesus name. Amen. Hey man, he is raised in say seated. He is risen. He is risen. Indeed remain standing. And we're going to read from Matthew 28 drinks. Yes, sorry. Please stay on Matthew 28 verses one through seven. It says this early on Sunday morning as the new day was dawning Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. 7 (19m 23s): Suddenly there was a great earthquake for an angel of the Lord, came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone and sat on it. His face shown like lightning and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him and they fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the women. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. He said, I know you're looking for Jesus. Who was crucified. He isn't here. He is risen from the dead, just as he said, what happened? He has risen from the dead just as he said, what happened? 7 (20m 4s): Come, come see where his body was lying. And now go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead. And he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you? The angel said, don't be afraid. He has risen from the dead. Amen. Amen. Turn and greet somebody. And we will come right back in just a moment. Say hello to your neighbor. We'll come right back. 7 (21m 10s): Alrighty, come on back. Come on back. I'm going to met somebody new today. Somebody, anybody being in a brand new. Good, good, good. That's the idea. Welcome. So I've got a joke to kick us off here as we kind of get things rolling again. I'm told that everybody loves my jokes. And so here we go. Did you hear, did you hear about the Jewish guy who sold his family tomb? His wife was furious with him. This family tomb had been in the family for generations and she assumed rightfully so that she would be buried there, that her husband would be buried there. 7 (21m 51s): And that generations following would be buried there. So she asked him, who did you sell the family tomb to? She said, he said, well, it was this guy named Jesus, but he told me that he only needed it for three days. That's as good as it gets research. Sorry guys, we're talking about hope today. Hope resurrected in order for something to be resurrected, someone or something to be resurrected. And obviously it has to be dead first. So when we talk about hope being resurrected, we're talking about something that has been dead, a person, a plan, a purpose, something has died. 7 (22m 38s): And we're here today to talk about the resurrection power of the Lord, Jesus Christ. As we talk about the resurrection of the person of the Lord, Jesus Christ, the historic person, Jesus Christ. We're also talking about the resurrection of the hope that he is. He is the hope of the world. He is absolutely the hope of the world. So we're talking about Jesus, who is our hope being resurrected from the dead, but we're also talking about the hope we can experience in light of the reality of Christ's resurrection. So hope is a noun and a verb. We have hope and we exercise hope. 7 (23m 19s): We have hope in the person and the work of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And we exercise hope. We put our hope in him. Those who know the Lord, we already have hope. And for those of you who are here today, and you don't know Jesus, if you're here, just kind of checking things out, you can know Jesus, you can choose hope today. Have you ever felt hopeless in your life? I felt that times, maybe my earliest memory of feeling hopeless was in 1980, in 1980, I was 11 years old and we were visiting friends in Ventura. And on the day that we were supposed to leave to come back to this area, my mom sent me off for a quart of milk at the storm. 7 (24m 5s): And so I go to the store. I find my way there. I get the milk and I've got a terrible sense of direction. So I come out the wrong door and I had the wrong direction. And I spend the next 12 hours looking for the place that I'm supposed to be returning to. The street that I was looking for was Amherst. The street that I thought I needed to be heading toward was I, I thought I was heading toward Ash. So if you look on a map, Ash street in Amhurst and Ventura is about four and a half miles apart. So I spent the day wandering, looking for the wrong place. I was looking for the wrong streets. 7 (24m 48s): And when did it occur to me that I could probably find my way back by remembering the store that I had gone to initially I began to have some hope. So I began to ask the question to people around me, Hey, how do you get to this market? I can't remember the name of the market now, but I began to ask, how do I get back to this market? And they said, are you sure you want to go to that market? That's like way across town. I said, no, that is that's the spot I need to get back to that market. And so over time I made my way back to the markets. And from there made my way to my friend's house, where we were staying. And 12 hours later, I made it home. And, but I was completely hopeless until I realized the direction that I needed to head. 7 (25m 32s): And once I had that direction, I just felt revitalized in my hope. And I, I knew that I was moving in the right direction and I knew eventually I would make it back to the place I started. How is hope resurrected in our lives? I believe hope is resurrected in our lives. And we have clarity about the direction of our lives when we're lacking clarity about the direction of our lives. We lack hope. We're not sure what tomorrow brings. We're not sure how to move forward. We're not sure who we are and what we're supposed to be about in this life. Especially given these last two years with COVID, it kind of wrecked the world and we're all kind of wondering and scratching our heads and trying to figure out how does this thing end. 7 (26m 14s): And here we are two years into it. And we're grateful that we can gather as a church, the people of God, people in the community on Easter service. But, but we, we, we, we needed in the midst of all that, to know somehow that this was going to come to an animal. We're so grateful that it's kind of wrapping up hope resurrected when Jesus was born and lives and was crucified and buried in that tomb, his followers were utterly hopeless. They had given everything away, they've sold everything. They had abandoned everything so that they might follow Jesus. 7 (26m 57s): Jesus would call them on the shores of the sea of Galilee. And they would say he was a common follow me. I will make you fishers of men. Like I'm going to change your whole life. Like, I don't want you to focus on what you've been focusing on up to this point. I want you to follow me and I will change your life. And even though Jesus had told them, listen, I'm going to die. And then on the third day, I will be resurrected. When it, it actually happened. His people were confused and lost and even angry. I would imagine. And just distraught at the reality that this Jesus that they gave everything for and were following for three years was dead. 7 (27m 40s): He was crucified unjustly, so and wrapped and put into a tomb. I mean, that's pretty final, right? It's, it's pretty final unless we're talking about God, unless we're talking about God. If we're talking about God, then nothing is final until God says it is final. When, when Jesus came out of that grave, hope was restored when they saw him. And the scripture says that 500 plus people saw him after his resurrection. It's a historical fact that Jesus resurrected from the dead, his disciples, his followers held on to that reality of that truth and gave their lives for the reality of that truth. 7 (28m 24s): They would not buckle. They would not change course because they knew that their savior had been resurrected from the dead. And so they gave their lives so that others might hear that message. Maybe you're here today and you don't know Jesus. Maybe you've never heard a gospel presentation. The gospel presentation is just Jesus. This is it's. This Jesus loves you. God, God lavish you. He's absolutely in love with you. And he wants to forgive your sins and welcome you into his family. He wants to bless your life and challenge you to follow him all the days of your life. I often say it like this. 7 (29m 5s): It's God has made it incredibly easy to walk in new life with him as a believer, as a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ. But it's the hardest thing you'll ever do. As you follow him, the very, the rest of your life, his grace is a free gift, but walking after him is the hardest thing that you will ever have to do. But it's the thing in life that makes everything in life worthwhile. Maybe you're here today and you don't know who Jesus is. The good news is that you can know him and he wants to know you and he wants to come into your life. But who is this? Jesus let's understand first. 7 (29m 46s): Who is this? Jesus? Well, most people are familiar with the name. Jesus few people truly know who he is and knowing Jesus identity and his mission are important because there are ramifications that are eternal connected to what we know and what we believe about Jesus. The ramifications are eternal. It doesn't just touch this life. Although it touches this life, it touches all of eternity. So the best source of information about Jesus is in the Bible. And the Bible tells us that Jesus is God. 7 (30m 26s): He is not a God. He is the God. Someone say that Jesus was a good teacher. And I would agree with you, but he wasn't just a good teacher. He was the teacher, the very best teacher. He was a rabbi, but he wasn't just a rabbi. He was the eternal God. The magnificent one who has been there since, before the foundation of the earth. He's eternal. He's eternal. He's certainly not just to clear some things up. He's not the new age. Jesus. They just have a different perspective. New agers don't believe that Jesus has God all mighty. And the second person of the Trinity, rather new agers reduce Jesus to a mere man who attained spiritual enlightenment through a cultic activity and involvements new age G new agers reduce Jesus. 7 (31m 18s): And number him among the so-called masters. Like the Buddha who offer a way to offer a way. But Jesus said in John 14, six, he said, I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes to the father except through me. So Jesus is not just a way. And if we think he's a way, then we're missing the point all together. He is actually the only way to the father. So he's not a Buddha. He's not an enlightened wan. He's not an enlightened master. He is God, some have said, he's a good man, but he's not just a good man. And honestly, he's probably not a good man. If we don't believe what he says about himself, if we don't believe that he is God and he is claiming to be God, then he's probably a lunatic. 7 (32m 4s): So we got to figure out what we believe about Jesus. He is God. And that's who he claims to be. He's fully God and fully man in the incarnation. He is not at all. He is here. This, he is not at all the spirit brother of Lucifer. That's not, that's not who Jesus is. You never married. And he never fathered children. He just never did those things. We need to read. The scripture. Charles Spurgeon wrote discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It's knowing the difference between rights and almost right. So we need to open up the scripture and understand who this Jesus is because it's the Jesus that we celebrate on Easter is the Jesus that we celebrate at Christmas. It's the Jesus. 7 (32m 45s): This Jesus, you came into the world so that we might have new life. He is eternal. He existed before his physical birth. And even before time began, he is the creator of everything that exists. He is the perfect reflection of the invisible God we see in Colossians one 15 through 17. It says Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is Supreme over all creation for through him. God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we cannot see such as Thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world, everything was created through him and for him. 7 (33m 32s): He existed before anything else. And he holds listen. He holds all creation together. Jesus is God. Jesus is the eternal king of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is God. He has the power to forgive sins. And his followers worshiped him. He, he is worthy of worship. Think about, think about this. The all-powerful eternal son of God, coming to earth as an infant. Imagine him lying in a manger, built with trees that he created. Imagine him under the stars that he created in flung into space. 7 (34m 17s): He's reduced to an infant child so that he might come and that we might know him and be saved through him. Scripture makes it clear that he was no ordinary baby. He's the savior of the world. The Bible declares that there's only one way to eternal life. And that is through faith in Jesus Christ. As savior acts four 12 says this salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. Jesus was given so that we might be saved. 7 (34m 57s): God is working in the world today. And I'm so thankful that idea, that reality should give us hope that he's Supreme over all things in the earth. He is working in the earth and he's always been working in the earth. He is working to bring us to himself by faith. Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen. It's the assurance of things we can not see. Hebrews 12 two says this through their faith. The people in days of old earned a good reputation through their faith, the people have days of older and a good reputation. So let's talk about a couple of people from days old. 7 (35m 37s): We're going to talk about Abraham and Sarah for a few minutes. So there's a guy in the Bible named Abraham and his wife's name is Sarah. When Abraham was 75 years old, the Lord made a promise to him at 75. The Lord said to him, this in Genesis 12 two, I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous. And you will be a blessing to others. So Abraham is like, okay, but there's a problem, Lord. There's a problem. It's all about impossible. You see I'm an old man. And my wife is barren. She can't have children. 7 (36m 19s): So it's an impossible word from the Lord. But listen, nothing is impossible with God. And when he declares something to be true, it will come to pass again. Abram's wife was barren. She wasn't able to have children. So where with this, where this nation come from, we read in Romans four 18. It says even when there was no reason for hope, have you been there even like, there was no reason for hope. Abraham kept hoping, believing that he would become the father of many nations for God had said to him, that was good enough for Abraham. God had said to him, that's how many descendants you will have. 7 (37m 2s): God's promise of children. Resurrected is hope. Because up to this point, 75 years old, he's got no descendants, nothing that a nation could be built around or be established through. He's got no descendants before then because of their age and inability to have children, they had no hope of children of a future, especially that type of future. But because they chose to believe God, they chose against all odds. They chose to believe God, their hope was resurrected. So number one hope is resurrected. When we choose to believe God against all odds, hope is resurrected. 7 (37m 45s): When we choose to believe God against all odds, where do you need to believe God against all odds in your life? Maybe you're up against a physical infirmity. That seems impossible. Maybe you're in a relationship that seems like it's going to and, and, and not well, where do you need the Lord to speak a word, a promise to you from his word, where do you need to be built up? Where do you need your hope resurrected? I've watched God heal people against all odds. We've seen it happen over and over again. I've watched God restore marriages against all odds. 7 (38m 26s): We've seen it happen over and over again. I graduated from college and grad school against all odds. If you know me, that's a miracle, right? That's a supernatural miracle, but it happened by God's grace. I've been married for 32 years to the same woman. That's a miracle. Again. If you know me, you know, that's a miracle. That's just, that should not have happened. I pastored the same church for 19 years against all odds. And we've watched God do wonderful and supernatural things. Hey Abraham, he waited 25 years for God's promised to come to pass. It's a long time. Sometimes we're in this waiting season where we we've heard something, we felt the Lord leading. 7 (39m 9s): We know that God has spoken and directed, but we've been in a season of waiting. This is God's emo. And he's what he does. He, he speaks and in the waiting, he builds us up in our faith. He challenges us to believe and to continue to hope in him and Romans four 19, it says, and Abraham's faith did not weaken. Even though at about a hundred years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead. And so was Sarah's womb. So now he's not 75, he's a hundred and still nothing, but he never wavered. He continued to believe God. 7 (39m 49s): Abraham kept believing God against all odds. Verse 20 says Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger. Isn't that amazing? His faith grew stronger. And in this, he brought glory to God. Listen, if you wait in your season of waiting and believe God and allow your faith to grow stronger, you will, you will enjoy life more. You will honor the Lord. You will glorify God. And then you will get to see God do what he told you he would do. So open up the scripture and find out what the Lord has told you. 7 (40m 29s): He will do. And we're going to be talking about some of the promises of God here in just a moment. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. Verse 21. Are you, are you fully convinced? I think we, we need to get there. As people, as believers, we need to be fully convinced that God is who he said. He, he is that Jesus is who he said he is. And that he is going to do what he said he would do. We needed to be fully convinced how hope is resurrected when we choose, we have to choose to believe God against all odds. And so it's not easy. It's not an easy thing to do, but by God's grace, if we, as we continue to look to him and believe him and put our faith in him, hope is resurrected. 7 (41m 10s): Hope is resurrected. When we choose to believe God against all odds. Number two hope is resurrected. And when we, when we keep our eyes on God and on his promises, I, I noticed in my life that when there's problems, that's where I'm focused. Like I'm, I'm focused on the problems instead of the one who can bring the solution to the problem we were thinking about this service. We've been thinking about it for months, planning on it for months and, and inevitably, no matter what is happening in the weather, there's always rain like right around, right around the time that we're supposed to gather as a church outside the, you know, the one time a year that we gather outside. And so yesterday or Friday, when I'm writing this portion of my message, it was Friday at 1:29 PM. 7 (41m 56s): And I'm looking at the weather for Saturday because we got out here early yesterday and spent the day setting up and there was a 60% chance of rain. And so we thought, well, we're just going to go for it. And we're just going to pray. And we're just going to believe that God will bring out the sun and part the clouds and allow us to meet. And that's precisely what he has done. We've we believed God and looked to him as the, whether he's the weatherman. He can change the weather. He can do whatever it is that he wants to do. Friday 1 29, 60% chance of rain yesterday. So there's rain in the, in the early, early morning hours, and then we're setting up and then it starts to sprinkle on us. And we're like, you know what? 7 (42m 36s): It doesn't matter. We're just going to keep going. We're just going to keep going. And by God's grace, we set it up. And here we are. The temptation again, is to get our eyes on the problem, the obstacle, the battle, the, the need in front of us. We, we focus on that when we really need to get our eyes on God, who is able to bring solutions for all of those things, we were worried about the weather. We, we didn't get a promise. We didn't get a promise from the Lord that the weather would be good, but we sense that this was the right direction for us. And so we moved in that direction. We believe God not having a promise that the weather would be good, but believing that if God has called us out here, then he would make it plausible for us to have an outdoor service. 7 (43m 23s): So we moved forward. He trusted God for good weather, listen and believing. God doesn't mean we don't have doubts. It means we move forward despite our doubts, because we're all filled with doubt at different times. Like we're hearing something, we're reading the scripture, we're trying to move forward, but we've got doubts and fears and anxieties. So faith having hope is it doesn't mean we don't experience those things, but we have the grace and the strength to move forward. In spite of those things, hope is resurrected. Hope is resurrected. When we choose to believe God against all odds. Number one, number two hope is resurrected. When we keep our eyes on God and on his promises. Now let's look at some of God's promises to people of faith. 7 (44m 8s): Romans 4 22 says. And because of Abraham's faith, God counted him as righteous to be righteous, just means to be in right. Standing with God is not a good idea to like be in right standing with the creator and the judge of the universe and be like, I want to be in right standing with him. But I know in my own ability, in my own strength, in my own works, I can never get there. But by God's grace, he's imputed righteousness to those who believe. And so because of God and his goodness and not because of me and my goodness, because God, in his goodness, not because of you in your goodness, he will impure righteousness. When we believe because of Abraham Abraham's faith, God counted him as righteous. 7 (44m 49s): So again, to be righteous, it's just to be in right standing with God. And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn't just for Abraham's benefit. It was recorded for our benefit to assuring us that God will also count us righteous. If we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus, our Lord from the dead. So, so what are we believing about God? Is it a belief that brings us humbly to a place of acknowledging our need for salvation, for the forgiveness of sins? What are we believing about Jesus? And are we believing in the right Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible. It's important that we understand Jesus from the context of the scripture that we have opened up the Bible and understand Jesus in light of scripture, Romans 4 25 says he, Jesus, he, Jesus was handed over to die because of our sins. 7 (45m 41s): And he was raised to life to make us right with God Romans five one, therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight, there's that word? Righteousness. Therefore, since we've been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God. So that is a promise. That's one of the promises that we can have as followers of the Lord. Jesus Christ. We can have peace. Now, if you've lived at all with any part of your life without peace, you w you really understand and value peace. A few years ago, I was really struggling with a lack of peace and I couldn't figure out what was going on in my life. I was, I just couldn't get happy. I couldn't get satisfied. He couldn't get fulfilled in, in any arena, Amy, any area of my life, I wanted to quit the ministry. 7 (46m 22s): I wanted to just do anything, but do what I was doing. I was just so unhappy. So my wife, with all of her wisdom, she said, Hey, do you have this symptom? And this symptom and this symptom and this symptom. And she went down a list of symptoms that she had downloaded from the internet. And I didn't realize, I thought, man, you've been paying close attention to my life. You know exactly what I'm going through. She said, no, these are just symptoms of depression. She said, I think you're depressed. I'm like, yeah, I think you're right. And so with some therapy and some prayer and some I'm medicated by the way. 7 (47m 4s): So little medication never hurt anybody, but I was able to get back to a place where I could put the full weight of my trust in God and believe him, there was something chemically going on in me. That was hindering me from doing that. So through the wisdom of my wife and doctors, I began to discover what was going on in and by God's grace, by God's grace. The hope of God, the peace of God, the grace of God just began to flow through my life. Once again, therefore, since we've been made right in God's sight, we've been made righteous by faith. We have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 7 (47m 44s): Listen, I don't care how many meds you're on. If you don't know Jesus as your Lord, you'll never have peace meds. Don't equal peace. It might be meds. Plus Jesus equals peace in my case, but you need Jesus. That's the, you need Jesus. And God is faithful to meet you and, and fill you with hope and to fill you with peace because of our faith. Christ has brought us into a place of undeserved privilege. That's another promise undeserved privilege. What does that look like? Well, we've been saved by his grace and adopted into his family when we, by faith, trust him. So we get actually adopted into his family. That's undeserved privilege where kids of the king, where we now stand and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory. 7 (48m 29s): We understand where we're going. When it's all said and done, those are some of the promises of God. So number one, hope is resurrected. When we choose to believe God, it gets to all odds. Number two hope is resurrected. When we keep our eyes on God and on his promises. And number three, as we get ready to wrap up here, hope is resurrected. When we believe we are made right with God, by faith, maybe you're hearing you're wrestling. Cause you know, you're not right with God. If you will believe by faith and put your trust in God, you can have that sense of security. That sense of peace. That sense of joy, knowing that you're made right with God, Jesus was born. He lived, he died in resin, resurrected from the dead. 7 (49m 10s): So we might have new life so that we might be right with God so that we might have peace so that we can confidently enjoy fully, look forward to sharing God's glory. Whatever has you feeling hopeless God by his grace and goodness can resurrect your hope. Choose to believe God against all odds. Keep your eyes on God. And his promises believe that you can be made right with God by faith. No matter what you've done, no matter what you have done. If you, if you do these things, God will resurrect your hope. When Jesus died and was buried, his followers lost all hope. 7 (49m 54s): When Jesus resurrected, he restored their hope, their purpose and their joy. When I was lost as an 11 year old boy, my hope was restored. When I finally remembered where I needed to go, Jesus is calling you home. He's calling us home. What will you do with that invitation? That opportunity? Well, I want you to go ahead and stand and I'm going to pray you. And as we get ready to wrap up the service with some more prayer and song, I just want to invite you to do something with this invitation to receive the grace and the mercy of the Lord. 7 (50m 41s): Jesus Christ. Maybe you've heard the message over and over again. Maybe you've heard it here. You've heard it. Other places. Maybe you've been told the message, the gospel that Jesus loves you, that he died for you. That you might have new life in him. If you're here today and you want to say yes to Jesus, I just want you to pray this prayer and the quietness of your heart. You say, Jesus, I need you. Jesus. I welcome you into my life. Lord. I want you to be Lord and king and ruler of my life. I need you to forgive my sins. I need you to come into my life. And as you by faith, declare that prayer to the Lord, God hears. 7 (51m 22s): And he responds. He welcomes you into his family and he gives you new purpose for your life. It gives you new purpose, new identity, and he calls you like he called the original 12 common and follow me. That means you're gonna look at your life completely different from now on. You're going to be looking at your life through the lens, this lens. I'm a follower of the Lord. Jesus Christ in my life is for him. If you've done that today, at some point after the service, if you've given your life to the Lord today, at some point after the service, I'm going to direct you over to the baptism tent. Not so that you can get baptized necessarily, but we've got a, we've got a new believers bag of information for you. 7 (52m 5s): But if you like to get baptized, as Jeremy said earlier, we've got t-shirts and shorts and towels that you can have, and we'll baptize you over there. So as we wrap up this part of the service, the band will be leading us. The band will be leading us. And as the band is leading us in worship, we're going to begin to assemble over there for those who want to be baptized and so make your way over there. And then the baptism will actually be on the screen as well. So Lord, with that, we just invite you. We invite you. We invite your presence. We thank you, Lord. We thank you for your goodness. Thank you for what you're doing. Lord in Jesus name. 7 (52m 47s): If you would like to receive prayer, there's, there'd be people over there ready to pray for you as well. People who love Jesus and who will love on you. So if you'd like to get prayer, receive a new believers pack. If you like to get baptized, head over there as we sing this last song. Amen. Let's worship. 9 (53m 7s): Let's sing this together. 6 (54m 42s): Yeah. Strange. His name is one It's a dome that you hoppy trouble. Hold your head up high. Don't feel the Big guys. 6 (55m 24s): 2 (1h 0m 12s): We To the Virgin came though. to that stone was moved forward for the land who was Yes, we magnify Jesus. 2 (1h 13m 46s): This song is a thousand hot and 9 (1h 14m 2s): Thank you Jesus so much for just a beautiful Easter Sunday morning, Lord. Thank you that you are saving us. Thank you that you sent your son Jesus to die a horrible death on the cross so that we could be right with you so we can have forgiveness of our sins. Lord, thank you for the resurrection. Thank you. That you're resurrecting hope in us today. And I just pray that as we go, would you just, would you just do that in, in hearts and minds today? Lord, in our communities and our families, Lord, would you be resurrecting hope where there might not be any? So we thank you for all this in Jesus name, we pray. Amen. 11 (1h 14m 47s): All right. Thank you all for joining us today. Happy Easter. Before you go, we have a for birth to four year olds and five to 10 year olds over here to your left. So be sure to head over there. We're going to be doing the acorns starting in a few minutes. So head on over, if you have kids that are birth to 10 years old, all right. Happy Easter. He is risen.

Alrighty then, we're back for another exciting adventure here on the Chaotic Navigator podcast. I am the Alaska Outlaw and today I would like to discuss the potential need that we may experience where we have to extricate ourselves or a loved one from a collapse of a home or commercial location. In addition, I want to discuss ideas about search operations for locating lost persons.

Heyo!Happy National Park Week bruddahs and sistahs. Get involved with your national parks near you. This year, you can start right here: Donate to the National Park FoundationOr get involved virtually somehow: https://www.nationalparks.org/connect/parks-at-home Visit nps.gov/npweek or nationalparkweek.org for more virtual programmingPretty cool shit huh, no funny business. Just being a park loving goober.Alrighty,We'll catch ya!

Alrighty then, we're back for another exciting adventure here on the Chaotic Navigator podcast. I am the Alaska Outlaw and today I would like to express my opinion as to a potential exercise in the dismantling of this experiment we call the United States. Explaining the tenuous position our country finds itself in these modern times.

None, Zero, Nada, Zipだった！あとZilchが足されることもある。

Alrighty, we are back and regaining our stride here on the Learning to Fly podcast! And what better way to do that, than to kick off a month of so many incredible things right here! To join us for Poem in your pocket day please send your recordings to m.rene@sincerelybluejay.com To be a guest this month on the topic of NaPoWriMo or Camp NaNoWriMo please email me at m.rene@sincerelybluejay.com To find out more about poetry month and Autism Awareness month check out https://www.instagram.com/ashraymondjames/ who will be a reoccurring guest this month. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/sincerelybluejaypoetry/message

Alrighty then, we're back for another exciting adventure here on the Chaotic Navigator podcast. I am the Alaska Outlaw and today I hope to be your guide as we shoot the shit about using the opportunity of peacetime, non-emergent focus on our emergency preparedness instead of waiting until it “go time” to try to scrounge up the stuff we need to keep our family, and ourselves safe and healthy. In this episode I'd like us to consider getting after our preparedness operations before the next big disaster hits. For those of you living here in Alaska, we never know when the big one is going to pop up, forcing us to shift to our emergency plans, much like those living in the Midwest as the storms begin to migrate north, bringing those twisters with them. We can start the arrangements for our preparedness now, before its too late, and we can certainly create our plans.

Yes, we're back with another San Carlo potato chip. And just like last time, this not a flavor combo I've seen anywhere else - Lime and Pink Peppercorn? Alrighty then. Once again, I gotta shout out my man Karl for sending these in! Ok, let's get to it. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/inthechips/support

In the episode of Nomad Happy Hour, I had the pleasure to meet up with Johnny Blayze the Owner and Ceo of Wanderlust Waypoints-Diy Skoolie and Nomad Conversion Build Stops. I know you are asking yourself what in the world is a Build Stop? Well, these are going to be properties across the United States for Nomads and Newmads to go to and build out their dreams in their new home or to update the rig you already live in. Well, I cannot tell you everything about this, so you are either going to have to go listen to the episode or head over to Wanderlustwaypoints.com and see what else these guys have in store for your experience at Waypoints. Not only do we talk about their Build Stops but we also touch on where Johny and his family came from, how they got into the lifestyle and also about how they used all organic products in their conversion. To see a list of what exactly they use go to TheWanderlustBus.com they have lists and links to all of them there. These guys are all over the web they are also on YouTube under Wanderlust Bus so you can see everything they have done live on there. Alrighty if I don't stop now, you won't have anything to listen to so click on the episode and listen the rest of the story which gets out of hand in some places lol. Thank you to all my Fans, Friends, and Fellow Nomads without all your support none of this would be possible. To everyone out there on the road safe travels " Keep The Rubberside Down Nomads Out" --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nomadhappyhour/support

Alrighty for March #tbntbookchallenge2022, we urge you to pick up a medical read (i.e. doctor's memoir, stuff set in clinics, hospitals all that jazz) OR a book about mental health. And we found a lot that we want to dive into as well. Will these reads make you feel better? Listen on! We have a bunch of recommendations ranging from non-fiction to fiction reads.

This week we're thrilled to bring you an exclusive - and her first ever - podcast interview with the 2022 National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) President, Ashi Selke, RVT, CVT. Hosts Dr. Ernie Ward and Beckie Mossor, RVT learn Ashli's story of becoming a veterinary technician, her personal military service, how she got involved with NAVTA, and plans for her leadership term. Beckie encourages NAVTA to accelerate their title protection plans and initiatives, and offers advice to work both with the AVMA and state veterinary medical Boards. Ashley offers her take on the recent AVMA HOD meeting in which the Utah Representative, veterinarian Dr. Paul Toniolli said of allowing veterinary technicians into the AVMA membership: "Little by little the camel gets in the tent, and the master of the camel gets shoved out of the tent. Now, I don't know that our association would be overtaken, but the principle that the camel in the tent teaches is that sometimes small, seemingly harmless acts, even made with good intentions, can sometimes have very negative repercussions, and that would be our concern. Somebody with alternative ideals might try to get in and strong-arm the association." Alrighty then. Viewfinders, this is a fascinating back-and-forth between two passionate veterinary technicians dedicated to improving their profession. We think you'll enjoy it! To learn more about Utah veterinarian Dr. Paul Toniolli's remarks, read here: https://news.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=210&catId=617&Id=10685148 To read NAVTA's Title Protection Report, visit here: https://www.navta.net/news/navta-report-shows-title-protection-for-veterinary-technician-is-needed-and-desired-but-absent-and-misunderstood-in-most-states/

NY Fashion week was SO AMAZEBALLS that we had to record a Part 2! So buckle up buttercups, open up your Instagram app to the Fashion Crimes Podcast IG page, tune in and hang with us to join in on all the fun!    We are the best fashion friends you never knew you needed, and this week we are sharing the ultimate Fashion Super Bowl. (Um, you're welcome!!)   LISTEN HERE: https://apple.co/2XXKHfC, or wherever you get your podcasts!   So, after the first 3 days of Fashion Week, the chaos and hilarity continues with Holly and Nolan seeing more fashion shows, tracking down more designers and brands you need to know, and we get to live vicariously through Nolan and his fabulous celebrity client Candance Bushnell, whom he was styling this week.  (#beyondfab)   Oh, and we hung with out new fashion bestie, Michelle, the lovely author of the blog, Over Fifty and Blessed! She. Is. Fabulous.   Fashion shows discussed:    Monday: Markarian NYC   Tuesday:  Jojo the restaurant, The Art of Rodarte Show, the Asian Fashion Collection   Wednesday: Claudia Li   ANNDD of course, The Blonds which Nolan went to and Holly went home to go to sleep. Alrighty then.   In between things, it was freezing in NYC so Nolan gave in and bought the winter coat of his dreams, sort-of on impulse while on a date.    Now, if you have listened to our How to Buy A Winter Coat episode, you would have heard Nolan specifically talk about planning for big purchases, making smart fashion investment decisions, all why not blowing the budget! Check out his new Canada Goose down coat here!   Your favorite personal stylists then share their favorite people and places in NYC to wine and dine, which of, course they did. (DUH)    And Nolan tells us/doesn't tell us that he is on his way to a secret fashion project during the upcoming  Milan Fashion Week! (But you didn't hear it from us.) Follow him along on that journey on his IG, because it's FAB-U-LOUS!!! We are so 80% happy for him.   Remember, “fashion is your friend, not your enemy!” We are here to help you navigate the overwhelming world of fashion and style, especially for women over 40 – and we mean, WAY over 40.    Be sure to catch us at https://apple.co/2XXKHfC or wherever you get your podcasts!!   FASHION CRIMES PODCAST “The Best Fashion Friend You Never Knew You Needed,” hosted by personal stylist Holly Katz www.fashioncrimespodcast.com

Sometimes the things kids do around having a phone seems annoying, but when is it more than that, & maybe a cry for help? Listen in for my mom guilt story!   Download my free Parenting in the Digital Age Resource guide! CLICK HERE or go to this link: https://www.dollydenson.com/digitalresources and be sure to opt in to my email list to be the first to know when my Be THAT Mom Movement Method course, your toolkit and roadmap for all things digital when raising kids today, is released!!    Check out the DIGITAL WELLNESS SUMMIT:  GRAB YOUR ALL ACCESS PASS HERE!! FREE DOWNLOAD: Tips for using Bark + Digital Resources FREE DOWNLOAD: Digital Resources For all my top tips & tools go to https://www.dollydenson.com/store DIGITAL RESOURCE TOOLS: BARK subscription CLICK HERE (Use code BETHATMOM for 20% off & 7 day free trial) MSpy CLICK HERE (Use code BTMOM10 for a 10% discount on the 3 month package!) Pinwheel phone CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOMTEN for a discount!) Gabb phone CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) Tick Talk Watch CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) Covenant Eyes CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) Gryphon Router CLICK HERE  Circle Plus CLICK HERE (click link for $20 off) Bark Home CLICK here!! Stay connected with the Be THAT Mom Movement via our channel in the Telegram app: Subscribe HERE or search for @bethatmom on the app. Or on social media via instagram https://www.instagram.com/the_bethatmommovement  MOM WELLNESS TOOLS: Fit Club info: Being THAT mom isn't easy, so prioritizing our own wellness is so important! Get tips and tools plus support to help you simplify and align your health/wellness through fitness & nutrition tools that will get you results and to be strong and energetic for your kids! For more info on these tools & the Align Your Life Fit Club, CLICK HERE!!  Have a fitness routine that works for you but need to level up your nutrition? Ensure you get your daily nutrition with the powerful and unmatched smoothie called Shakeology CLICK HERE to learn more. (Available by itself or combined with what I like to call the Netflix for fitness/wellness library. CLICK HERE for the top options that save you $$$ when getting started with ALL the tools to get you that crucial momentum to make this a routine that sticks!) Other supplements I highly recommend  (for informational purposes only, not medical advice, consult with your healthcare provider for questions and to get recommendations specific to your health conditions) Concerned for toxin/mold/parasite exposure & how to support your immune system in today's world? I highly recommend Cell Core products, using humic/fulvic acid and natural herbs and minerals to support you at the cellular level, as your one stop shop for detoxing your body while supporting your immune system at the gut level and beyond. Check out the products and protocols available at https://www.cellcore.com and use practitioner code yaCPzYmn to purchase. Connect with me for questions and guidance. These products are game changers for clearing out the unwanted things and getting your immune system in tip top shape!  Paleovalley CLICK HERE (use code PVFRIEND15 for a discount) My Soul CBD CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) MitoLife supplements CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) Magnesium Bicarbonate supplement by LIVE PRISTINE (the majority are deficient in magnesium AND if taking Magnesium, are taking a form other than this that is not bioavailable and readily absorbed!) Use code BETHATOM for a discount! CLICK HERE  MOM HUSTLE TOOLS: Kajabi: The best platform to run your business with all the things in one place! CLICK HERE Podcast Pro University CLICK HERE to learn more about the top podcast course, created by Stef Gass, that will help you take that idea and passion to the next level with a podcast of your own! Health/Wellness Coach opportunity!! Focus on your own wellness through fitness/nutrition while inviting a few friends to join you and/or build your own brand as a wellness coach with Team Beachbody: Email me at dolly@dollydenson.com for more info! Full Transcription:  Speaker 1 (00:00): So as we approach the holidays, I hope you have enjoyed my last couple of episodes that talked about the gift giving guide for digital and non-digital things, as well as the new pinwheel plus phone that is being released soon. Definitely a great option for giving a dumb smartphone or upgrading that dumb smartphone that you have given. And with some more features and a few more things that the phone has on it. But today I just want to talk about, as you give something digital, a few things for you to look at as warning signs that maybe it's time to pivot or revisit what things are being allowed and used in your home, by your kids, with the digital stuff. Okay. Stay tuned. Speaker 2 (00:49): Welcome to your source for tips, tools, and support to help you be that mom that is tuned in and proactive for yourself, your family, and for the wild ride of raising kids in this digital age, inspired by a mother's love with a relatable real life. Proud to be that mom flair. This is the bead that mom movement with your host, Dolly Denson. Speaker 1 (01:14): If you are needing a way to stay in touch with your kiddo, but don't quite want to give them a phone yet, check out the tick talk, watch it is the best way to stay connected with your kid while keeping them safe and knowing exactly where they are. It includes streaming music has an activity. Tracker has parental controls. You can text, you can call between each other and you can set up a place where, you know, if they go outside of a certain perimeter, such as their school or your neighborhood, check them out today and use code, be that mom for a discount. So as you know, I am a mom that kind of did things in the uninformed and more difficult way. And with that sometimes comes some mom guilt. I didn't listen to my intuition and some of those early days, I really just didn't know what to do or how to do it. Speaker 1 (02:08): But when I look back at how things went for us in those early years of all the digital things, emerging and social media, being a thing, and all of that, there's a few things that I wish when they happened, that I would have picked up on them as a reason to pull back from what I was allowing and make a change, or just do kind of like a detox on those things. So if you have kids that have digital things right now in their hands, these things probably have happened to you. And maybe they, aren't a reason to just go cold Turkey, pull everything back, but just look at them as a warning sign and almost a cry for help when it comes to what you were allowing. I personally back when I think back didn't want to be that, that mom, and that's where the title of my podcast comes from, but I didn't want to be that mom that was real strict and that didn't allow these things. Speaker 1 (03:14): I wanted to be the cool mom. I wanted to be the mom that was fun and allowed her kids to do these things. I thought they were fun. I didn't realize there was any harm in them, but looking back, I can see that there were a couple of warning signs or cries from help that I wish I would have had more knowledge to change something that I was doing. So, and these are pretty common things. So just think about them, take them with a grain of salt, but kind of, you know, also realize that if you're seeing this more and more, it might be some, a reason for you to change things. So the first thing is the anxiety around the phone when the battery dies or when they have misplaced their phone. And can't figure out where it's at. If you remember me talking in the last episode about the pinwheel phone, one major thing that I noticed in my best friend, whose twin girls have never had a smartphone. Speaker 1 (04:08): And if only had the dumb smartphones is that they are not like attached at the hip with those phones. They misplaced them in their home. One of them lost one at when they went to visit the high school for an activity. And while, you know, it wasn't, you know, like she lost the phone. It wasn't that panic and anxiety that I've seen in my own kids when either there were someplace where they can't charge their phone. So it's about to die and that's like the end of the world, or they somehow misplaced it. And can't figure out where it's at. I personally have misplaced my phone before, and I felt a panic because I have so much information on there. And, you know, just all the things that I stay connected with. So, I mean, I think there's a place for that, but when you're seeing it in your kids, that may be a warning sign that they have become too attached to that for whatever reason. Speaker 1 (05:05): And I think that reason can be different for different kids, but when mine were younger and I remember a moment and this is kind of a side story, but we used to be in the stock show world where we showed animals. And there was one time where like, we would go to, if you're not from where I am, what you call, this may look different, but for us it was the rodeo. And so we would go to the rodeo. And at this time I think we were showing goats and it was like a day where we were going to be there on the rodeo grounds all day. And for whatever reason, we hadn't liked spent any time charging our phones or any of that. So then it's time to leave and we're going to go home. And we, the parking lot where we parked, they really squished all the cars in. Speaker 1 (05:50): And so there was like where our truck was parked. We had like this longer truck where it was parked, we physically could not back out. Like there was no way to maneuver our way out of the space because of how long our truck was, how close all the rows were to each other, how they were angled in the rows. There was like physically no way to get out of the parking lot. And our phone batteries were low. And at this time I think all but one kid had phones as well as myself. And so my phone battery was low and I was trying to communicate with my husband cause he wasn't with us and, you know, let him know what was going on. And he was going to come up and like pick us up because we needed to get home for something. And then we'd come back later to get that truck. Speaker 1 (06:35): And so, because I wouldn't give my charger to one of the other kids, there was this panic in tantrum that pursued or ensued. And it really, at that moment, it was like one of those moments where I was like, oh my God, like, why is this child getting so upset about this? This is a bit ridiculous. You know, like it's a phone and why do you have to have it be connected to it at all of the time? But at the time that didn't raise enough alarms or red flags in my head to change anything I was doing other than, you know, like chill out, you will get to charge your phone in a minute. I need to stay in touch with daddy and I'll give you my charger in a minute. You know? So have you ever had an instance like that where they freak out because their phone is going to die or they've somehow misplaced it and can't figure out where it's at and it needs to be with them at all times. Speaker 1 (07:30): If so, just keep in a big picture in mind, consider that kind of a red flag and maybe, maybe needs to be a place where you do a little bit of detox or setting up more boundaries for that kind of look at what the underlying thing is there that's causing that anxiety or stress. But a lot of times it's just the addictive quality of that phone. And the fact that they've become used to checking in, used to seeing what's going on and maybe they need to realize that those things don't need to be something that they do all of the time and depending on their age, maybe that needs to be something they disconnect from. The second thing is when they're resistant to your boundaries. So if you have boundaries in place, I honestly did not. And that was a big, huge mistake on my part, I believe. Speaker 1 (08:18): But again, there's that grace that I give myself for just not knowing, but if they're resistant to what boundaries you were putting in place. So you know what that might look like for you is where they are using the phone at what things you were allowing on the phone, whether you've set up to know their passwords and they've changed them, whether you are putting it up at a certain time at night and they are coming to get it without your knowledge or just resisting putting it up, if they are using it versus doing their whatever's required to do around the house or finishing their homework or going to sleep at night. All of those things are a warning sign or a for help on some level that something needs to change with what they're doing because the addictive draw of it is becoming too much. Speaker 1 (09:03): And then the third thing that I listed, and I think this is kind of the same thing as resisting the boundaries, but pushing back on your established rules, giving you talk back, or, you know, just disregarding what you have said that you want to happen. All of those things, I guess that is the same thing as resistance to boundaries, but just pushing back on whatever rules you make, or if you do set more rules in place and they still push back on that, it's time to go cold Turkey in my opinion. And that was one of the hardest things that we did in when we did decide to do that. And I wish I would have done it with each child when I saw these warning signs happen, but I dismissed them as related to their age to hormones, to puberty, to all of the things other than it being an issue with the digital things. Speaker 1 (09:52): And I think that's something that it's a very gray area and it's hard to decipher a lot of times and it makes it hard on us because we don't want to call them a liar that we don't trust them. You know, all of those things, we want to give them their space. We want to let them mature and grow. And we want to dismiss it as puberty as you know, their age as a mood or whatever. But when it's coming in relation to the phone, just look bigger picture and look at preserving that joy of missing out and re-establishing that they can exist without the phone, without the digital things, without being connected to the world. And that it's our life every day should not be about checking in. It should not be about posting a status. It should not be about how many likes or hearts we get on things. Speaker 1 (10:41): It should not be about how many views we have on a video. It should not be about us taking the next picture with a filter on it. We should be able to take a picture with no filter and not worry about what other people think. So, you know, we know this as adults, but as kids having all of these things in their possession is just such a insidious and can be such a negative trajectory of influence and impact. So really just wanted to emphasize that for you today because it's one of those things that is such a heavy place of mom guilt for me when I look back and I think about that situation at the rodeo and other situations like that, you know, you kind of laugh it off, maybe, you know, post about it on social media, how, you know, the, the charger I even made a post one time about, you know, I can't remember what it said, but it was something about I'm a mom of teens. Speaker 1 (11:31): I spend my days turning off all of the lights, making sure all of the phone chargers are working and that type of thing, it was kind of a joke. So that's one way for us to cope with it is to joke with other parents about it. And you know, it is a common mom's struggle, but just bigger picture of things, kind of look at how their relationship is with the digital things and realize that it's not a healthy relationship for them to have so much anxiety over their phone dying or not having their phone or having rules for putting it away. That's not a healthy place for them to be. And I believe it is a warning sign and a cry for help from them, even though they will adamantly tell you otherwise. So anyways, I hope that this short little episode will be a value to you as you move forward through the, if you celebrate the holidays that we do here in the U S if you celebrate the holidays and you are in the gift giving season, I hope you will use this as you move forward. Speaker 1 (12:31): And then also be sure to check out my, be that mom movement method course that will be coming out soon and grab that when you can, because it's going to be a toolkit for you and a roadmap, a method for you to follow as you go down this path, and this will just be one of several things I have in there to help you. Okay. Alrighty. Like I say, at the end of every episode, thank you so much for tuning in and listening and your support. I appreciate it immensely. And it is my true joy to help bring you tips and tools to help you navigate all of these things. I do think this is a new realm of parenting that none of us can ignore. And so I hope that my podcast is a place for you to find tools and tips and to make this whole digital thing a little bit easier, even though I know it, it can be straight up hard at times. Okay. All right. Thanks so much. Thanks for tuning in hope you have a nice holiday and I'll chat with you next week. Speaker 2 (13:27): Thanks for tuning in being that mom isn't easy, but together we can be that mom's strong. Don't forget to leave a review, connect on social and join Dolly's free community till next time. Speaker 1 (13:41): Holy moly. Check this out. If you are a mom that is looking to give your kiddo a phone, but you don't want to open up the world of the smartphone to them yet, check out the pinwheel phone. The pinwheel phone is the latest and greatest for dumb smartphones. It gives you absolute control over what they do and who they can contact, and we'll help them to develop healthy habits around using a phone, check out pinwheel@pennwell.com use code be that mom ten four hundred.

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3 (12m 37s): You are indeed the everlasting. God, God, you changed not your you're immutable. You're faithful. You're good Lord. Thank you for the opportunity to gather and worship your name, Lord, and that God has. We focus our attention on the word this morning. I pray that you would speak to us. Lord, you've got eternal truth that you want to communicate to us. It's it's eternal and yet pertinent to our lives today right now in this moment. So Lord, I pray that we would, that myself included that we'd just be open and available to your truth, Lord God, that he would encourage us and build us up and challenge us where we need to be challenged. Lord God, that it would just be strong truth for us today. 3 (13m 19s): Encouraging and gracious truth for us today. We love you, Lord. We thank you for this time in Jesus name. Amen. All right, turn around and greet somebody that you've never ever met before. I appreciate you brother. Thanks, sir. I appreciate you buddy. See you next round. Thanks Jim. Let me buddy. I wasn't sure if I was ready. 2 (14m 19s): Alrighty. 3 (14m 23s): Hebrews chapter two, somebody told me that I should tell the Hebrews joke about how, you know, the Bible tells us that it's the man's job to make coffee because of the book of Hebrews. But I said, I'm not going to tell that Joe is not going to do it for this response right here, because it's just not as funny as it used to be. So I'm not going to tell you the Hebrews Joe, we're going to skip that all together. Amen. Hey, we are in Hebrews chapter two, though. Somebody even said, you should say Hebrews too much coffee because you're in Hebrews two. 3 (15m 4s): And I said, no, I'm not going to tell that joke. I'm not going to go to that. I'm not going to go down that road. So I'm not going to talk about coffee and that sort of thing today, we're going to be talking about. And in fact, we've titled the message, a warning against drifting away, a warning against drifting away. For thousands of years, it's been a temptation of the followers of God to drift in their faith, to drift in their conviction, to drift as followers and become more and more like the world. Instead of like saintification, it's supposed to do is supposed to, we're supposed to become more and more like Christ and less and less like our old man, less and less like the world I was in Hawaii, about 10, maybe 12 years ago, something like that and flew in for a pastors conference. 3 (15m 49s): And I knew it was just going to be a crazy busy week. And so if I was going to get into the water, I knew that I needed to get into the water right away. So I get to the hotel, unpack stuff, go down to the beach and rent a board. And I go out surfing and I'm out there for probably, I don't know, maybe a couple hours, something like that. And it's time to come in. And I, I come into the shore from the water. I'm like, where am I? I, I was looking for the place to return my board, but it was nowhere, nowhere in sight. And so I'm asking, Hey, where do I return my surf board? And they're looking at all the boards are kind of marked with stickers or colors or something like that. 3 (16m 30s): So they can, you can identify where you return. It. There's a lot of places to rent boards down there. So I, I finally find out and they said, Hey, you're about a mile up the beach. You got, you you've drifted and you didn't realize, but you gotta, you gotta take that board about a mile up the beach. And somebody recommended that I get back in the water and paddle over. But for whatever reason, I decided just to walk it over. And, but it's interesting. That's how life is. If we don't have a point of reference, like for me, I should've kept an eye on a point of reference so that I didn't drift, but I didn't do that. I just got out there and I just was having fun and I drifted and didn't even realize it. So the same is true for us as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. 3 (17m 12s): We actually have to have a point of reference so that we don't spiritually drift and get off target and forget who we are and forget what we believe and forget what God has called us to in this life. And so for us, the Bible is a reference point. It continually brings us back to truth. And so if you're struggling with something that you've heard about God or about the Bible, just go back to the Bible and read for yourself what the scripture says. And I, I find that to be extremely helpful, clear setup, a kind of misunderstandings or the false conclusions that that one might arrive at by just listening to someone else, teach or listening to the culture. 3 (17m 56s): I was listening to an interview by Oprah Winfrey recently, and she said that she was a Christian, but then she went on to define what it means for her to be a Christian. And she said, it means for me to be tolerant and loving and to be like a, a warm light or something like that, you know nothing about Jesus. So Oprah's Christianity has nothing to do with Jesus. And I'm afraid if we don't make the Bible, our reference point than our Christianity will become anything, but what Jesus defines it to be declares it to be. 3 (18m 36s): We need to make sure that the Bible, that the spirit of God through the word of God is defining our Christianity. She went on to say that I'm a Christian. If you want to be become a Christian, I can show you how to do that. But she said, I, I respect all religions. And again, just sending a totally confusing message to her audience about what Christianity is all about. There's a drift in the culture where we are redefining terms that we've always understood that to be the truth. What does it mean to be a Christian? When, what does it mean to be a follower of the Lord? Jesus Christ, culturally, what? 3 (19m 17s): There's a thousand things that we're trying to redefine in, in progressive Christianity, they're redefining Jesus. And the way to way to, to salvation there, they're saying now, progressive Christians are saying now that Jesus is not the only way to heaven, that he's not the way in spite of what the scripture says, that he's not the way the truth and the life and that no man comes to the father, except through him. They're saying that there's that in fact they would say progressive Christians would say that we're all little gods and you don't have to go far to find this type of teaching, that there are many ways to have in that we're all little gods. And that we're kind of the master of our own universe, sort of understanding of teaching. 3 (19m 59s): It's crazy because the, these, these are people who claim to be followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ, Christians, but their message about crisis completely convoluted and contrary to the truth of what the Bible says. So we have to be careful that we're returning to our source of reference the Bible, the turtle, living God breathed, word of God, to understand what we are, who we are in Christ and what we believe we have to keep coming back to this source in this resource, Hebrews two, one in the new living translation says, so we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may, or we may drift away from it. 3 (20m 55s): So that the author of Hebrews is writing to Jewish believers in the Lord, Jesus Christ, Jewish people who have trusted Jesus, believe that Jesus is the Messiah. And so he's challenging them to pay close attention, careful attention to the truth that they had heard. What was the truth that they heard that Jesus is the way the truth and the life no man comes to the father except through him. That was the gospel. The truth was, they heard, they heard that they were are sinners. And apart from God's grace, there is no hope for eternal life. There's no hope to go into the father and they heard it and they may, they believed it and they received it and they began to walk in it. 3 (21m 43s): But then something happened. Something began to cause their faith to wane and change and shift. And they began to drift and they didn't really even realize that they were drifting. But over time they had drifted much like on the, in the, in the water. I, I, I drifted a mile, had no idea, no idea, no point of reference, no idea that I had drifted. So if we don't have a point of reference in the word of God, then we will drift and we will become more and more like our culture. Thank you more and more like our culture believing more and more like our culture and reject the gospel truth. The truth of the word of God. 3 (22m 23s): So how do we avoid drifting spiritually? Number one, we must listen carefully to the truth. So this is, this is why we always say open up your Bible every day. Like read your Bible every day. If you don't, you will subtly drift in your perspectives. Your understandings, your convictions will change. Your life will no longer line up with the word of God. If you don't make it your effort and your goal to open up the scripture on a regular basis, I just finished up nine months in what we call the journey. It's a nine month discipleship process. We're about 10 of us went through this nine month journey. 3 (23m 6s): And we had our commencement yesterday. We didn't call it a graduation because the commencement is actually a declares that, Hey, I'm not done. I'm actually just finished with this, but I'm moving forward. I'm continuing on in my journey as a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ. So we don't call it graduation because on this side of heaven, we're never done pursuing truth and opening up the scripture and praying for clarity and wisdom that we might serve. Jesus. If we don't do these things, we will subtly drift. I don't know about you, but when I'm struggling spiritually, the last thing I want to do is open up the Bible. It's like nothing in me wants to open the Bible. 3 (23m 46s): I just want to kind of be in my own little pity party and feel sorry for myself and be angry or be whatever it is that I'm dealing, dealing with her going through. But as soon as I avail myself to the word of God, I soften, I get tender. I get broken. I get contract. I, I I'm reminded of God's faithfulness of his goodness and my heart is drawn back to him. And so this is why the enemy of our souls, his job is to steal, kill, and destroy. He's trying to distract us from the word of God, the truth of God, because he knows that it will build you up in your most holy faith. 3 (24m 26s): It will restore to you joy and peace, clarity, direction, vision, wisdom, all of those things. So how do we avoid drifting spiritually? We, we have to listen carefully to the truth. So if we go back thousands of years, this has always been the case with the followers of God. They've always had this temptation to drift to just slowly but surely drift away from the reality of the truth of the good news of the gospel. Listen carefully to the truth. Hebrews two, two says for the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm talking about when angels on Mount Sinai gave the 10 commandments to Moses. 3 (25m 12s): This is what he's referencing here. He's so we're going back thousands of years to 1500 BC when Moses received the commandments, he said for the message God delivered so that the 10 commandments through angels has always stood firm and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished. So let me kind of give you some backstory here. As we listened to Stephen, who is about to get martyred in acts chapter seven, he's giving his defense to the Jewish council. He's talking about the history of the people of God and explaining to them what they've gone through and how they ended up here acts 7 38 through 43. 3 (25m 58s): It says Moses was with our ancestors, the assembly of God's people in the wilderness when the angel spoke to him and Mount Sinai. And there, there Moses received life giving words to pass on to us. So again, Mount Sinai is where the 10 commandments were given the angel of the Lord spoke. It communicated it. And this is what their response was, verse 39. But our ancestors refuse to listen to Moses. So they've been delivered they're on their way to the promised land and they're refusing to listen. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt, right? Egypt represents our old man, our old way of living our old life. 3 (26m 41s): And we're, we're tempted for everybody throughout history tent. We're tempted on some level to go back to our old way of living our Egypt. And that's exactly what was happening with the people of God. They wanted to return to Egypt. They told Aaron, make us some gods who can lead us for, we don't know what has become of this Moses who brought us out of Egypt. So they made an idle shaped like a calf and they sacrificed to it and celebrated over this thing they had made before. It's just a matter of things. We can erect something, something of our own design and worship it and allow it to be the focal point of our lives. 3 (27m 27s): And that's honestly what a lot of us do in this Western culture. We build a life for ourselves, erecting monuments, to the things that we accomplished in this life, removing Jesus from the throne of our lives and from the center, the central point of our hearts and lives. And we instead replace him with things that we declared by our actions are more important to us than Jesus. So they made an idle shaped like a calf and they sacrificed to it and celebrate it over this thing they had made. I'm sure none of you have made an idle shaped like a calf offered sacrifices to it. 3 (28m 10s): I'm sure none of you have done that, but what kind of idols have we created? Have we erected in our lives? What kind of idols, whether it be things or people or relationships, what kind of experiences? It can be a host of things. What have we erected as idols in our lives? We're, we're guilty often of the same things that people have been guilty of for thousands of years, verse 42, then God turned away from them and abandoned them to serve the stars of heaven as their gods in the book of the prophets it's written was it was it to me. 3 (28m 52s): You were bringing sacrifices and offerings during those 40 years in the wilderness. Israel was it to me that you were bringing those, no, you carried your pigging gods. The shrine of Molek, the star of your God and the images you made to worship them. So I will send you into exile as far as way as far away as Babylon. So we, we see that God judged the disobedience that, that drift last week, last week, we talked about not giving up in our faith as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. This week, we're talking about not drifting, not fading away, following fall, falling away from the plans and purposes of God. 3 (29m 38s): So this has been going on from the beginning, from the, until today for thousands of years, people have been drifting. So we just read about Moses and the people in the wilderness and their idolatry. So 1500 years later back to Hebrews chapter two, it's interesting that we're, we just read about something that happened 1500 BC. And now we're talking about reading about something that happened in the, just after the time of Christ and, and we're, we're here now 2000 years after the death and resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And so human nature hasn't changed much in thousands of years back to Hebrews two. 3 (30m 20s): So verse three, what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself. So we're not talking about a message that was communicated from the angels to Moses, to the people. We're talking about a message now that was communicated through the son of God, but the second person of the Trinity God, in the flesh, he has come in the flesh to bring us the gospel message, the new covenant by which we are saved and, and understand God through this new covenant. So what makes us think if we can, that we can escape. If we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself, and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak. 3 (31m 8s): So the first, first disciples, the first followers, the first generation of believers heard the message directly from Jesus' lips. They watched his life in ministry. They watched him be crucified, buried in the resurrected. And now they're proclaiming that truth. Second generation to the next generation. They're proclaiming that truth. What makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself, and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak. And God confirmed this message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the holy spirit whenever he chose. So you can just bring the message, but he confirmed. 3 (31m 49s): It was signs and miracles and wonders. He, he healed people, resurrected people from the dead. He ministered life in grace, causing people to be delivered from demonic, oppression and possession. He did wonderful and supernatural things. And the truth is that God continues to do those wonderful and super natural things. I was just talking to a gal this morning, who she was, she broke her pelvis about a year ago. She stepped off a train, broke her pelvis and she was in a deep, deep, just a bunch of pain. And she just, she has prayed one day. She just said, Lord, I need you to heal me. And she just felt this warmth over her pelvis. And it just, she was healed in a moment. 3 (32m 31s): God is still working supernaturally. So if God chooses to work supernaturally in your life to bring you to a place of healing, great. But if it's not just the fact that you have turned your attention to him and recognize your need for him is the greatest miracle of all. Salvation is the greatest miracle of all. And when God fills us with the readiness to receive him and walk after him, there's a miracle that is unfolding right before our eyes. And so Jesus preaches his message. People hear it. And then they proclaim that message to the next generation. They talk about the signs and wonders in them. Wonderful, miraculous things that happen as the spirit gave the ability they're saying, listen, this is not something we have made up. 3 (33m 14s): This is truth that you believe because you saw the miracle working hand of God in Jesus life. And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the holy spirit whenever he chose. So how do we avoid drifting spiritually? Number one, we must listen carefully to the truth. Number two, don't ignore your great salvation. Don't ignore your great salvation. This is what these people were doing. They were ignoring what God had done for them, even though they had received it. At one point, they were now ignoring it going on as if nothing had happened living as if their lives had not experienced the living God going on as if they had never been forgiven of their sin. 3 (34m 10s): Don't ignore your great salvation. The writer saying this salvation was made possible through a great sacrifice. Jesus himself, God himself saw your need, your need. Every one of our need. He saw our need and made himself the sacrifice for your salvation. Yet many, many ignore it. We've lost our first love. Maybe we got saved a year ago or 10 years ago or 50 years ago. And we've lost. We've drifted where we don't feel convicted about sin any longer. We don't feel the, the call to share that gospel message with others. We don't feel the call and the responsibility to pray for people, encourage people and speak life and truth into people's lives. 3 (34m 56s): As we're filled with the spirit of God, out of the overflow of who we are as followers of Jesus Christ, we have a hard enough time just making it a church on Sunday. I don't ask me to read my Bible everyday because I can't do it. I don't have time to do it. Don't ask me to serve somewhere because I don't have time to do it. I'm busy with everything else busy with everything else. And so we ignore essentially, we ignore what Jesus has done. We've said that it's like old news. It's like that happened last year or last decade, or that happened when I was a child and we ignore it. Like it never happened at all. We take it for granted. We live as though nothing happened. Imagine being saved from a drowning scenario. 3 (35m 39s): I remember when I was a kid, I was in the ocean and I paddled or not paddled out, but swam out or got pulled out. And I was cleaning to peer piling. I was cleaning for my life. I, the water, the waves were coming up over my head and they'd go back down. I'd yellow water would come back up, cover my head. Water would go back down. I'm yelling. I'm just this little kid out there and I'm going to die. If somebody doesn't rescue me and this lifeguard grabs me, throws me on his board and paddles me in, saved my life. 3 (36m 20s): Imagine hanging from a cliff and someone saves you by lifting you out of that. Predicament. Those stories. Aren't even good examples of what Jesus has done. They're just not good examples. They barely scratched the surface of what Jesus has done. No, no. Imagine what Jesus has saved you from by his grace, because he is good. Not because you are good. Imagine no light, complete darkness. Imagine no hope. Only desperation. 3 (37m 4s): Imagine intense heat and constant thirst. Imagine you have nothing at all to quench your thirst, nothing at all, to ease your suffering. No opportunity to make things better. No comfort, no joy, no companionship, no end to your agony. No end to your anguish. No end to your torments. Imagine weeping and gnashing of teeth. 3 (37m 48s): Imagine the eternal smell of sulfur burning, sulfur and dark thick smoke that barely allows you to take a breath. Imagine total devastation, complete fatigue throughout your whole body with no remedy, no help in sight. The penalty for sin, the wages of sin is death. It's separation from God. His separation from all that is pure and right, and holy it's separation from it. Every good and perfect gift that God has poured out upon us. 3 (38m 32s): The separation it's devastation, it's spiritual death, but, but thank God. The free free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Our Lord to save us from eternal destruction that the Bible talks about in the old Testament, the new Testament. Imagine Jesus. The only one with the power to save. The only one with the power to save is Jesus. And he sees our desperate need before the foundations of the world. 3 (39m 12s): He knows our desperate need. And his plan is to save us, to re deem us not from a temporal death like drowning or falling off a cliff, but from an eternal separation, spiritual death that offers only desperation and helplessness and loss and agony and devastation. The only one who was able and was willing to take your place and pay the penalty for your sin was Jesus. Now imagine your gratitude. 3 (39m 56s): Imagine now being refreshing your soul and your spirit and your mind and your hearts of what Jesus has accomplished. We, we drift and we forget what, what Jesus did for us. Accomplishing salvation, extending grace and love to us. We forget, and we minimize it and we forget about it. And we drift from that reality. This is why we've got to open up the scripture, the pages of scripture every day, every day, so that we don't drift and take for granted and forgets what he's done. Imagine your gratitude. Now, imagine yourself ignoring what Jesus has done and going about your life as though nothing has happened. 3 (40m 50s): It's hard to fathom the condition of a heart of someone who just flat refuses to be grateful and to live differently. He rose to five and furthermore, it's not angels who will control the future world. We're talking about four in one place the scriptures say, and this is a quote from Psalm eight, four through six. It says, what are mere mortals that you should think about them or a son of man that you should care for him yet for a little while you made them a little lower than the angels and crown them with glory and honor, you gave them authority over all things. 3 (41m 45s): So initially this almost was speaking of humans, humans in general, humans made in the image of God, the ideal human, but then sin in the world took over. And the writer of Hebrews applies this Psalm to Jesus as does the apostle Paul, the apostle Paul also applies this Psalm to Jesus in first Corinthians 1527, where it says, God has put all things under his authority. Now, when it says verse eight, Hebrews two, all things, it means it means nothing is left out, but we have not yet seen all things put under their authority. You, what we do see is Jesus, who for a little while, was given a position a little lower than the angels in the incarnation, Jesus humbled himself. 3 (42m 41s): And because he suffered death for us, he is now crowned with glory and honor, yes, by God's grace, Jesus tasted death for every one that we all might come to faith in Jesus. If you confess your, if you confess with your mouth, that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart, that God has raised him from the dead. You shall be safe. You confess and believe and are baptized. You will be saved. Yes. By God's grace. Jesus tasted death for everyone firsthand for God, for whom and through whom everything was made chose to bring many children into glory. 3 (43m 21s): And it was only right, that he should make Jesus through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation. How can we ignore that? Great salvation? How do we keep from drifting? I mean, it's, it's, it's a common thing to all believers. It's easiest stepping off the stage. It's just something that happens unless we're intentionally stopping the drift. How do we avoid drifting spiritually? Number one, we've got to listen very carefully to the truth. Number two, don't ignore this great salvation. Number three. Remember your supernatural adoption. 3 (44m 4s): You have been supernaturally by God's grace. As righteousness has been imputed to us. That's a supernatural work of God that imputation, that righteousness has been given to us Jesus taking on the sin of the world so that righteousness might be imputed to us. So we might be adopted into his family. So now Jesus, and the ones he makes holy have the same father we've literally been adopted God. The heavenly father is our father. 3 (44m 44s): That's why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters for. He said to God, I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise you among your assembled people. He also said, I will put my trust in him. That is I and the children. God has given me verse 14 because God's children are human beings made of flesh and blood. The sun in the incarnation also became flesh and blood for only as a human being. Could he die being fully God becoming fully man taking on the sin of the world. The penalty of that sin dying on the cross, going into the tomb three days later, resurrecting from the dead. 3 (45m 24s): I mean, Jesus, his person that we celebrate coming up here in about five weeks, Christmas, it's, it's the we're celebrating the incarnation. All that Jesus did as he came in the form of a baby, a child for only as a human being, could he die? And only by dying, could he break the power of the devil who had the power of death all in this way? Could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. And yet we want to go back to Egypt where we have been enslaved or we have suffered in slavery spiritually. And in other ways we've suffered. And yet there's something about the drift. 3 (46m 5s): Something about forgetting something about growing kind of cynical and cold in our heart. That makes us to want to go back to that old way of living. We didn't get saved out of Egypt because Egypt was worth staying. And we got saved because it was desperate and empty and there was no life there for 16. We also know that the sun did not come to help angels. He came to help the descendants of Abraham, you and me. Therefore it was necessary for him to be made in every aspect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful high priest before God, then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 3 (46m 55s): Since he himself has gone through suffering a testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested, he's able to help us. When we are being tested, we will be tested. I talked to a handful of people this week and every one of them are going through some form of testing, difficult times in their businesses and their family lives spiritually speaking difficult. In desperate times, I had a conversation with a friend in between services and just Monday, he lost his father on Tuesday. 3 (47m 38s): He lost his uncle. They two years ago, he lost his mother. There's just been blow after blow hit after hits difficulty after difficulty testing, after testing. And we can all tell our story about the difficulties of the last couple of years. We can all talk about how difficult and hard our lives have been. But we need to understand that it's not God who's abandoned by banning us in our time. It's but it's God. Who's reaching out to us in our time of need because he is able to help us into strengthen us and to give us courage in our time of testing. Listen, things are not going to get easier. 3 (48m 19s): As we move toward the second coming of Christ. Things are just not going to get easier. The days will get darker. Temptation will become worse. The culture will become more sinful, more dark, more antichrist. We will have to fight harder than we've ever fought. Be more focused than we've ever been. Stay in love with Jesus, through the thick and thin and not allow anything to cause us to give up or to drift from our faith. Because if we're drifting now, we're when things get worse, we'll never have the stamina to endure and to continue to trust God. 3 (49m 2s): And so we're called to listen carefully to the truth of the word of God. Do not ignore our great salvation. This life is temporal it's it's it's temporal. I shared last week that I keep hearing about friends of mine, people my age, younger, and even older and younger who have passed away. I just found out earlier this week that a friend of mine, 53 years old, passed away from a heart attack. So I asked my brother, did he know Jesus? 3 (49m 42s): And he said, no, he didn't know Jesus. So people are dying and we have to tell him about Jesus. We have to tell him about Jesus. We have to live, not forgetting truth, not forgetting what God has done for us, but remembering that we've been adopted. Save for such a time as this to stand firm. As followers of the Lord, Jesus tries to not give up when things get difficult, because things will continue to be difficult. As we try to stand for Jesus tried to be salt and light in this life. 3 (50m 24s): And in this earth, he will continue to be difficult. Listen to this story yesterday about a Muslim Muslim young man who grew up his whole life Muslim, but he heard something about Jesus. And he was interested in Jesus in the Muslim faith. Jesus is a prophet. He's nothing more than a prophet, but he, he was intrigued about this. Jesus and his friend invited him to a, a meeting called the crusade and Muslims said, you're, you're inviting me to something that is called a crusade. 3 (51m 4s): You know your history, you know, that's not a good thing. You said, oh, well, there's going to be free peace. I said, okay, I like free pizza. So he went and got free pizza and he heard the message about the Lord Jesus Christ and went home and read all through. He found a Bible. He had a Bible at the bottom of his closet somewhere, pull it out, read the gospel of Matthew, start to finish in one sitting. And he heard the gospel. He read the gospel. He responded to the gospel and he went to his dad and he said, Hey dad, I I'm a Christian. His dad said, no, you're not. You're a Muslim. You were born a Muslim. You'll always be a Muslim. 3 (51m 45s): You'll die a Muslim. He said, no, dad, I'm a Christian Bible says that if I believe on Christ, that I'll be saved. And I've done that. I've given my life to Jesus. And he said, if you choose Jesus, I reject you as my son. And in that moment he was rejected. He said, dad, if I've got to choose between you and Jesus, I have to choose Jesus. And he's been rejected from his family ever since there's a cost to following Jesus. It's not all kumbaya and rainbows and butterflies. It's theirs. There's a cost to it. 3 (52m 27s): No, there's plenty of wonderful things that happen as we follow Jesus, but there's a cost. And that cost is going to increase over time. A warning against drifting away, listen carefully to the truth of the word of God. Don't ignore your great salvation. Remember your supernatural adoption with that. I'm gonna invite the team back up and we're gonna pray and worship. And so let's go ahead and stand up and I'm just gonna lead us in prayer as the team comes forward. Lord, thank you for the challenge that you've issued to us. And it's, it's the same challenge that you've been communicating to your people from the beginning. 3 (53m 14s): God, I pray that we would never give up that we would not allow ourselves to drift in Jesus name. God. I pray that we would stand firm when we're being tested. And when difficult times are upon us, Lord God, financial, relational. When there's death, when there's disappointment, Lord God, I pray that we would draw close to you. God, that we'd find our greatest strength when we've got nothing left in the natural, but have to rely completely on the supernatural goodness and power and presence of the living. God that in our weakness, your strength would be made. 3 (53m 56s): Perfect. And when there is no reason for joy, we'd be filled with joy. When there's no reason in the natural to have confidence in you, God, that we would be loaded with confidence, believing faith. Faith-filled godly. People who decide no matter what the culture throws at us, no matter what life experiences we're walking through. God, we have this cited to follow you. Whatever that means for us, Lord, help us to be willing to walk through that. Gotcha. Thank you for truth. 3 (54m 36s): Thank you for salvation. Thank you for adoption. We love you in Jesus name. Amen. Let's worship Harvest Church 11-21-21

There's nothing like cracking open a brand new yearbook and getting a whiff of that adhesive and ink. Each section holds a treasure chest full of memories frozen in time. We quickly skim over some pages while others are studied and admired. Sometimes we skip the photos and quotes altogether and go straight to the signatures. I've always had a personal tradition of waiting until I get home to read what my friends say in the annual. It gives me something to look forward to, plus I can sit back and soak everything in without distractions. I'm busy signing everyone else's at school, so waiting a few extra hours isn't that difficult. After arriving home from MCHS, I say hi to Mom and rush upstairs to my room. With a couple of fluffy pillows behind my back in bed, I'm ready to see what my peers have to say. It's especially fun to see what the cute girls write because a guy never knows what sparks may be swirling around in the universe. "Alrighty, let's get started," I say out loud to myself as I crack open the book and begin to read. "Chris, Well, I don't know you very well, but you seem to be an O.K. guy. You are a lot of laughs. The double dates we have went on haven't been the worst. Hope you have a lotta luck with everything.Teresa" "Wait, what? An 'O.K. guy.' You don't know me well? What does that even mean? We went on double dates together. I'm thrilled they weren't the 'worst' experiences of your life. Gosh! I hate it when people write, 'I don't know you well, but...' That drives me nuts. Well, I'm happy to know I've left a mediocre impression on your life. Maybe one day in the future we can get together for some extra fun mediocre times, really paint the town." "Chris, Hey, I didn't get to know you as well as I would have liked to, but I really think you're great. It was really fun being with you on the Spanish trip to Rivergate. You're just a WILD & CRAZY GUY. Hope I see ya this summer. Love,Jacinda326-----Don't be a stranger.PARTY ANIMAL" "Hmm, I'm getting some significant mixed signals with this one. She doesn't know me well, but she thinks I'm great. I think she wants to hang out with me this summer. I mean, obviously, she wants to hang out because she wrote her phone number. Should I call her now? No. No. No. That looks desperate. I'll wait a few days and maybe ask her if she wants to party? I mean, I have no idea of how to party, but I am absolutely willing to learn. She did ask me not to be a stranger after all. "Chris, Well, if it weren't for you, all of us girls in chemistry would fail! You're a great guy! Stay out of trouble & have a great summer.Love ya,Sandra" "Okay, 'Love ya,' is the exact opposite of 'Love you,' it means I'm in the friend zone in this situation. That's okay because she probably won't even like me at all after the grades come back from that last chemistry test. Everyone thinks I'm smart because all of my buddies are intelligent. I keep trying to tell them, but they don't listen." "Chris, You are a funny and crazy person. You have a way of making people laugh. I think you have a career in comedy. 4th EnglishKaren" " Funny and crazy are good. That's not a bad legacy to leave behind. At least she didn't call me the stinky kid or something like that. I do remember making her snort more than once in class, so she's probably being sincere. I've never thought about a comedy career, but I'm leaving my options open. Should I give Jacinda a call? She did give me her number." "Chris, I'm glad that I got to share Gov. School of the Arts with you. Since then, you have become a special friend. Maybe we don't talk all the time, but you're still special. I will never forget you. Go after your dream. You are a wonderful actor and friend and guy and good-looking! Have a great last year.Your friend,love MelanieP.S. Keep God in your life too!" "Good looking? Wow, I didn't see that one coming. Crap! I should have told her she's beautiful or hot or something like that. Damn! Why didn't I read what Melanie wrote at school so I would have known how to respond? It may be time to forget my tradition. She didn't leave her number, though, and she called me friend, so I should let that one go. Wait, she called me a 'special friend,' so this could be a definite maybe sort of situation. " "Chris, You have been a fun person to be around. Putting up with your stupid jokes was pretty hard to do. Hope you get everything out of life you want. Bobby" "Alright, so maybe a comedy career isn't in my future. Was I fun to be around, or were my jokes stupid? Why does life have to be this difficult to figure out? Was he being sarcastic, and he thinks I'm funny, or was he being serious? That settles it; I'm going to have to unleash some next-level jokes at school tomorrow. Bobby won't know what hit him." "Chris, Well, let's see, I have known you for 12 yrs. Now. And maybe, hopefully, I'll get to know you one more year. You have been a great friend & I appreciate that. I hope you have a GREAT summer!Kim 89" "I hope I have a great summer too, Kim. What did she mean by 'Hopefully, I'll get to know you one more year?' Does she know something I don't? I'm going to have to teach Kim the power of positive thinking. She has been a good friend my entire time in school. I have a couple of Kims in my life since the beginning, and I'm grateful for them both." "Chris, What's going on? This has been a killer year.Your pal,Wade -The Kid" "Wade, for one reason or another, loves to sign my annual with 'the kid.' He's done it every year I've known him. I'm pretty sure he has some infatuation with Billy The Kid. It would make more sense if his name were William or Billy, but it's Wade, and it just doesn't flow. I accept Wade, though, and love him just the same. Some days I greet him with a little finger gun and make the 'pow pow' sound. I'm not sure he gets what I'm referring to, but maybe he will one day." "Chris 'Billy Bob Jo Dean,' That's what you said your name was HA HA. 2nd period has really been a trip with you. You think of more off-the-wall stuff than anyone I know. Killer, stay sweet & make something of yourself. You really have potential but just party every now & then.Love,Twila" "Twila knows me. I guess I should party more often. I'd probably be a little more popular if I did. I think she believed me at first when I lied about my name. At least until roll call, but we got a good laugh out of it. It's sweet she believes I have potential. I need more positive reinforcement like that in my life. I hope we keep in touch. Hmm, she said, 'Love Twila,' Okay, I need to stop doing that." "Chris, I still don't think you're sane, but you're a great guy anyway. Work on the jokes and good luck. See ya on t.v.James" "Alright, this is starting to give me a complex. James is like the fifteenth person to tell me I need to work on my jokes. What the hell is wrong with these people! Oh, maybe it isn't them. He's always told me that I should be an anchorman or weatherman or something like that. I would consider that career, but I have a difficult time keeping a straight face. I could imagine bursting out in laughter for no reason during the forecast or a serious news story." "Chris, Even though your stupid jokes caused my parent's divorce and my grandfather's ulcer, and me getting kicked out of the house into the cold, harsh world at the age of 15, we're still friends.Jeff" "I give up on the jokes." "Chris, It has been of utmost pleasure working with you in the play. Stay cool, and life shall treat you well. God Bless!Robby" "Rob, 'Stay cool?' For real? When have I ever been cool? I wonder if Jacinda is home now? The next day at MCHS, I happened to bump into Scott before the first period. He approached me with an overabundance of enthusiasm and wanted to talk before class. "Dude, you won't believe what I'm about to tell you," he said, smiling ear to ear. " Please don't leave me in suspense; what's up?" I asked. "Jacinda wrote her phone number down in my yearbook. Can you believe that! I think I'm going to call her," came from Scott's mouth. "Dude, you should totally call her," crept from my lips as I shook my head and walked away from the conversation.

Cyberbullying is on the rise!  Listen in to this episode for more info on the different types to be aware of and what you need to know to protect your kiddo!    DIGITAL WELLNESS SUMMIT: LIVE SEPT 25 & 26, 2021 GRAB YOUR TICKET HERE!! FREE DOWNLOAD: Tips for using Bark + Digital Resources FREE DOWNLOAD: Digital Resources For all my top tips & tools go to https://www.dollydenson.com/store DIGITAL RESOURCE TOOLS: BARK subscription CLICK HERE (Use code BETHATMOM for 20% off & 7 day free trial) MSpy CLICK HERE (Use code BTMOM10 for a 10% discount on the 3 month package!) Pinwheel phone CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOMTEN for a discount!) Gabb phone CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) Tick Talk Watch CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) Covenant Eyes CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) Gryphon Router CLICK HERE  Circle Plus CLICK HERE (click link for $20 off) Bark Home CLICK here!! Stay connected with the Be THAT Mom Movement via our channel in the Telegram app: Subscribe HERE or search for @bethatmom on the app. Or on social media via instagram https://www.instagram.com/the_bethatmommovement  MOM WELLNESS TOOLS: Fit Club info: Being THAT mom isn't easy, so prioritizing our own wellness is so important! Get tips and tools plus support to help you simplify and align your health/wellness through fitness & nutrition tools that will get you results and to be strong and energetic for your kids! For more info on these tools & the Align Your Life Fit Club, CLICK HERE!!  Have a fitness routine that works for you but need to level up your nutrition? Ensure you get your daily nutrition with the powerful and unmatched smoothie called Shakeology CLICK HERE to learn more. (Available by itself or combined with what I like to call the Netflix for fitness/wellness library. CLICK HERE for the top options that save you $$$ when getting started with ALL the tools to get you that crucial momentum to make this a routine that sticks!) Other supplements I highly recommend  (for informational purposes only, not medical advice, consult with your healthcare provider for questions and to get recommendations specific to your health conditions) Concerned for toxin/mold/parasite exposure & how to support your immune system in today's world? I highly recommend Cell Core products, using humic/fulvic acid and natural herbs and minerals to support you at the cellular level, as your one stop shop for detoxing your body while supporting your immune system at the gut level and beyond. Check out the products and protocols available at https://www.cellcore.com and use practitioner code yaCPzYmn to purchase. Connect with me for questions and guidance. These products are game changers for clearing out the unwanted things and getting your immune system in tip top shape!  Paleovalley CLICK HERE (use code PVFRIEND15 for a discount) My Soul CBD CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) MitoLife supplements CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) Magnesium Bicarbonate supplement by LIVE PRISTINE (the majority are deficient in magnesium AND if taking Magnesium, are taking a form other than this that is not bioavailable and readily absorbed!) Use code BETHATOM for a discount! CLICK HERE  MOM HUSTLE TOOLS: Kajabi: The best platform to run your business with all the things in one place! CLICK HERE Podcast Pro University CLICK HERE to learn more about the top podcast course, created by Stef Gass, that will help you take that idea and passion to the next level with a podcast of your own! Health/Wellness Coach opportunity!! Focus on your own wellness through fitness/nutrition while inviting a few friends to join you and/or build your own brand as a wellness coach with Team Beachbody: Email me at dolly@dollydenson.com for more info! Full Transcription:  Speaker 1 (00:00): I think it's safe to say when we were kids, a lot of us encountered bullies. Maybe we were even the bully nowadays with our kids on all the digital things and everything. So interconnected, it is very, very common and almost guaranteed to encounter a bully. If our kids are online on whatever platform they may be on, it is also very common for kids that you would not expect like our own kids to be the bully in certain situations. And so since October is national bullying prevention month, I'm going to take some time to really break this down and talk about the types of bullying that are out there and things to look for in terms of whether or not your kiddo is being bullied or might lean towards being the bully or witnessing it and how to educate them in these things so that we can make sure that no one out there is being the victim of this. Okay. So this episode, we are going to talk about the different types of bullying that occur. So you are aware that it's not just one thing and there's lots of things to think about. Okay. So stay tuned, Speaker 2 (01:15): Welcome to your source for tips, tools, and support to help you be that mom that is tuned in and proactive for yourself, your family, and for the wild ride of raising kids in this digital age, inspired by a mother's love with a relatable real life. Proud to be that mom flair. This is the bead that mom movement with your host, Dolly Denson, Speaker 1 (01:41): Hey friends, did you hear there is an app that will transform the safety of your kids, smartphone and technology use. It is my favorite way to sleep easy at night and have peace of mind because it is monitoring my kids' activity online without me being in their business. It is the bark app and yes, bark like a dog bark bark bark. It tells you when there's something that you need to be concerned about starting at a small fee each month, you can protect your whole family across all devices. Get connected with bark today. Use code, be that mom for 20% off your subscription for life and get a seven day free trial to check it out. Alrighty. So thank you so much to all of you that have checked out the digital wellness symposium thing that I have shared on my last couple of episodes. Speaker 1 (02:25): I still have that link in the show notes. So if you were still wanting to check that out, it is still available. You can get a digital, all access pass with the ability to listen to all of the different talks from all of the different experts in different areas that were in that. So please check that out. I think it is such a vital thing for us to be aware of the digital influence regardless of our kids' ages. And especially when they're younger and we don't realize that they are being influenced. So if you haven't checked out already, the link is in the show notes and that is available for anybody worldwide. So wherever you are give that elicit. Okay. I think it'll be a really good thing for you to check out. So like I said, October is national bullying prevention month. And so we all know, and most of us should be aware by now that there is a thing called cyber bullying and in the stats that bark has put out in their annual report where they basically, if you're not familiar with bark, it's basically a monitoring system where they monitor the activities of kids on their devices. Speaker 1 (03:39): And they are able to gather so much data. They don't like spy on the kids. They just alert parents of certain conversations, certain keywords that they're picking up on. And so they have such an amazing vantage point to provide information on this. That's why I love, love, love bark. And if you're not in the us and you don't have access to them, still go to their website. I believe you can still access it from anywhere. They have so much stuff on their blog. So many helpful things that they provide. They're such an amazing company, but they have such a great vantage point when it comes to stats like this, because this is what they do. They are monitoring across so much information and you know how kids can text and be active on things. Like if you have them texting through your phone, you can literally have hundreds of texts in a day between little group chats and things that they have. Speaker 1 (04:36): So it's a monster in bark is somehow navigating it. And so some of their stats show that 76% of tweens or the pre-teen age and 82% of teens experienced bullying as a boy victim or witness. And I believe these stats are from the year 2020. Yes, they are from 2020. And then according to some other stats that have been reported, one in four students report being bullied and during the whole pandemic scenario of the last year and a half, with all the virtual learning, it's led to new forms of bullying such as zoom bombing. So it's just crazy, right? It's crazy. All that we have to navigate and deal with. So what I want to talk about today is just the different types of cyber bullying. And I looked at different sources and there's different names for some of these. Some people don't have all of these types, but this is five common types that bark identified with all of their stats and things. Speaker 1 (05:43): So if you're not familiar with cyber bullying, it's basically just bullying. It's just online. And, you know, kids have their digital things intertwined with real-world life. So it's bullying and it can go across platforms and into their real life, into their school life, all of that stuff. Okay. So the first type of bullying that I want to talk about is harassment. It's repeatedly doing some form of abusive behavior against someone online. It could be something that is happening to them in a message in a social media platform. It could be happening on the chat of a game that they're doing through a gaming console. It could be happening in the game of, you know, something where they play with other people like on roadblocks, it could be happening in social media posts in the comments, and it could be happening in texts and emails. There's just, it can happen anywhere if they are online, it can happen to them where they are repeatedly harassed by somebody. Speaker 1 (06:50): So many parents with harassment, believe that blocking is the answer, but this doesn't always stop it. So you have to be aware that they can go across different platforms. They can create new accounts in order to continue to do this. If it's on Instagram, for instance, they have where you, when you block an account, it will ask you, do you want to block this account in any new accounts they create because they found that. So what, when blocked, some people will go and just make a new account and then start harassing them. That way they've actually had kids really, really get stressed by this and parents not knowing what's going on is a huge, huge factor in this. So when someone really wants to be a bully and they can be anonymous in it, they can really take this to the extremes in order to harass somebody. Speaker 1 (07:48): So recently in right now, as I'm recording this in 2021, Instagram has released more things to help you to control the messaging in those types of things in their app. But I know that if you don't have them on Instagram, just be aware, it's not just Instagram. It can happen anywhere and it can happen across platforms. So it's something really to talk to your kiddo about. The second form of bullying is masquerading. That is pretending to be someone you're not in order to hurt someone else. So masquerading is quite, quite common in the virtual world because anyone can make an account and you don't have to put your picture your face on the account. So you can always say you're someone else. And with all of the different apps that are out there for editing pictures and changing them up, there are editing apps that can make an adult look like a kid. Speaker 1 (08:45): So masquerading as someone to where you're anonymous is a very powerful thing where they can then go on and, you know, bully this person in some way, by pretending that they're someone else, this is also where the predators often start because they will pose as someone else. They will obtain innermost secrets from that child, like who they have a crush on and what they're mad at their parents about, you know, different things like that. And then they can take that and turn it on them or manipulate them with it. That's where a lot of the grooming and predator type relationships start, they're gaining trust. The kid is thinking that they are someone else. And that's where it starts. The next form of bullying is exclusion. When someone is intentionally left out of a group message in event or a photo. So it doesn't necessarily have to be them, you know, sending them messages and harassing them like that, but excluding them from different activities where they are seeing that they were being left out of things can be a form of bullying. Speaker 1 (09:57): Now, this situation can be something that, you know, it's just a matter of the kiddo, understanding that they're not always going to be included in everything. You know, all the things that their friends are doing. Like they are allowed to have other friends and do other things. And not everybody all be invited, but sometimes it can escalate and really cause hard feelings and different things. When they are blocked by someone, you know, something like that, they use the blocking, they use the different ways of excluding them to really hurt them. The next form of bullying is called doxxing. And this is basically where you release someone's private information to cause them harm. This is actually something that is really problematic and is happening more and more like, you know, releasing their home address or other private information about them. So this is where it is vital that if you are letting them on some platform that you go through the privacy settings and make sure that it is like, especially like Snapchat, make sure that it is turned off to where it doesn't show their location because kids have been doxed in situations. Speaker 1 (11:09): I don't know if that's you doxing, I guess docs would be the correct term, but they've been doxed in situations where someone is mad at them. And so they will call the police. And there's someone in a parent chat that actually told all of us about this, that they will call the police and they know your location. So they'll call a police to your address and see that there's someone in that address that is abusing the child, or has a gun, different things like that, something to where it creates this problematic situation. And this parent that was telling us about it, actually it was something like they said that the dad had a gun and was threatening them. And so all of a sudden their house was surrounded and they to prove that that was indeed not true. So it can be a very, very serious form of harassment and bullying. Speaker 1 (12:02): And, you know, can turn into creating a criminal situation and fraud and all sorts of things like that. So that's why it's important to not give them access to the entire world. And when you do step into the world of giving them access to something where other people can access it, that your privacy settings are set up to where they cannot be located like in real time. And then the last one that I want to mention is trolling. And that's where they are provoking or baiting someone just to get a rise out of them. Unfortunately, I think adults do this a lot too. And unfortunately I do think some of the social media platforms actually have, there's a way to like set up bots for some of this so that it invokes people getting mad and arguing and being divided about things, but a person trolls, when they make like inflammatory anonymous statements online for the sole purpose of derailing, an online conversation or provoking other participants in the discussion, it can be where they are just making an individual feel bad by constantly leaving negative comments on social media posts to hurt their feelings. Speaker 1 (13:18): But, you know, it can just be something where someone is trying to invoke a response or, you know, make the conversation go in a certain direction. That type of thing. I think it happens a lot in the last year or so since the election in the us and all of that stuff. So definitely something to consider when it comes to our kids. So those are the five types of cyber bullying that are identified on barks information and their stats. Another place you can check out for more information is cyber bullying.org. And on that, a couple of things, I just wanted to mention that when they talk about cyber bullying, it's for their definition, they just describe it as this it's willful, meaning that the behavior is deliberate, it's repeated, meaning it reflects a pattern of behavior, not just an isolated incident, there is harm that is being inflicted. Speaker 1 (14:15): And then it is basically, if you think about bullying in person between like an, you know, like out in the school yard at school, there's usually some imbalance of power. And so if you think of cyber bullying in a similar manner, it is some way of them invoking power over the other child. So it is some way for them to manipulate the person that they're bullying to control them in some way. Okay. So that is all I wanted to talk about today was just those types of bullying so that you can be aware that it does occur. And if your kids online it's likely to happen. And it is common for kids, you know, we wouldn't expect our kids to do it, but because it's online stuff can be so anonymous that they will have a tendency to just do it, not realizing the ramifications. Speaker 1 (15:11): So I think the biggest thing to take away from this is we need to talk to our kids and it goes along with us having the conversation and helping them to be mature in what they do. And as a mom that has raised three kids. And if you know my history, you know, that they all got introduced to phones at different stages because of how far apart they are. And so I saw the impact of that being different on each one of them, but I've also walked the path of choosing to course correct, and redirect what we did and take it completely away and then wait for a maturity level to come about before I let to that freedom out more so than I was doing. So I have seen that there is a maturity that happens. So when a kid has a free range, phone and access to social media or whatever at younger ages, they just don't have that judgment capability there that they will have when they get older. Speaker 1 (16:16): And it always has an addictive tendency. So I just think that it's our responsibility to have that conversation and be proactive with making them aware of what this is, that it has a name and that it's not okay to do it in. There can be legal ramifications. And they find that kids that are being bullied have a higher incidence of suicide, anxiety, depression, those types of things. So it comes back to communication with our kiddos and making sure we are very proactive in this space. The other thing is too, if you are giving them a full phone, putting bark on it. So you know what their activity is, you don't have to wonder. And in another episode, I'm going to talk about some of the signs that you can look for. And again, I'm a mom that is just passionate about helping other moms in this space. Speaker 1 (17:09): I have no expertise as far as like a psychologist or psychiatrist, but I have walked this path. And sometimes I think that, you know, when we are looking for advice, at least for me, I couldn't take it from someone who wasn't walking my same path. And so it's always my goal to give you that viewpoint. But I also want you to make sure you reach out to an expert. If you feel like you were in over your head as always, okay. I say that all the time. And so I hope you understand that there's no guilt in that. There's no shame in that or anything like that. Okay. So that concludes our episode today. Just being aware of what type of cyber bullying is out there and having that conversation with our kiddo. And if you don't have bark on their phone, get bark on their phone. Speaker 1 (18:00): If they don't yet have a full phone, I would delay that if you can use something for the younger kids, like I talk all the time about, and I have links in the show notes for the watches for kids, and then also the dumb smartphones. They are a gift to us moms to have those things. And if you choose a pinwheel phone, you have complete control over when they can use that and how they use it, what apps they have on it. And you can put bark on it. So in places like the text messages, it can help you monitor so that it will pick up on conversations and alert you. So you can take a closer look and see if it's something that you need to be concerned about. All of those tools out there are such a gift right now. So if you aren't utilizing them, please check out my show notes and grab my discount codes and get them in place. They are part of your village that will help you to navigate this. Okay? So that's it for today. I will stop my rambling on and I will chat with you next time. Speaker 2 (19:05): Thanks for tuning in being that mom isn't easy, but together we can be that mom's strong. Don't forget to leave a review, connect on social and join. Dolly's free community till next time Speaker 1 (19:19): Either before you go, I want to just give you a heads up on something. When things have been hardest in my role as a mom, the thing that was so very helpful for me was having a routine to take care of myself each day. I know that this whole thing around raising kids in a digital world is so very overwhelming. But if you have a place where you are taking care of yourself every single day with a simple routine that works despite where you are or what your schedule is, you will be able to be more present for your family and handle all of the ups and downs of this most amazing role that we could ever play in this world. So connect with me and let's get you connected to fitness and nutrition tools made by experts that will help you simplify this and then connect you with my fit club community that will support you, guide you and give you momentum and motivation to show up every day, take care of yourself first so that you could be better present for our digital native.

How and when should we pull back on screens? This episode discusses a few things you can use to evaluate this & one fun way to spin that positively!  Go Henry: https://www.gohenry.com/us/ Rooster Money: https://roostermoney.com/ Busy Kid: https://busykid.com/ DIGITAL WELLNESS SUMMIT: LIVE SEPT 25 & 26, 2021 GRAB YOUR TICKET HERE!! FREE DOWNLOAD: Tips for using Bark + Digital Resources FREE DOWNLOAD: Digital Resources For all my top tips & tools go to https://www.dollydenson.com/store DIGITAL RESOURCE TOOLS: BARK subscription CLICK HERE (Use code BETHATMOM for 20% off & 7 day free trial) MSpy CLICK HERE (Use code BTMOM10 for a 10% discount on the 3 month package!) Pinwheel phone CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOMTEN for a discount!) Gabb phone CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) Tick Talk Watch CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) Covenant Eyes CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) Gryphon Router CLICK HERE  Circle Plus CLICK HERE (click link for $20 off) Bark Home CLICK here!! Stay connected with the Be THAT Mom Movement via our channel in the Telegram app: Subscribe HERE or search for @bethatmom on the app. Or on social media via instagram https://www.instagram.com/the_bethatmommovement  MOM WELLNESS TOOLS: Fit Club info: Being THAT mom isn't easy, so prioritizing our own wellness is so important! Get tips and tools plus support to help you simplify and align your health/wellness through fitness & nutrition tools that will get you results and to be strong and energetic for your kids! For more info on these tools & the Align Your Life Fit Club, CLICK HERE!!  Have a fitness routine that works for you but need to level up your nutrition? Ensure you get your daily nutrition with the powerful and unmatched smoothie called Shakeology CLICK HERE to learn more. (Available by itself or combined with what I like to call the Netflix for fitness/wellness library. CLICK HERE for the top options that save you $$$ when getting started with ALL the tools to get you that crucial momentum to make this a routine that sticks!) Other supplements I highly recommend  (for informational purposes only, not medical advice, consult with your healthcare provider for questions and to get recommendations specific to your health conditions) Concerned for toxin/mold/parasite exposure & how to support your immune system in today's world? I highly recommend Cell Core products, using humic/fulvic acid and natural herbs and minerals to support you at the cellular level, as your one stop shop for detoxing your body while supporting your immune system at the gut level and beyond. Check out the products and protocols available at https://www.cellcore.com and use practitioner code yaCPzYmn to purchase. Connect with me for questions and guidance. These products are game changers for clearing out the unwanted things and getting your immune system in tip top shape!  Paleovalley CLICK HERE (use code PVFRIEND15 for a discount) My Soul CBD CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) MitoLife supplements CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) Magnesium Bicarbonate supplement by LIVE PRISTINE (the majority are deficient in magnesium AND if taking Magnesium, are taking a form other than this that is not bioavailable and readily absorbed!) Use code BETHATOM for a discount! CLICK HERE  MOM HUSTLE TOOLS: Kajabi: The best platform to run your business with all the things in one place! CLICK HERE Podcast Pro University CLICK HERE to learn more about the top podcast course, created by Stef Gass, that will help you take that idea and passion to the next level with a podcast of your own! Health/Wellness Coach opportunity!! Focus on your own wellness through fitness/nutrition while inviting a few friends to join you and/or build your own brand as a wellness coach with Team Beachbody: Email me at dolly@dollydenson.com for more info! Full Transcription:  Speaker 1 (00:00): So it's no doubt that screen use affects our kiddos. And sometimes we allow it more than we want to, right. Life gets busy and we just allow more time in, it becomes a very slippery slope. And before we know it, we're seeing that maybe that's not the best positive influence. So how do we know when we need to reel it in? What are the warning signs for that? And then what are some things that we can do to make it a positive twist? When we are trying to instill our preferences and our boundaries for screen time and screen use in general, that's what we're going to chat about today. So stay tuned, Speaker 2 (00:45): Welcome to your source for tips, tools, and support to help you be that mom that is tuned in and proactive for yourself, your family, and for the wild ride of raising kids in this digital age, inspired by a mother's love with a relatable real life. Proud to be that mom flair. This is the bead that mom movement with your host, Dolly Denson, Speaker 1 (01:10): Hey friends, did you hear there is an app that will transform the safety of your kids, smartphone and technology use. It is my favorite way to sleep easy at night and have peace of mind because it is monitoring my kids' activity online without me being in their business. It is the bark app and yes, bark like a dog bark bark bark. It tells you when there's something that you need to be concerned about starting at a small fee each month, you can protect your whole family across all devices. Get connected with bark today. Use code, be that mom for 20% off your subscription for life and get a seven day free trial to check it out. Alrighty, so welcome back to another episode of the be that mom movement podcast. I was looking yesterday, I was working on my be that mom movement method course, and I was looking through my podcast to see a certain topic that is going to be discussed in one of the modules. Speaker 1 (02:02): And as I was looking, I noticed the stats for the podcast on how many downloads I'm getting each month, where they are in the world. And then the total number of downloads that I've had now, the growth of my podcast has been slower than other podcasts I know of, of other podcast hosts that I know personally. And that's just because I have so many different things that I'm working on in my life definitely have a lot of different passions. So I have not been able to bring on guests like I would like to and be on guests on other shows as much as I would prefer. And then my course has not been out in the world yet. And I want it to be very soon. It has been a passion project for me for nearly a year that I've been working on it. So it seems crazy to think it's been that long, but man, the world has been crazy this past year, but I was looking at that and I'm just blown away by the number of downloads and the number of people that are listening. Speaker 1 (02:56): Hopefully you all are listening. You didn't just subscribe. And it's just one of those things that's downloaded to your phone. I do have some podcasts I've subscribed to in the past that I just don't have time to listen to. And therefore they get downloaded and get counted as a download for them. And maybe I'm not listening to them. So maybe all of y'all are not listening. And I am talking to the wind, but if there is one or two people at least out there in the downloads that I'm having every month that is finding this helpful I make, or I believe that this is worth it in the end. At the end of the day, I am not here to promote something to you specifically, except for paying forward. What I have learned, what I have went through with my own family and trying to help you navigate this once I saw the big picture of things and went through some hard, hard, hard days as a mom. Speaker 1 (03:48): So I hope at the end of the day that you realize that's what I'm here for. The reason that I bring that up is I was in this group on Facebook. That was about like moms of boys or something like that. And this mom posted about kind of what we're going to talk about today, but she posted about screen time with her kid and she felt like, you know, she's just like lost him and it's hopeless and all of this. And so I commented on that post and said, you know, just some of my experiences and what I recommend. And then I commented that I had a podcast. Well, my posts got deleted by the people that run that group because they said that there can be no self-promotion honestly I can understand that how that could get out of hand if people are coming in and be like here, buy this, buy this, do this. Speaker 1 (04:34): But honestly, I, I really took time to comment from the heart to tell that mom that I had been there and that same exact spot is her and what I had done. And then they just deleted it because I mentioned that I have a podcast that I am paying forward the stuff, and I would do this completely for free. So it's not about whether or not you are using my affiliate links to subscribe to bark or pinwheel or any of that. I am providing that and hopefully passing on a discount for you because I know how hard it can be. But at the end of the day, I do this regardless of that. And so it kind of hurt me a little bit, that that group was all about, oh, we'll offer help, but don't offer help. So I get it, you know, I get it on the one hand, but I was really kind of offended by that. Speaker 1 (05:18): So I just wanted to bring that up, that I am here for that mom that finds her in the place that I was or for that mom that is not wanting to get where I was. And I hope that you know, that I hope that you feel that from my heart, the topics that I bring up are things that I'm seeing out in the world that are relevant, that I've been through. And that I just don't want you to take the hard road that I did. Not that you can't still get through it, but things are ever changing in this digital world. So we really have to be proactive and all of that. And you know, if you've listened to any number of my podcasts, I am like preaching to the choir right now. But if you're new to my podcast, I just want to say that I am here provide you, I can't speak, ride you with some nuggets to help you on this path. Speaker 1 (06:02): Yours will look different than mine, but at the end of the day, my goal is for you to help guide your kid through this and to not just leave them out in that big, vast, deep blue sea of all the digital things and whether you realize it or not, they are being impacted and influenced by the things that they see and consume and things that may try to get in touch with them, that type of thing. So not trying to be doom and gloom or scary or any of that, but I truly am just here to provide you tools and all of those things. Okay. So let's get to today's topic. So what I want to talk about today is when should you be concerned with screen time or, you know, like the effect of them being on some type of digital stimulation and like, what are the warning signs for that? Speaker 1 (06:51): And then what are some positive ways that we can kind of turn that around to where it's not just a negative, these are your restrictions. You better abide by this, or I'm going to take it away. Some kids need that, but I think there's a couple of things that are pretty exciting that I was looking at today that I, if I wish that when my kids were younger, that I would have had these things, I actually think they are like kind of vital to the raising of our kids and a huge missing piece in their education if we have them in a traditional educational setting. So I'm excited to kind of talk about this stuff today. So let's talk about when you are allowing your kid on screens. Of course, you've probably heard me say this before, but it's best to have it set up to where you have some control over that in terms of where they consume those things and for how long, but let's say you have kind of let them have free reign because they've, you know, been doing good and life's crazy and you're busy with work and those types of things. Speaker 1 (07:50): And you've just kind of let that go. And you notice that some things maybe you need to, Hmm, maybe you need to do something, but you're not sure, right. Or you're at the point to where it's obvious that there's something that you need to do, but you don't know what to do. So I was researching this and I found a psychologist's page, but where she was talking about four phases or four categories that kids can fall in in terms of the influence of digital things and where they fall determines what your next action should be. So before I go into those four kind of categories, I want to just say that when I was going through this, when we were really kind of having some issues and I didn't have any inkling of an idea of how to manage all of the things we did, some trial runs of just some restrictions and pulling back on how much was allowed. Speaker 1 (08:49): And it became very obvious, very quickly that wasn't going to be enough that we needed to more drastic. And then it came to a point to where it was blatantly obvious that something had to change. And that's when we pulled completely away from all the digital things for a period of time. And I don't think there's a right or wrong with this. I think this is something where you have to use your own judgment. So let's talk about the four categories. So the first one is healthy functioning, and this is where digital media is used as a tool to reach a desired goal. This is where there is limited use of entertainment and social media on digital things. This is where they have healthy mood fluctuations, which sometimes those are kind of hard to gauge because you know, the whole preteen and teen thing, things can just naturally be dramatic. Speaker 1 (09:43): This is where there's no screen use two hours before they go to bed and comfortable interacting socially with other kids in person they're physically and socially active, they engage in a wide variety of hobbies and activities. Their social interactions are primarily face-to-face and they have consistent performance in the things that they are involved in, in their lives, whether it be school, whether it be sports, whether it be some type of outside the home activity, that's the healthy functioning category. Now the next one, this psychologist terms it reactive or common distress category. So this is where digital media is used to relieve distress on occasion, increasing use of entertainment, video games, and social media is occurring. At times they may be irritable and impatient. They use the screen right up to going to sleep. They have some discomfort interacting socially out in the world, and they have decreased physical and social activity because they are using the screens more. Speaker 1 (10:51): They have limited engagement in a wide variety of hobbies and activities. They have less face-to-face social interaction and they have inconsistent academic or work performance. So if you decided to go ahead and give a phone or give an X-Box, and now you were kind of seeing some of these creep in, those are kind of like red flags or warning signs for you that maybe we need to look at. Dolly's be that mom movement method course if I had it out yet, or just look for some way to kind of pull back from things that was kind of a spontaneous little plug there, but truly, um, that's just one option out there, but now let's go to the third category. This is called impairment in functioning. So this is where digital media is used most of the day for extended periods of time. We'll look at a combination of things in terms of their activity and how much they're consuming. Speaker 1 (11:48): So it doesn't mean just sitting in front of one thing. It may mean a phone, a computer, an Xbox, that type of thing. This is preoccupation with entertainment, video games and social media. They may have a depressed mood, anxiety, or anger. They may have trouble sleeping and seem tired all of the time. They have a breakdown and healthy relationships. They are physically deconditioned, likely overweight or even underweight because they're not eating enough or eating junk infrequent, social involvement, limited face to face social interaction, and then academic failure or employment difficulties. Okay. So, and let's go to the fourth one and then I'll say what I was just going to say. So the fourth one is distress and persistent impairment. So this is significant difficulty managing digital media use limited non-virtual pursuits, significant emotional difficulty, sleep deprived breakdown, and healthy relationships, physical health problems, limited social involvement, infrequent face-to-face social interaction and suicidal thoughts, intent or behavior. Speaker 1 (13:01): So I think that we can have kids that wax and wane between these different categories. And if your kiddo falls into that third or that fourth one, I would definitely take a serious look at what's going on and try to come up with a game plan. This psychologist that created this chart actually says that that third and the fourth one that you may want to consider professional care. Now I will tell you that there is no shame in seeking outside help. And I hope you know, that we sought outside help for a brief period of time when it became too big for us. So if you have gotten to the point to where your child is not functioning out in the world, and you were seeing some of these warning signs, please, please, please seek outside help. If you feel like it is too big for you to handle. Speaker 1 (13:51): And that is completely fine completely. Okay. I know there's a social stigma around that. And a lot of times there are reasons to feel ashamed for that. And I did, I truly did by sitting on the other side of it, it was one of the best things we could do to get an outsider, to help us navigate it. Okay. So that got me a little choked up thinking about it and taking me back to that time for us. So now that we've talked about these different categories and we've thought about, I'm sorry, I should have turned off notifications on my computer here. Now that we talked about where your kid might lie in those, I would consider what to do next. So if you feel like they are leaning into the second or the third, or even the fourth category at times, then there's different ways that you can do this and it's going to be completely up to you. Speaker 1 (14:46): But what I recommend as you communicate your concerns with your kiddo, as well as your expectations for use, and you can do a trial run of that and see how that goes. Or if it's already been something you've tried to implement some sort of boundaries, think about making a verbal or written agreement as to, you know, the consumption of there things, other expectations that you have for them, such as things that they do around the house every day or every week, those types of things. And then also, like I said before, if you feel that it's bad enough, sometimes what is necessary is a cold Turkey detox. Like you cut off the digital world completely. If you haven't listened to my episodes that talk about the effects on the brain and gaming addiction and all of the things that are happening, just having that knowledge, that this is not, it's kind of like, this is not your kid that is necessarily doing this. Speaker 1 (15:46): This is in very intricately designed system that is there to addict us and draw us in and make us push aside the other things in life that are important to us when you realize that, and you realize that it's basically kind of like your kid's brain on drugs, so to speak, it makes it, it almost empowers you a little bit to realize, okay, I didn't fail here. I shouldn't be feeling shame as a parent, those types of things, which I felt all of those things. When you realize that these things are designed to suck them in, it is empowering. At least it was for me to realize that, okay, okay, like we're here. You know, and we're in this situation with their school and their friends and all of the things, because this entity of digital things is designed to do this to my kid and to me, to all of us, right? Speaker 1 (16:41): So a cold Turkey detox will likely produce what I call a preteen or teen tantrum if they have been allowed to be on, on the things a lot, because their brain goes through a physiological chemical withdrawal. I'm no expert in that area. But from what I have read and studied about from experts, people that are experts in the area, there is a withdrawal that goes there. They will think that their world has ended, whether it's because they've been on social media or because they're spending a ton of time on a gaming platform, the brain truly goes through a detox, boredom, like not having anything else to do and not knowing what to do with themselves. We'll see more intense. And they truly do go through withdrawal my recommendation for that. If you go down that route, besides getting outside help, if need be is, stand your ground, do not cave in to the tantrum. Speaker 1 (17:36): Trust me, it passes. And it's a beautiful thing when you get to the other side, because you will see that child that you had before you introduced all the digital things. And didn't really know that they were to have the impact they had. You will see them coming back. It's almost like, oh, wow, where have you been? And old interest resurface, new curiosity comes. And it's a beautiful thing, but it's painful and it's painful. And it is not fun depending on how much time they have been allowed to be on the screens. Okay. So that is where I would try to course correct redirect. And that's just going to be up to you and your decision in how that, and what that looks like for you. But what I want to talk about now to indoubt this episode is to talk about some things that are out there that are kind of cool to enforce positive responsibility in their lives. Speaker 1 (18:37): Some people call them, you know, like chores, but I think chores has kind of a connotation of being negative or being work. And maybe they need to have that, you know, need to know while there is work in life. But what I want to talk about is just kind of like teaching responsibility in terms of expectations that you expect with things that they do around the house. And also some things that are out there, apps and different programs and things that you can use to help them at the same time, learn how to manage money and learn how to earn the money. So I want to talk about, let me flip over here on my computer. So if you haven't heard about these, of course, you can just do traditional list of chores or responsibilities on your refrigerator, on a calendar, those types of things, but these things kind of make it fun. Speaker 1 (19:28): And I will tell you that with my kids being older teens, this is one place that I did not provide enough guidance with in terms of managing money, earning money, saving money, those types of things. And this is something that you can utilize from, like, if you have a local bank or credit union, they likely have a program like this, but these things are kind of cool too. So the things that I'm talking about, there's one called go Henry, and then another one called rooster money. And then another one called busy kid. So it, and I think these can be used for any age. So if you have a teenager that you're trying to redirect and ensure that they are being responsible and stuff, this is certainly something you can use for them. So I'm just kind of looking at their websites, go Henry. And all of these are kind of have a combination. Speaker 1 (20:20): There's also the green light card, which I think has similar things. And I've done an episode on the Greenlight card too, but go Henry and I am I not on the main page here go Henry and then rooster money and busy kid. I think they all have a combination of where you can have a card or some, one of them at least has, or you can just do the app and where they earn money, and then you can give it to them or they have where you can choose to get a debit card. So if you have a younger kid, you could use one of these apps just where, you know, they check off when they do certain things and then you give them money that way. Or you can actually set it up to where they earn money on a card that you have. Speaker 1 (21:05): And then like rooster money has a virtual money tracker. And it also has a chore tracker. So this is just something that I thought was really cool to talk about in terms of kind of giving them a visual of, and you know, what, with them, all the kids being so digital, now this would give them like a visual of things that they need to do. It also teaches them responsibility and earning their reward of spending time on whatever the digital things are and just giving them a place to work towards things. I tried to do this when my kids were little and it's funny because one of them was like, it's okay. I don't need money. Like, I'm not going to do any chores because I don't need money. I'm good with sitting here with no money. And then another one was so gung ho about money that I couldn't afford the child. Speaker 1 (22:05): Like they were like, I'll do the dishes. I will sweep. I will vacuum. I'm going to clean the bathroom now. And like little entrepreneur earning all the money, except I didn't have enough money to pay the kid. So your kid can fall all along that spectrum. But I saw one parent in one discussion that I was looking at said that what they did was they had a kiddo that was like that, where they made non-negotiable chores that they had to do. And some lists like brushing your teeth and those types of things. I think those can be something for a little kid, but personally, I'm not one that's going to be rewarding a kid for doing something that they need to be doing every day anyway, you know, brushing your teeth and taking a bath. Those types of things are just like, to me, there are things that you do because you're a human being and you need to have clean teeth and a clean body. Speaker 1 (22:55): Right. But that's totally your call anyway. But that parent said that she put the non-negotiable chores that they had to help with. And then the extra one. So non-negotiable could be like doing the dishes and making their bed, those types of things. And then the bonus ones like helping to rake leaves or helping mow the grass or helping with washing the car, those types of things. So my point in bringing this up is that I think you can be really innovative with this in terms of giving them incentives that make it fun and also teach them responsibility while also teaching them how to manage money. And I think that managing money is a crucial piece that personally I think is forgotten in our formal education system. And maybe that's because we need to be teaching it as parents. We can't make everything fall back onto the education system. Speaker 1 (23:51): Although I do think there's a lot of things there that could be taken out and more life skills could be put in there in their place. Some things I just don't think are necessary for our kids to be spending time on if they're not spending time on things about living healthy, healthy habits and managing money and how to, you know, just live out in the world in that not every kid needs to go to a four-year college, that some it's more appropriate to go to tech school, all of that stuff, but that's a whole nother topic. My point with bringing this up is just for you to check these things out as a way to make it fun. And as a way to teach responsibility while helping them learn how to manage money and just how to be a responsible person in the world and not go into major debt and all of that. Speaker 1 (24:36): So I hope that you will check those out, go, Henry is@gohenry.com. And by the way, I have no affiliation with any of these. My kids are older or managing their money in their own accounts. So I don't have an account with these, but I read through some different discussions of different parents that are using them. And these were their top three that were mentioned and that they raved about. So there's goHenry@gohenrydotcomandthenroostermoney.com. And then the last one is busy kid.com. So all of them look really cool. And like I've said before, I wish I could go back in time with some of this stuff to when my kids were younger. It sure would've made things simpler for me, but in the end, our path is our path for a reason. And I always have said that that whatever struggles we've had are there to create our strength. Speaker 1 (25:29): And I believe that we all have a path to leave in this world, a path to lead in this world. And this just happens to be mine, that we didn't have all of these cool tools and things to help me out in this whole new digital realm of parenting is just a new thing out there. And we kind of took the hard road, but I surely hope that even one of my podcast episodes will help you in some way so that your kiddos will not have to take that same hard road and we'll stay safe in the world. Wow. What happened with my voice there? And we'll stay safe out in the world and we'll grow up to be healthy and prosperous individuals that know the beauty of the world and to the gifts that they have to offer the world so that, you know, we can just live in a healthy and balanced world for our futures. Speaker 1 (26:25): That was a little bit of my soap box there too. So I hope you found this episode helpful. I say that every single time, but I truly, truly do. If you can, if you have been listening and you find this helpful, leave me a review in whatever app you were listening to me through, that helps me to rank higher and to get pushed out into the suggestions for people looking for similar content. And that is my major mission is to get into the ears of more moms and to help you be proactive in this space and be that mom that is going to be a guide for your kid so that these, all of these digital influences do not become a negative trajectory for them. It is absolutely possible for us to raise kids in this digital world. And co-exist with all these digital things, without them influencing them negatively. I seriously can't talk today negatively. And you know, just not being able to find a healthy balance with the things. So thanks again for tuning in and I'll chat with you next time. Speaker 2 (27:36): Thanks for tuning in being that mom isn't easy, but together we can be that mom's strong. Don't forget to leave a review, connect on social and join Dolly's free community till next time. Speaker 1 (27:50): Holy moly, check this out. If you are a mom that is looking to give your kiddo a phone, but you don't want to open up the world of the smartphone to them yet, check out the pinwheel phone. The pinwheel phone is the latest and greatest for dumb smartphones. It gives you absolute control over what they do and who they can contact, and we'll help them to develop healthy habits around using a phone, check out pinwheel@pennwell.com use code be that mom 10, four.

On this episode of Project Chaney, Ricky Varandas and I sit down to discuss everything from the massive amount of propaganda we have all been taking in and the way it  conditions our lives, to finding the words to relieve your trauma and the courage to say those words out loud. The psyop we are all collectively living through has gotten absurd and we want to talk about it.Is reality starting to feel more and more like conspiracy? Are you starting to think Alex Jones might be right about things? Are you a person who thought you had all the answers for lives mysteries yesterday, but now can't even figure out the shape of earth? Or, are you just trying to piece the words together of your own healing?Alrighty fellow victims of the information explosion. You looking for a reasonable voice? Do you maaaybe need to nerd out on MMA or UFC and don't mind when we geek out for a few minutes too? Or, are you an old school conspiracy head who knows an OG when you hear it? If any of this rings true, then this is just the episode for you.For ALL things Ricky V. go to: TheRippleEffectPodcast.com or TheUnionofTheUnwanted.comLook for THE UNION OF THE UNWANTED on Youtube or on IG @tuotuwYou can also find him @RVTheory6 on IG and Twitter.

As parents we often dread the teen years, but having a plan for the digital things in their pre-teen years can set the stage for a smoother ride through the teens!    FREE DOWNLOAD: Tips for using Bark + Digital Resources FREE DOWNLOAD: Digital Resources For all my top tips & tools go to https://www.dollydenson.com/store Digital Resource tools: BARK subscription CLICK HERE (Use code BETHATMOM for 20% off & 7 day free trial) Pinwheel phone CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOMTEN for a discount!) Gabb phone CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) Tick Talk Watch CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) Covenant Eyes CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) Gryphon Router CLICK HERE  Circle Plus CLICK HERE (click link for $20 off) Bark Home CLICK here!! Stay connected with the Be THAT Mom Movement via our channel in the Telegram app: Subscribe HERE or search for @bethatmom on the app. Or on social media via instagram https://www.instagram.com/the_bethatmommovement  Mom Wellness recommended tips/tools: Fit Club info: Being THAT mom isn't easy, so prioritizing our own wellness is so important! Get tips and tools plus support to help you simplify and align your health/wellness through fitness & nutrition tools that will get you results and to be strong and energetic for your kids! For more info on these tools & the Align Your Life Fit Club, CLICK HERE!!  Have a fitness routine that works for you but need to level up your nutrition? Ensure you get your daily nutrition with the powerful and unmatched smoothie called Shakeology CLICK HERE to learn more. (Available by itself or combined with what I like to call the Netflix for fitness/wellness library. CLICK HERE for the top options that save you $$$ when getting started with ALL the tools to get you that crucial momentum to make this a routine that sticks!) Other supplements I highly recommend  (for informational purposes only, not medical advice, consult with your healthcare provider for questions and to get recommendations specific to your health conditions) Concerned for toxin/mold/parasite exposure & how to support your immune system in today's world? I highly recommend Cell Core products, using humic/fulvic acid and natural herbs and minerals to support you at the cellular level, as your one stop shop for detoxing your body while supporting your immune system at the gut level and beyond. Check out the products and protocols available at https://www.cellcore.com and use practitioner code yaCPzYmn to purchase. Connect with me for questions and guidance. These products are game changers for clearing out the unwanted things and getting your immune system in tip top shape!  Paleovalley CLICK HERE (use code PVFRIEND15 for a discount) My Soul CBD CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) MitoLife supplements CLICK HERE (use code BETHATMOM for a discount) Magnesium Bicarbonate supplement by PristineHydro (the majority are deficient in magnesium AND if taking Magnesium, are taking a form other than this that is not bioavailable and readily absorbed!)  CLICK HERE Interested in starting your own podcast or having your own business or side hustle? These are a few of the resources I use and opportunities I recommend: Kajabi: The best platform to run your business with all the things in one place! CLICK HERE Podcast Pro University CLICK HERE to learn more about the top podcast course, created by Stef Gass, that will help you take that idea and passion to the next level with a podcast of your own! Focus on your own wellness through fitness/nutrition while inviting a few friends to join you and/or build your own brand as a wellness coach with Team Beachbody: Email me at dolly@dollydenson.com for more info! Full Transcription:  Speaker 1 (00:00): So is it the teen years that we need to be dreading? Is there something that we can do to where it makes those years less difficult? That's what we're going to talk about today. And I'm going to give you a few insights from a different perspective that you may not have considered. All right, stay tuned. Speaker 2 (00:19): Welcome to your source for tips, tools, and support to help you be that mom that is tuned in and proactive for yourself, your family, and for the wild ride of raising kids in this digital age, inspired by a mother's love with a relatable real life. Proud to be that mom flair. This is the bead that mom movement with your host, Dolly Denson, Speaker 3 (00:44): Holy Molly. Check this out. If you were a mom that is looking Speaker 1 (00:46): To give your kiddo a phone, but you don't want to open up the world of the smartphone to them yet, check out the pinwheel phone. The pinwheel phone is the latest and greatest for dumb smartphones. It gives you absolute control over what they do and who they can contact, and we'll help them to develop healthy habits around using a phone, check out pinwheel@pennwell.com use code be that mom 10 for a discount. So I was sitting with a friend last night, her and her family came over to our house to swim and spend some time. And we were talking about our children and the maturity stages that they go through. And her children are a little bit younger. At least the set of children are a little bit younger than mine. She has some older ones that are already grown up, and then she's got three younger ones that aren't yet into even the middle school years. Speaker 1 (01:38): And then as you probably know, if you've listened to this podcast for any length of time, my kids are teens and older. And so the perspective that we have is a little bit different. She's got some experience with the older ones and some experience with the younger ones. And so we were talking about, oh, the dreaded teen years, you know, my husband asked her how old her daughter was. She said 10. And then we were all kind of like chuckling a little bit under our breath about Ooh, three more years until the teen years, you know, the dreaded years. But as I was sitting there talking to her, I was like, you know, I honestly think that those aren't the hardest years. I think they are complicated in made harder in today's digital age. But I actually think that it is the middle school and even the upper elementary school years that are the place where we really need to be focusing some concerted effort in what we're doing and being mindful around things to set the stage for those teen years so that perhaps they don't have to be as difficult. Speaker 1 (02:38): I do think that us as parents in this new realm of parenting in the digital world, we are facing new and unprecedented challenges because of the impact and the influence of allowing our kids into the digital world. And then not really having any guide or like map to follow when it comes to giving things, you know, we was like, we were a part of a massive experiment that's happening over the last two decades as the internet emerged. And then all the digital things emerged, the internet expanded and became more pervasive. And we all thought it was benign, right? At least if you have kids that are my age, we didn't really know the impact or what was going to happen with that. And so it's like, we've been part of a massive experiment. And so if you yourself are listening to this and just trying to get a grasp on things and your kids are younger, like, you know, in the zero to 10 year old range, you have a leg up on this. Speaker 1 (03:35): And I would definitely band together with other moms that have older kids and have had their own struggles in this space so that together we can help navigate this better. And so the impact on our children can be in a more positive trajectory for the generations growing up now. So I definitely think if your kids are younger right now, in one sense, it's harder because there's so much more to worry about and it's ever changing and ever evolving. But in the other sense, you have so many more tools at your fingertips. You have a generation of parents that did it the hard way. And so we're here to link arms with you and to help you in this. So that's what I want to talk about today a little bit. So that kinds of sets the stage for what I want to talk about, but when a dial it back for just a second, and then I'm going to give you some tips at the end for just some basic guidelines for you to use or to share with moms that you know, that have younger kids, so that this next generation that's going to go through the middle school years. Speaker 1 (04:32): And the teen years will have a little bit more guidance and, you know, a map that they can follow so to speak. So when I was preparing for today's podcast, I was looking for like stats on the influence of a smartphone or the digital things on the middle school years. For me personally, my kids, I do feel like those were the most impactful years because we gave the smart phone at the start of their middle school years. I mean, it typically for most of us, it is that sixth grade year where they're going to be in more activities. They're going to be away from you more. They're going to be with their peers more. They all want to connect with their peers more. I mean, it's just like the age where we have to change how these decisions are made and we have to spread the awareness that they're not benign. Speaker 1 (05:19): So I went in search of stats, something that could show me kind of what I'm thinking is true for those years. And I came across this study that was actually of children in Korea. And while I think that different countries have different things and Korea's social setting with their children and their education system can be quite different from other countries. I will tell you that my podcast as a whole, when I look at the stats on where the listeners are from, I have listeners worldwide. And in places I did not ever expect to have someone listening from. So wherever you're listening from, I believe we have a universal struggle that it doesn't matter what culture you're in or what setting you're in. We have a universal struggle when it comes to the digital things and the influence on our children. So I went ahead and looked through this study for Korea. Speaker 1 (06:12): Okay. And you know, if you have any experience with looking at studies, you kind of always have to look at what they find, but also the limitations. And is it generalizable? I don't know if that's the correct word, but are you able to take that and put it into other settings and will it still apply? And so while this study might have a few limitations, because the culture in Korea may be different in terms of the approach toward education, how much time they are required to spend studying on things versus other countries. I still think this is kind of a universal thing that can be generalized to some extent. And I'm going to just give you some of the points from the study that I think you can take moving forward. As you make the decision to give a smartphone, to give more access to digital things, to start allowing your kid, to dip their toe in the water of all the digital stuff and give you a place to start as you do that. Speaker 1 (07:03): Okay. So as a little background, this study was studying about smartphones and the use in children. And as we know, young people use these digital things like an extension of their hand, right? Us that are older. We did not grow up with these things. And so our minds are a little bit or brain development's a little bit more set in place and completely developed. And so learning new things is harder for us, for kids. It does become an extension of them so very easily, but it is also their place for connecting with the world, communicating with friends, finding information in the world, the day of the card catalog, where you had to go to the library and look something up, or the micro fish that you had to go through in order to find a paper or an article or something like that, those days are gone. Speaker 1 (07:51): And so our kids are used to that very much at our fingertips information and, you know, just being able to connect to anything in everything out there. Some stats that were noted in this study was that worldwide in 2014, smartphones were used by 1.8, 5 billion people. And then this study was done before 2020. So they estimated that by 2020 smartphones would be used by 2.8, 7 billion people. And then what they found was that in 2015, a median of 54% across 20 emerging and developing countries use the internet and occasionally, or sometimes had a smartphone, whereas 87% of 11 advanced economies, which include the U S and Canada, and then some major Western European nations, such as Australia, Japan, South Korea, and Israel for them, 87% had smartphones. So in the survey that they did, they found that in, they conducted it over 40 nations that South Korea showed the highest rate of smartphone ownership, which was 88% followed by Australia. Speaker 1 (08:58): And then the United States at 72%. So the study summarized just looking at smartphone addiction in the age group of early adolescents and the middle school ages. So what they found was that they are a high- risk group for smartphone addiction, and that it does affect them socially, psychologically, and health wise. So they did notice that they, it affects them in those ways. And it also affects them that once they are addicted to the phone, that it affects them when you remove it. So, you know, if you've listened to some of my episodes, I talk about I self coined it, the teen tantrums. So basically it is when they are their brain and just them, their activity in general gets used to that stimulation from a phone or from a game or something like that, that they will experience a withdrawal like a true withdrawal when you remove those things, when they have not become accustomed to regulating themselves or having time away from them, if you're allowing them to have a ton of time on those things. Speaker 1 (10:06): So the study found that there are effects of allowing it too much and also affects when you withdraw it. So of course, if you were already in the space of you have allowed this, and now you're trained to course correct, they will survive the teen tantrum that withdrawal I've done it myself with my child, but just being aware that that is there. If you haven't yet, given these things is a way for you to be mindful as you do proceed through this, that it is not benign, that it actually does have an impact. So when you can be aware of that, you know, that's our starting point with all of this. So what they did find was that the children that they did study, they risk stratified them and different things like that. But I won't go into those details because I just want to stay with the most pertinent things that you can use today and moving forward with your kids. Speaker 1 (10:54): But they did notice that children that had prolonged use of their smartphones had more behavioral problems, such as nervousness, a more anxious, temperament, and distraction, like mental distraction, not being able to focus on things. And this was seen more problematically when they had been given a cell phone or a smartphone at an earlier age versus when they were older. They also found that depression and anxiety can cause, or be like a causing. Cause I don't think I'm saying that right, but can be a factor in causing the addiction, but it also can be caused by the addiction. So you see there's this back and forth kind of everything ties together, somewhat in the influence of it. So they did find that what was used most as these kids had more digital addiction behaviors was, and just in general was the first thing was mobile. So things like someplace where they communicate so WhatsApp, I don't know if they use Facebook messenger, the ones that they studied in this study, but some form of mobile messenger in order to contact their friends. Speaker 1 (12:06): The second thing that they used most was the internet look. They called it internet surfing, but, you know, looking at at different websites, the third thing was gaming. So it was playing a game in an app, something where they're just playing a game by themselves or with other people. And then the fourth thing used most was social networking through social media sites. And what they found was that predictive factors for smartphone addiction was the duration of how long they were able to use their smartphone each day and then how long they were allowed to be on social media. And then the third thing was their awareness of game overuse. So when they could recognize that they were using it too much and take themselves off, they were less likely to have the addictive patterns in the addictive behaviors. So as you can see, and as we probably are all pretty much aware, there is an addictive pattern to this and it is kind of insidious, but there is an impact and it's not benign. Speaker 1 (13:07): And we cannot just move forward into these years, handing a phone over and calling, you know, that it, as far as guidance, here you go, here's your phone have fun, which is what I did. So if you've done that know that I have no judgment for that, I'm just here to help connect you with the tools that I wish I would have had. So the teen years are definitely those years that we dread and they are more complicated by the digital things. But if we can be aware of these things and have a game plan, then it's going to make them easier. So I'm going to give you five points that I want you to just consider as you're moving forward. If you have younger kids or you're needing to redirect, or you have a friend that has younger kids and you're trying to help them out or want to just share this information, certainly share the podcast. Speaker 1 (13:52): So let's lay the stage for those 10 years and what five things we can do. The first thing is simply to recognize that this is something that needs to be openly addressed and is something that can and will influence them. If we leave them on their own with complete online freedom, it just absolutely will make that impact. And it needs to be something to be openly discussed and addressed. When we decide we are going to move forward with a phone, even if it's not a smartphone, like I mentioned, all the time, a pinwheel phone, a gab phone are much better options starting out. So that is one way to make this a little bit more simplified is having something that has some safeguards in place for you and gives you kind of an extra layer of protection. The second thing is to remember that we are the adult, we are the parent, and no matter what they say, you can just, it's a given, they're going to tell you all the friends, all my friends, all the kids in class have this app had this blah, blah, right? Speaker 1 (14:52): You're the parent, you're the one that is sitting here trying to make sure that they have a solid foundation for their childhood. And so you make sure that you stay in that place of parent and don't just try to be their friend because they do not have a fully developed brain. And therefore we have to make decisions for them right now. Right? Okay. So then number three is make a flexible plan. Moving forward as a family unit. I understand this can be complicated if you have, as parents, you're living in separate households. If there's step-parents involved, if there's a difference of opinion, but ultimately if you can kind of try to get on the same page with those that are involved in guiding the child through their childhood years and make a flexible plan with the plan of, if this doesn't work out, if we see this or that, then we may backtrack and, you know, make a new plan. Speaker 1 (15:43): So that is the plan for now. We'll see how it goes. The fourth thing is plan for progressive independence as they show maturity with their decisions. I am not one to say that we should need to, or we should hold or withhold everything possible until they turn 18. I do not think that that personally don't think in with the experience of my children, that that would be the best path, because at some point they have to learn how to navigate this stuff. I think that it is a progressive independence that needs to happen as they show maturity and how you gauge that is partly what I'm going to say with this. Number five is you need to preserve the non-digital activities and other childhood interests. As you step foot into giving smartphone or a dumb smartphone, and you're giving more access to gaming and things like that is you need to preserve the time and the space for things that aren't digital and make sure that they are still doing things where they communicate in the real world. Speaker 1 (16:47): They are actually doing things that are like actual physical things in the world. And not everything just with sitting in front of a screen or with a phone in their hands. And once they can demonstrate some regulation with that, then you can make decisions to move forward with more independence. That's personally what I have done when we course corrected. And then we started providing that is I allowed to have the child to kind of test the waters of boundaries and what I personally went through and what we have found is that when we withdrew the complete freedom with the digital things, set down, some limits, set down some boundaries, as far as putting it away at night and it not being allowed in the bedroom at night. And those types of things is there was a rediscovery and almost like a re-igniting of past interests and new interests. Speaker 1 (17:42): And realizing that the time suck on that device was sucking time away from other things that were exciting and fun. You know, that childhood excitement before all the digital things suck your mind in and you get addicted to them. So my point would, number five is preserve that time, set up boundaries for them to still be physically active, to do things where they are face-to-face with other kids. And then they are actually using their hands and doing things in real life, such as when they were very young and growing up where, you know, it was all about putting it in the mouth and, you know, putting in their hands and then learning to stack blocks. That type of development doesn't end at a certain age that continues to progress. It just becomes more complex. And I believe in what I've said before is once we give them the digital things, I think it can very easily stifle that development. Speaker 1 (18:39): So if you can preserve that space for them, then they can demonstrate responsibility around setting their own time limits and not letting it completely obliterate everything else that they have interest in, in their life. Okay. So I hope you found that helpful with those five tips of things that you can use as you're moving forward. So ultimately we can make it to where this raising a child in the digital world does not have to be an all uphill Rocky road. They may not understand it completely. There may be times where they are very mad at you, and they are convinced that you are a mean mom. And why do you have to be that mom? But I can guarantee you that as they get older, at some point, it may not be until a long way older, they will realize that you putting your foot down and being that mom today and now in their younger years was actually the best thing that could have happened to them as they got older. Speaker 1 (19:38): And that what you're doing as being that mom is actually helping them to be more successful in life. I truly truly believe that at my core, that the digital things are hindering our child's development and their potential in the world. And so if we put our foot down on this and admit, we're not perfect and admit that there may be some stops and starts and redirects and you know, course correct. But the bottom line is you are there to be the proactive mom that realizes that something has to be done, and this is ever evolving. And there's always going to be changes in this space, but once we can, you know, just establish that with them until they can establish it for themselves in terms of responsible and healthy tech use, we have to be that mom for our kids. We truly, truly do. Okay. Speaker 1 (20:30): So it's my belief that the teen years do not have to all be Rocky. And it is my belief that we are setting the stage in their late elementary and middle school years by the decisions we make with the digital things. So please proceed with a proactive that mom's stance because you are the, like the guide and the thing that is going to help your child to take that next step into the world. Okay. All right. Hope you found this so very helpful today, and I will chat with you next time. I'm going to be bringing some guests onto the podcast. I've been wanting to do it for a while, but summer was busy. Everybody was busy. It was hard to set up a time for these guests that I'm going to be bringing on. So those will be coming soon. I don't know if it'll be next week because I still have a busy work week this week, but I have some free time next week. So I may be setting up some of those interviews and bringing you some of that. So you can kind of get that perspective of some other people talking instead of me, always talking and get some conversations going about different topics that I think will be of interest to you. Okay. Alrighty, thanks so much for listening, chat with you next time. Speaker 2 (21:37): Thanks for tuning in being that mom isn't easy, but together we can be that mom's strong. Don't forget to leave a review, connect on social and join Dolly's free community till next time.  Speaker 3 (21:51): Did you hear there is an app that will transform the safety of your kids, smartphone and technology use. It is my favorite way to sleep easy at night and have peace of mind because it is monitoring my kids' activity online without me being in their business. It is the bark app and yes, bark like a dog bark bark bark. It tells you when there's something that you need to be concerned about starting at a small fee each month, you can protect your whole family across all devices. Get connected with bark today. Use code, beat out mom for 20% off your subscription for life and get a seven day free trial to check it.

Alrighty then! On this weeks episode, Dave and Adam dive into a visit from Natalya where she faces Paige, then tags with Bayley. We wave goodbye to Kassius Ohno, aka, Chris Hero, Aiden English is back complete with an entrance at long last, Cesaro continues to bait William Regal, but does it work? Neville, Bo Dallas, Leo Kruger, Sami Zayn and more are all in action along with plenty more to discuss this week! Please leave us a rating on iTunes, it really helps the podcast. You can also find us on social media, where we love to hear what you think and what you'd love to hear over at http://www.facebook.com/NXTBTTF,  http://www.twitter.com/NXTBTTF,  http://www.instagram.com/NXTBTTF and we are now over at TikTok at NXTBBTF.

Alrighty. We were are ready to talk Matt Coronato, William Stromgren, Cole Huckins and so on but we were completely distracted by the old Twitter rumour machine. Today we react to the highly speculative rumours around our favourite player on earth, Matthew Tkachuk. We think the Flames should go Chucky's way yet it appears they favour the opposite. We get into it along with a quick review of the 2021 NHL Entry draft. Go Flames Go. Our little podcast is brought to you by DraftKings and the Hockey Podcast Network. Download the DraftKings app NOW and use promo code THPN to get a shot at MILLIONS of DOLLARS in total prizes throughout the week. Head to Draftkings.com for details.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SEASON TWO PREMIERE. Chris and Chris revisit the 1995 Jim Carrey sequel "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls". Does it hold up, or is it a steaming pile of guano? Give it a listen and find out. Alrighty then. Top 5: Jim Carrey career moments. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/40under40pod0/support

Are you considering giving your kid a social media account? Here is one of many things I wish I would have known, but one of the most important starting out!  Stay connected with the Be THAT Mom Movement via our channel in the Telegram app: Subscribe HERE or search for @bethatmom on the app or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the_bethatmommovement Get tips and tools for your own wellness using the Align Your Life Wellness channel on the Telegram app: Subscribe HERE or search for @alignyourlife on the app. You can also get more info at https:.//www.dollydenson.com For a FREE DIGITAL RESOURCE GUIDE download CLICK HERE or go to https://www.dollydenson.com/digitalresources For more info on the Tick Talk Watch: CLICK HERE. Use code BETHATMOM for $10 off!! Grab the Pinwheel phone for your kid's first phone, and avoid the addiction and battle created by giving a smartphone too soon: Click here or go to https://www.pinwheel.com/?via=dolly and use code BETHATMOMTEN for a discount!  More info on the Gabb Wireless phone: CLICK HERE or use code BETHATMOM for a discount at https://www.gabbwireless.com Add a BARK subscription to your Pinwheel phone or smart phone for added security. Use code BETHATMOM for 20% off for life! https://www.bark.us BARK HOME: CLICK here!! Covenant Eyes 30 day free trial CLICK HERE!!  FULL TRANSCRIPTION: Speaker 1 (00:00): Social media is all the rave. It is how many kids communicate with each other. So when we don't allow it, a lot of times they feel this mega fear of missing out because it is how so many kids communicate. So if you are someone who has decided, okay, I think I want to move forward with letting them have a social media account, but I don't know what the most important things are when I move forward with this. Well today, we're going to talk about one single thing that I wish I would have done. There's multiple things I wish I would've done, but this one thing is something that I really, really wish I would have done. When I first allowed social media stay tuned. Speaker 2 (00:44): Welcome to your source for tips, tools, and support to help you be that mom that is tuned in and proactive for yourself, your family, and for the wild ride of raising kids in this digital age, inspired by a mother's love with a relatable real life. Proud to be that mom flair. This is the bead that mom movement with your host, Dolly Denson, Hey friends, did you hear Speaker 1 (01:09): There is an app that will transform the safety of your kids, smartphone and technology use. It is my favorite way to sleep easy at night and have peace of mind because it is monitoring my kids' activity online without me being in their business. It is the bark app and yes, bark like a dog bark bark bark. It tells you when there's something that you need to be concerned about starting at a small fee each month, you can protect your whole family across all devices. Get connected with bark today. Use code, be that mom for 20% off your subscription for life and get a seven day free trial to check it out. Alrighty. So this episode, we are just going to talk about giving access to social media, to your kiddo. If you were at the point to where you want to allow that, and one tip that you can do to help kind of tiptoe into this whole thing and kind of keep some control over what is going on until you have some peace of mind and can help guide them in expanding their independence on the platform. Speaker 1 (02:07): So, disclaimer, I must say is that I believe social media has influence and impact that is hard to comprehend and is very multifaceted. So proceed with caution with this. I'm not encouraging you to give a social media account to your kiddo until you are able to proactively guide them and spend the time doing this, do not proceed with this confidence that they are just going to know how to navigate it because every kid is different and the influences are just so very powerful. And we know our kids bend to self-esteem. I mean, not self-esteem, but peer pressure, just like we did as kids. And this is a form of peer pressure. So I want to give you this tip, but I also want you to proceed with caution and use your own judgment for your kid and be very, very active and proactive in this place to help guide your kiddo. Speaker 1 (03:01): And of course, you know, if you've listened to other episodes that I absolutely recommend that you get bark and bark home to help you with this monitoring, like I've said before, this whole parenting in the digital age takes a village like a huge freaking village. And that village can consist of the parents, grandparents, friends, the parents of friends, but it absolutely needs to include some form of monitoring such as bark that you can put on the device and on your home life. I, that will give you some peace of mind. It will help you to sleep at night because it's monitoring things that you don't necessarily want to have to be all in their business with things, but it's monitoring conversations and all of those things that they do on their phones and can give you insight to what's going on before you realize it. Speaker 1 (03:49): And bark has been found to intervene on conversations about drugs and alcohol violence, suicide, depression, anxiety, all of the things, cyber bullying, all of those things that many of us will not know about until it is too late in some way, shape or form. So I absolutely, if you're going to do the smartphone route, if you're, even if you're going to do a pinwheel phone, that one can use bark too, but get bark on there to help you monitor it, picks up on things that you otherwise would miss. Absolutely. So it'll give you peace of mind, help you to sleep at night and just be part of your village. Okay. But what I want to talk about is that if you are going to give a social media account, I absolutely would do this. If I could get a do-over and I did kind of do this when I realized that I needed to, but that is to have the password to that social media account and even start out by putting it on your phone. Speaker 1 (04:43): So they access it and do the things that they need to do through your phone first. So you can monitor things if you don't want to do it through your phone and they have their own phone, then you make sure that you have that password and that they know that you can look at that at any time. And that is not to, you know, just be all in their business, but it is to help guide them and help, you know, just see what they are doing. If they object to this and don't want to do this, then they're not mature enough to have that account because there's no reason they should be hiding anything from you. And if they are having, you know, seem to be wanting to do that, then that needs to be an open discussion about what's going on there. Why do you feel like you need to hide this stuff from me? Speaker 1 (05:22): So that is the number one thing that I would do if I could get a do-over besides just not giving a phone so young and not giving all of the things so young without realizing the impact. Okay. But I do think that that is so, so important for both your peace of mind and them just learning that this is kind of a dance that you're going to do together and that they will gain independence as time goes on and they demonstrate responsible use. And of course there are many other facets to this and you will have other things to consider. But for the sake of this episode, that is the number one thing that I would do. Now, I am together a B that mom movement method, which is basically going to be a roadmap for you to follow a method for you, to use with tools and resources for you to navigate this proactively and to feel like you are in control of what is going on with your kids. Speaker 1 (06:15): You have all of the tools and resources to make a confident, positive decision about what you do, where you go and how you proceed with this in a way that makes sense for you and your family and your personal preferences, your kids' temperaments, all of the different things. Okay. So I hope you will stay tuned for that jump on it. When I get it released, because I will have a significant discount so that we together can proceed in raising our kids in this digital age with a proactive stance that is based on knowledge and a method to follow. Okay. So I hope you will check that out. And I hope that you found this episode, helpful, proceed with caution with the social media things. But I do believe that there is a way to do it where you tip toe in it and help guide them. And then you let that independence out as they get older. And as you have more confidence and of course get bark on your side, barked at us, use code, be that mom for a discount on the lifetime of your subscription. So with those tools, that can be part of your village to help monitor and all that. So you can check out the links in the show notes for those, and I'll chat with you next time. Speaker 2 (07:24): Thanks for tuning in being that mom isn't easy, but together we can be that mom's strong. Don't forget to leave a review, connect on social and join Dolly's free community till next time. Hey, Speaker 1 (07:39): You are a mom that has a lot on your plate like I do. And you struggle with anxiety or sleep or even chronic pain issues. Please check out my soul cbd.com. They are the one and only CBD source that I trust. And you can use my code, be that mom for 15% off of your purchase.