Podcasts about pastor taylor

In Week 3 of our Joy to the World Christmas series, we explore “The Wonders of His Love.” Rooted in Ephesians 3:16–19, discover how God's love moves toward us first, reaches farther than our failures, and brings real change to our hearts and lives. 

Thank you for joining us this week as Pastor Taylor continues our Christmas series for week 4 in Matthew 2. This week, we also had Cory and Cera Hammond lead us in the advent! We hope you are encouraged and convicted by this message, and we can't wait to see you next week! As always — love God, love others and make disciples!

Pastor Taylor continues our Christmas Series, "HEAVEN CAME DOWN" with a message on the messenger angels, and to not ignore the call that God has placed on your life.follow us on instagram @reallifechurchwa 26201 180th Ave. SE Covington, WA 98042 Sundays @ 8:30 | 10 | 11:30

Introduction: I Want to Belong to Jesus… (John 1:4–13) Because He gives me an UNBEATABLE HOPE. (John 1:4–5) Because He gives me a MEANINGFUL MISSION. (John 1:6–8) Isaiah 40:3 – A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” John 3:30 – He must increase, but I must decrease. Because He gives me a SPOT IN HIS FAMILY THAT I CANNOT EARN. (John 1:9–13) John 3:19–20 – And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead John 1:4-13What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Who or what do you often set your hopes on? Why can't these people and things satisfy you as Jesus can?What excuses are holding you back from bearing witness to the light? How will you bear witness to the light this week and next?How does Jesus give us the right to become children of God? Why can't this right be deserved or earned?BreakoutPray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Well, as you turn to John chapter one, I want to ask you the same exact question that youjust heard in the video.I want to ask you a question that Pastor Jeff brought to your attention last week in hismessage.It's probably a question that you're tired of hearing and asking this holiday season.What do you want for Christmas?With Christmas being so close, you have asked and heard the answer to that question manytimes over the past several weeks.The questions you've, the answers you've heard and the answers you've given include an O'Wallahwater bottle.Isn't that popular?That's still popular.I don't really know.A red light therapy mask.Anybody want that?That's popular on Instagram, isn't it?A massive Lego set, a Nintendo switch to new AirPods, a smart ring, which I guess is kindof like an Apple Watch, but a ring on your finger.I don't really know.Or fancy golf clubs.But there are many things that you want for Christmas that you cannot write down on a wishlist.There are many things you want for Christmas that cannot be bought or wrapped.Maybe you want that big promotion.Maybe you want that bonus this year that you aren't sure is coming.Maybe you want healing in your own body or in the body of a loved one.Or here's a big one.Maybe you want to feel like you belong.You want to not be rejected.That is a desire that every single person in this room shares.It's a desire that starts when you're young and it continues on for the rest of your life.As a kid and then a teenager, every single one of us was desperate to fit in and havea group of friends to belong to.Rejection is painful.It leaves lasting memories, especially when you're a kid.You know, growing up, my friends and I used to have a sleepover almost every single Fridaynight.And during 11th grade, there was a month-long stretch where there was no sleepovers.And I was really confused.I didn't know why this routine had been broken.So one day at the lunch table, I said to my friends, "Hey, guys, we haven't had a sleepoverin a while.Do you guys want to come to my house this Sunday?"And whenever I said that, everyone at the table erupted in uncontrollable laughter.And I was, again, just very, very confused.After they were all done and calmed down, I said, "What's so funny?"They then proceeded to tell me that they thought it would be hilarious to not invite me tosleepovers for a while to see how long it would take me to notice and say something.I missed a whole month of sleepovers with my friends.And to be honest, in that moment, externally, I tried to laugh it off.I tried to act like it wasn't a big deal.But internally, I felt rejected.I felt like I didn't belong.You ever felt that way before?A friend stopped talking to you.A family member cut off communication for seemingly no reason.A boyfriend or girlfriend ended the relationship without warning.Your spouse chose to give up on the marriage and leave.You have felt rejected before.You have felt like you don't belong.You feel that way right now?Maybe you couldn't care less about what gifts you're going to get under the Christmas treethis year.Maybe you don't want anything from Amazon or the mall.More than anything this year, you just want to experience that sense of belonging.You want to know that there are people who love you, who care about you, and will neverlet go of you no matter what you do.I can't guarantee you that sense of belonging with your family and with your friends thisChristmas.I wish I could, but I can't.But I can guarantee there is someone infinitely greater who will give you that sense of belonging.I can guarantee there is someone who will not reject you, who will not turn away fromyou if you truly turn to him.That person is Jesus Christ.There is no one better to belong to.There is no one better to be loved by.There is no one with a tighter grip in all of existence than him.I want you to walk out of this service this morning if you're a believer with a greatersense of confidence that you were loved by Jesus Christ.That you are safe and secure in his steady hands.There is no better gift than that.And if you're not a Christian this morning, I want you to know that the invitation hasbeen extended to belong to Christ.He commands you to follow him.He invites you to enjoy his acceptance and not fear others' rejection.More than anything, I want all of you in this room to want to belong to Jesus this Christmas.So before we continue any further, let's go to the Lord and ask for His help.Please pray for me that I will faithfully represent God's Word and I will pray for youthat you will faithfully receive it.Father, we come to you and we bring all of our pain to you.All of our fears are all of our deepest, darkest worries that we're afraid to admit to otherpeople.Lord in this room, I'm sure there's many, many stories of rejection.Many, many stories of feeling like we don't belong and I'm sure if we brought everybodyup on stage to share how they feel that there wouldn't be a dry eye in the house today.Lord, we ask that you bring the comfort that only you can.That you would challenge us, you would tear us down so that you can build us back up again.Lord, I do ask for myself, Lord, your Word is perfect, but I am not.I do not feel up to the task of proclaiming such a glorious passage, but Lord, give meyour strength, give me your wisdom.I pray for everyone in this room that you would give them the faith to receive your Wordtoday.I pray that you would seek and save the lost.Thanks for the rest of us, Lord.We would walk out of this room with a greater sense of confidence in who we belong to.We ask all this in Jesus' mighty name.Amen.Was a quick refresher.Let's reread the verses that Pastor Jeff covered last week.This will set the table and help us to understand the context of our passage this morning.So John chapter one, verses one through three.In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.He was in the beginning with God.All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.These verses are all about who Jesus is.He is the Word of God who created all things.Without Jesus, this universe would not exist.This world would not exist.You would not exist.Jesus is the source and sustainer of everything that you can see and everything that you cannotsee.Jesus isn't just the Word of God.John says that He is God Himself.Verses one through three focus on who Jesus is, while verses four through thirteen focuson what Jesus gives.If you properly understand who Jesus is and what Jesus gives, you will want to belongto Him.You will want to belong to Him because no one can compare to who Jesus is, and nothingcan compare to what Jesus gives.So outline for this morning, I want to belong to Jesus.I want to belong to Jesus, first reason, because He gives me an unbeatable hope.Because He gives me an unbeatable hope.Let's read chapter one, verse four.In Him, in Jesus was life, and the life was the light of men.Life was and is found in Jesus and Him alone.As we already discussed, Jesus made all things.He is the source of all life on earth.He is the cause of everything.But He's not just the cause of physical life.He is the only supplier of eternal life as well.There is no other viable option to turn to or to search for besides Jesus.But that doesn't stop us from trying, does it?Millions have tried, and billions have failed in trying to find true life apart from Jesus.And you and I have tried our hand at this pointless search as well.Trying to find life in our jobs, in our finances, in our status, our stuff, and even our families.Life cannot be found in your job.You realize that one day you will have to retire.You may let go from that job.One day that job will belong to someone else.Your life is not found in how much money you have.Let me ask you a question.How much of the money in your various accounts will you be able to take with you when youdie?Do we not know the answer?Not a single dime.Life is not found in your status and popularity.There will always be someone bigger and better than you.In 150 or 200 years, how many people on this planet will be thinking about you?The most likely answer is not a single soul.Life is not even found in your family.As great as your spouse, your kids, your relatives might be, they cannot meet the deepest needsof your soul.Can your spouse forgive you of your sins?Can your kids give you that unbeatable hope that you're looking for?No.Can your family guarantee your eternity?No.All of those needs can only be met by Jesus Christ, who is the only source of life.And John goes on to say that this life was the light of men.That sounds pretty cool, right?But what does that actually mean?The life was the light of men.I'm no scientist, but let me give you a quick pop quiz in astronomy.What do all the plants in this solar system orbit around?You're all really tired this morning.What is it again?All right, very, very good.Could we survive without the sun?What does the sun do for us?Is the major source of life because it is the major source of light and heat on thisplanet without the sun shining as it does, we would all freeze to death without the sunshining as it does.We would not be able to see anything.We would be lost in the darkness without the light of Christ shining as it does.We would not be able to see and understand the truth without the light of Christ shiningas it does.We would not know how to be saved.We would not know how to have a relationship, a friendship with God without the light ofChrist shining as it does.We would be hopeless and lost in the darkness of our sin without the light of Christ shiningas it does.None of us would have any spiritual life.Who is the light of the sun offered to?The 8.3 billion people on this planet.Who is the light of the sun of God offered to?Same exact answer, the 8.3 billion people on this planet.As we'll see in a few minutes, many choose to hide from this light and by doing so, theymiss out on the life that he offers.But that does not stop Jesus from shining his light, which we see in verse 5.Read that with me."The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it."The word "overcome" in this verse can also be translated as "comprehended" or "understood."And many scholars believe that John picked this word for a very specific reason.He chose this word because it has a double meaning.Each of these words makes sense in context or flip sides of one another.Let's cover one side of the coin first.Let's cover the light, shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.I walk my dog Murdoch almost every single night at 10 p.m. after the family is asleep.And my wife hates this plan because she thinks I'm going to get pan-kicked by a car.It hasn't happened yet, so please just pray for me that this trend continues and I'm ableto be safe.But there is this one house in my neighborhood that fascinates me.This house has a lamppost in the front yard that shines brightly for about 10 to 20 seconds,then it just shuts off.And it comes back on a few seconds later and it happens every single night for the pastyear.And this may sound strange to you, but I think about that lamppost almost every single day.Every single time I exit the house to go take Murdoch on this walk, I wonder, is tonightgoing to be the night when that light is extinguished?Is tonight the night when darkness will overcome that person's yard?Because there's something wrong with that lamppost.There's something wrong with the bulb.There's something wrong with the wiring.It's just a matter of time.I don't have much faith in that lamppost.I don't think you would have much faith in that lamppost if you took a field trip tomy neighborhood and drove past it.But do you know who you should have total and complete faith in?Do you know whose light you should never wonder or worry about being extinguished?Jesus Christ.The light of His glory never flickers.The light of His gracious love never turns off.He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.No matter how dark this world gets, no matter how bleak your life looks, Jesus Christ isshining just as brightly as He always has.Sin, injustice, and evil cannot lower the intensity of who He is and what He has done.Nothing and no one can turn the dimmer switch down on the light of the world.Let's flip over to the other side of the coin.The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not understood it.You know, Satan and his demons are crafty.I'll give them that.They are intelligent.But at the same time, these evil forces are complete morons in comparison to the all-knowingall-wise God of the universe.The devil and his demons are fighting a losing battle because they cannot figure out a wayto extinguish the light of Christ.They're like a bunch of roided-up bodybuilders trying to push over a mountain with theirbare hands.It's just not going to happen.Their attempts to snuff out the light only fan it into flame even more.The harder they try, the harder they fail.No matter what they do, Jesus keeps forgiving more and more people.No matter what they try, the church keeps getting built up.No matter what scheme they hatch, the kingdom of God keeps advancing.Satan and his workers have already been defeated by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.They know that eternal judgment awaits them.Are they going to go quietly without a fight until Jesus returns?No, they are kicking and screaming like bratty children.And I know that they're kicking and screaming causes a lot of pain and hardship to everysingle person in this room.But they cannot change the ending that God has already written.The light will win because the darkness cannot overcome it or understand it.That is certain.That is a fact.Maybe you've been a believer for months, for years, and maybe even for decades.And you know the truths of verses four and five intellectually.You have a very hard time believing these truths emotionally and experientially.You're in a tough season right now and you feel like the darkness is winning.You feel like the light is losing.You feel like the darkness understands how to overcome the light just fine.You feel like you cannot have victory over that sin pattern in your life.You feel like there is more sin in you than there is mercy in Christ.You feel helpless.You feel hopeless.If that's how you feel right now, my heart goes out to you because I've been there before.And I'm sure I'll be there again.If that's how you feel, I want to challenge you to stop looking at you.Stop looking at your circumstances.Fix your eyes on Jesus.Focus your attention on what He has given to you.Root your confidence in the new and everlasting life that has been given to you.Ask the Holy Spirit to re-energize you with the light you see when you open up the pagesof this book during your daily quiet time.You understand your hope is not found in you.You understand that your hope is not even found in your circumstances changing.Your hope is found in belonging to Christ.When you belong to Christ, you are given an unbeatable hope from an unbeatable Savior.I want to belong to Jesus because He gives me an unbeatable hope.I want to belong to Jesus because He gives me a meaningful mission.That's the second reason on your outline, because He gives me a meaningful mission.In verses 4 through 5, John talks about the message of the light.In verses 6 through 8, John talks about the messenger of the light.Let's read these verses together.There is a man sent from God whose name was John.He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through Him.He was not the light that came to bear witness about the light.To be clear, John is referencing a totally different John here.It's kind of confusing.What John is he talking about?John the Baptist.Why couldn't they have had a different name?Why couldn't it have been like Bill the Baptist or Baron the Baptist or whatever?Why did it have to be John?Well, don't worry.We'll make it work.We'll deal with it.John the Baptist was sent by God as a messenger to prepare the way for the promised Messiahand Savior who was prophesied about all throughout the Old Testament.John was prophesied of in the Old Testament as well.Isaiah 40 verse 3, "A voice cries in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord,make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'Malachi 3, 1, 'Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.'"John the Baptist came to roll out the red carpet for the coming king.He didn't come so that others would believe in him and believe in his greatness.He came so that others might believe in Christ through him.John the Baptist's followers once came to him to give him the news that a lot of peoplewere following Jesus.He was getting more popular and his disciples were even baptizing people, which is kindof like John's main thing.It's his name, right?John the Baptist.Like, John, don't you realize that all this is happening?Jesus is getting more popular than you.Is this frustrate John?Was he jealous?Not at all.He was actually really, really excited because he was successfully carrying out the meaningfulmission that God had entrusted to him.Here's the response he gives his disciples.He says, "He, Jesus, must increase, but I must decrease."That was the slogan of John's life in ministry.That should be the slogan of your life in ministry as well.He must increase, but I must decrease.You realize you're not the point of anything.Jesus is.John the Baptist wasn't the point of anything either.Jesus was.His mission was to point everyone to Christ, to bear witness to his light.I know what some of you serious students of the Bible may be thinking right now.You're internally objecting a bit.Hold on a minute, Pastor Taylor.You're saying that Jesus is the light and John the Baptist wasn't.But later on in this gospel, didn't Jesus say that John was like a lamp that was shining?And doesn't Jesus tell us that all Christians are the light of the world?How does this all make sense?Yeah, Jesus does say that in Matthew 5, 14, and then John 5, 35.To help answer those great questions, let me slip on my lab coat again and give you anotherpop quiz in astronomy.When you look up in the night sky and you see the moon shining bright.Does that moon actually have any light of its own?Where does its light come from?The sun, the light of the moon is shared and reflected.It's the same for John and it's the same for you and me.We have a shared and reflected light that is given to us by Jesus Christ.All throughout John chapter one, verses four through 13, the Greek word "phos" is usedin reference to Christ and "phos" is the essence of light.In John 5, 35, the Greek word "looknos" is used to describe John.A looknos is a portable lamp.Jesus is the light while John is the lamp that displays the light.A candle cannot shine on its own.It needs to be given the light of a flame.A lamp in your house cannot shine on its own.It needs to be given the light of a bulb.Jesus Christ is the sun and you are the moon.Jesus Christ is the flame, you are the candle.Jesus Christ is the bulb and you are the lamp.You are here on this earth to display His light to everyone, to shine His light in thedarkness, to bear witness about His light because you have none of your own.And I know what some of you were thinking at this point.Okay, Taylor, I know I need to buckle down and share the gospel.I need to make disciples.I need to shine His light everywhere.I'll do that as soon as the holidays are over.Whatever Christmas is in the rear view mirror, I'll get right on that.No, you won't.And you're thinking, where is your Christmas cheer, Pastor Taylor?What do you mean, no, I won't.I mean, you won't.If you will not bear witness the light of Christ today, what makes you think you'lldo it tomorrow?If you were unwilling to bear witness the light of Christ at the end of 2025, what makesyou think you'll be willing to do it at the start of 2026?Do you understand that Christmas is the perfect time to bear witness to the light of Christ?This is the time when you're around people, you're not usually around.This time of season is all about joy, but most people are miserable.Most people are looking for something that they cannot find because they're looking inthe wrong place.Right now is the perfect time to bear witness to the light.Grab a bunch of the Christmas Eve invite cards at the back table and hand them out as ifyou were given $100 for each one you handed out.I'm not going to give you $100, but the rewards you get in heaven for that will be infinitelygreater.Grab one of those invites, put it in an envelope, put money in that envelope, put a personalnote in that envelope and give it to your mailman tomorrow.Take it upon yourself to read scripture, your family get together this week and talk aboutwhy you're even celebrating Christmas, why Jesus came in the first place.Stop putting off that gospel conversation with that unsafe family member at Christmas.Finally do it.Invite that unbeliever who has no family in the area to your Christmas dinner.Buy them a Bible.Write a note in that Bible and give it to them.I keep going and going and going.There are so many ways to bear witness to the light of Christ this week.Don't make excuses for why you can't.Don't point to your calendar and say you're too busy.This is the reason why you're here, isn't it?To bear witness to the light.If anything, there's other things getting the way of the most important thing on your calendar.Don't justify your fear and laziness by saying you don't want to stir the pot this Christmas.You just want to have a calm Christmas.Shouldn't you care more about sharing the peace of Christ with your family and friends?When you belong to Christ, you recognize that you've been given a meaningful mission.When you belong to Christ, you value your calling way more than your comfort.When you belong to Christ, you make disciples, you don't make excuses.When you belong to Christ, you bear witness to his light because the darkness is everywherethat you go.I want to belong to Jesus because he gives me an unbeatable hope.I want to belong to Jesus because he gives me a meaningful mission.I want to belong to Jesus, final reason, because he gives me a spot in his family that I cannotearn.Because he gives me a spot in his family that I cannot earn.We talked about the message of the light and the messenger of the light.Now we're going to wrap up by talking about the two responses to the message of the light.The first response is in verses 9 through 11.The true light which gives light to everyone was coming into the world.He was in the world and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.He came to his own and his own people did not receive him.As I said earlier, the light of the Son of God is offered to everyone.Anyone is welcome to step into the light.Anyone is welcome to receive the life of Christ and be forever changed.But most choose to step out of the light rather than do it.Most choose to reject the life of Christ that is offered.And this is proven by verse 11.He came to his own people and his own people did not receive him.And this verse has two different focuses.When you zoom out, John is talking about mankind.Statistically and biblically, there are way more non-Christians than Christians.There are way more people who reject Christ than receive him.We all agree on that basic fact of life.But if you zoom in, John is talking about Israel.Many of Jesus' fellow Jews rejected him, hated him, called for his crucifixion.Many of the Jews rejected the message of Christ when it was shared by the apostles.Even to this day, many Jewish people refuse to accept that Jesus is the light.That's not always going to be the case.All does say in Romans that one day all Israel will be saved.Do you have time to talk about that right now?As Pastor Jeff often says, "Buy me some Pantera bread or Chick-fil-A."We'll talk about it across the street sometime.Here's an important question.Why do most people reject Jesus?Why do most people not receive the light of Christ?John gives us a very simple yet sad answer.Later on in this Gospel in chapter 3 verses 19 through 20, he writes, "And this is thejudgment.The light is coming to the world, and people love the darkness rather than the light, becausetheir works were evil.For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light,lest his works should be exposed."Have you ever been sleeping or laying in a dark room and suddenly someone turns thelights on?Are you overjoyed by this?Are you really excited by this?What's your natural human response?What do you do?You close your eyes, you cover your face with your hands and your blanket, you yell, "Turnthat light out!"That is the natural human response, physically and spiritually.It is far more comfortable to lay in the darkness than be in the light.It's simpler to be oblivious and not see yourself for who you really are.It's effortless to do nothing about your greatest problem, which is your sinful nature.It's easy to lash out at those who try to pull you into the light.That is why most people do not receive Jesus.They'd rather lay in the darkness.They love their sin more than Him.That's the first response to the message of the light.John says there's only one other response, and that's in verses 12 to 13, the best partof this entire passage.But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become childrenof God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will ofman, but of God.The first and wrong way to respond to Jesus is rejection.The second and right way to respond to Jesus is receiving and believing.You reach out to receive the gift of eternal life by believing in the name of Jesus Christ.We say that all the time, but what does it mean to believe in the name of Jesus?Well a name represents all of who a person is and all that a person does.When you believe in the name of Jesus Christ, you are believing that He is who the Biblesays that He is.That He has done all the Bible says He has done.You wholeheartedly believe that He is the Word of God who created all things.You have faith that He is the light of the world.He is your only source of hope.You trust that He is the Savior who died on the cross for your sins, who took the punishmentthat you deserve.You submit to the reality that He is the Lord of your life, who has the divine right totell you what to think, say, and do.When you receive Jesus and believe in His name, John says that you are given the rightto become a child of God.There are only two children in this entire world who have the right to claim that theyare my kids.I love all the kids in this church, but I love two of those kids the most.Only two of those kids have a legal right to say that I am their father.Only Samuel and Emmy Brown have that legal right.What's the evidence of this?Well, Kate and I have their birth certificates at home as proof that those kids belong tous.When you belong to Christ, your spiritual birth certificate is signed and sealed by His ownblood.You are given the right to claim God as your father and Jesus as your big brother.You have given the right to declare that you belong to the greatest family imaginable.Can you earn this right?Can you work your way into the family of God?Not according to John at the end of verse 13, he says, "Who were born not of blood northe will of flesh, nor the will of man, but of God."You are not given the right to become a child of God because you're a good person who doesnice things for other people.You are not given the right to become a child of God because your parents are great Christiansand raised you in the church.You are not given the right to become a child of God because you come to church every oncein a while.You pray regularly and do community service projects.You are not given the right to become a child of God because of your track record and yourgood works.You are given the right to become a child of God because of the gracious work of God inChrist.That's it.That's the only source.How do you respond to Jesus?Do you reject Him or do you receive Him?Do you believe in His name, His work, and His reputation, or do you believe in your name,your works, and your reputation?One response leads to eternal destruction while the other leads to eternal life.One response leads to everything being taken away from you and the other leads to everythingbeing given to you.Please don't leave this room without considering who Jesus is and what He is offering you.Everything hinges on your response to Him.What do you want for Christmas?Do you want to belong to the world or do you want to belong to Jesus?Do you want to settle for the flickering hopes of this sinful culture or do you want theunbeatable hope of an unbeatable Savior?Do you want to lead a meaningless existence or do you want to carry out the meaningfulmission of pointing others to the point of life?Do you want to be a child of the devil who absolutely hates you or do you want to bea child of God who unconditionally loves you?If you have not yet believed and received Jesus, now is your chance.Now is your opportunity.You don't know if you're getting another opportunity past this one, so don't waste it.The life of Christ is being offered to you right now.Don't slap the gift away.The light of Christ is shining in this moment.Do not step back into the darkness once again.Now is your time.Now is your chance.You're alive right now.You're not guaranteed tomorrow.Life is hard.Discouragements and disappointments are all around us.It's so easy to lose track of what's important in the darkness.And we need the light of biblical reminders to let us know what is true, what is real,and what is right.This ring I wear on my left hand is a symbol that I belong to my wife.I'm taken.I'm out looking for anybody else to give me that feeling right to belong to.The Lord's Supper is a powerful symbol that you belong to Christ and no one else.You're spoken for by the Son of God and you're not looking for anyone else to give your life meaning.You're not looking to anything else to give your life meaning.

Pastor Taylor starts our Christmas Series with a message on how Heaven started as just a seed, and how He comes and meets us in the mundane.follow us on instagram @reallifechurchwa 26201 180th Ave. SE Covington, WA 98042 Sundays @ 8:30 | 10 | 11:30

Introduction: John 17:3 – And this is eternal life, that they may know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. John 1:18 – No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. I Want to Know God (John 1:1–3): The REALITY: Jesus is GOD. Colossians 2:9 – For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. Zechariah 12:10 – And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced… Acts 20:28 – Pay careful attention to yourselves... to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. Hebrews 1:2 – But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. The RESPONSE: FAITH in Jesus. Hebrews 11:6 – And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. How Can I Grow in Knowing Jesus? CONFESS with your mouth. Romans 10:9 – If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. HEAR the Word. Romans 10:17 – So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. KEEP His commandments. John 15:10 – If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead John 1:1-3What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Why do you think the deity of Jesus is denied by so many cults? Why is that such a common point of contention?How would you explain the Trinity to a 7 year old?Define “faith”. Why do you think faith is the God-ordained way of knowing Him?What's your favorite dinosaur?BreakoutPray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Stegosaurus.Nobody asks, so I'm just going to tell you.Game show host.And gray.Oh, oh, and what I want for Christmas.I just want to know God.Did you ever ask for something, like for Christmas or whatever, and somebody got you the genericversion?Has that ever happened to anybody else?Show of hands.You wanted something and you got the generic version?That happened to me when I was a kid.When I was a kid, they came out with this wacky thing.It was called a pogo ball.How many people show of hands remember the pogo balls?Okay, a few of you.One person in the first service did.Or about half of the first service's attendance.Remember what a pogo ball was?If you don't know, just imagine like a snowman with the head cut off.It was that kind of shape, right?And it had this hard plastic ring that went in between these two balls that were kindof fused together.And you were supposed to like stand on the plastic disc and squeeze your feet on thattop ball and then you would bounce on the pogo ball.And the pogo ball would let you jump almost as high as you could jump if you weren't ona pogo ball.But it was the hot item the one year.And I wanted a pogo ball.You know what my parents got me?The Saturn ball.Pogo balls, generic cousin.The Saturn ball.And not only was it actually not fun to use, but my family was making fun of me when Idid use it.So if I would jump on it, they'd be like, "Here we go on our Saturn ball, our Saturnball, our Saturn ball."And that really hurt my feelings.So the Saturn ball got thrown into a closet and it's probably still there until today.But look, I know we've had this conversation before.But there's just some things you can't go generic, right?Like ketchup.Altars.Oreos.The generic's not the same.Don't try to tell me that it is because you're just lying to yourself.But nothing has been made more generic than God.We live in a culture that is okay with the generic concept of God.But when you get specific, people get squirrely about that.You're like, when people say, "God bless America.""God bless America."You know, you can ask, "Well, which God?"Do you mean the God of the Bible, the one who created us, the one who judges sin, theone who commands us to repent and believe, the one who calls us to live our lives accordingto his wisdom?And it's like, oh no, not that God.But we're just okay with the generic concept.But you see, the problem with that line of thinking is God isn't a generic concept.In fact, God's not a concept at all.God is a person.God is a specific person.And as we enter into the Christmas season, you know, we know the Christmas story fromMatthew and from Luke, right?We know that version of the Christmas story well with the census, and Bethlehem and Maryand Joseph and angels and shepherds and manger and the star and the magi.Right?Well, Matthew and Luke sort of tell the story of the incarnation like looking over people'sshoulders, right?But we're going to be looking at the Gospel of John because his Christmas story is a littledifferent.In John's Christmas story, we are looking over God's shoulder.That's really the theme of the whole book of John.And we studied this some years back.But the theme of John is this, "The God of the universe has revealed himself by cominginto this world as a man to not just save you, but to have a relationship with you."That God wants you to know Him.In fact, this is what Jesus Christ was praying.John 17.3, Jesus said, "And this is eternal life that they may know you."The only true God in Jesus Christ, whom you have sent, eternal life.Nothing's more important than eternal life because you are either going to live foreverwith God or you're going to die forever apart from God.So what do you want for Christmas?The top of your list should be eternal life.And according to Jesus, that comes from knowing Him, from knowing God.And I do have to remind you that knowing about God is not the same as actually knowing God.You realize those are two completely different concepts.Knowing about God and knowing God.Not the same.Think of it this way.Imagine a young man comes to church, a single man.And he's been coming here for a while when all of a sudden one day he notices there isa beautiful young single woman.And he's like, "I don't think I met her, but who is that?"But he gets his friend.He's like, "He found out who that girl is."And his friend comes back with the information.And he says, "Oh, you asked about that girl.Here's what I know.She loves missions."She loves working with children.She enjoys traveling.And get this, she's a big Steelers fan.But she also loves rom-coms.Now if this friend goes back to the dude and gives this report on what this woman is like,do you think this man would be like, "All right, now that I have the information abouther, I am satisfied.Thank you.That is all."Is that the end of the story?No, you see, now that he knows about her, that makes him all the more want to know herpersonally.You see, that's how it is with God.That's how it is with Jesus Christ.The more you know about Him, the more you want to know Him personally.The fact should lead you to the relationship.How do I know God personally?Well John 1.18 tells us that no one has ever seen God, the only God who has at the Father'sside.He has made Him known.And folks, this is a fundamental truth.That the only way that we can know God is He has to make Himself known.And that's what we celebrate every Christmas that God has made Himself known because Hedid it in the most personal way possible.He showed up and introduced Himself.So look at John 1.Picking up in verse 1.We're just going to get the first three verses today.This might feel more like a Bible study than a sermon.But these are important truths that we're going to wrestle down here.John 1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word wasGod.He was in the beginning with God.All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made."Notice that John in introducing our Lord, He's using this word, "Word" a lot.Why does He use the word "Word"?Well He doesn't really explain that.But I promise you that the audience that He wrote to in the first century would have knownexactly what He was talking about.Because John primarily would have been writing to the Greeks and the Jews.The word "Word" in the Greek is "Logos."And to the Greeks, the Logos was like this impersonal force, this impersonal energy source.Because the Greek philosophers were like, "Look, all of this had to come from somewhere.The world didn't happen by accident.There has to be some force out there that's behind the structure of the earth.All logic and reason."They had this idea, it was an impersonal force, and they called it the Word, the Logos.So John is writing to the Greeks, and he goes, "Hey, you guys talk about the Logos, right?Did you know the Logos is a person?"It's not a thing, it's a person.It's a person that was with God.It's a person that was God, and it's a person according to John 1.14 that became fleshand dwelt among us.So that's how the Greeks would have heard this.Do you know how the Jews would have heard this?And we probably don't have to guess, right?When the Jews would have heard the Word Word, what would they have thought of?They immediately would have thought of the Law and the Prophets, what we call the OldTestament.You see, you go through the Old Testament over and over and over.The Word of the Lord came too.The Word of the Lord came too.The Word of the Lord came too.And all of the Law and the Prophets, it's known as the Word of God.So the Jews would have picked up on this concept immediately.You know what the purpose of words is?Words are to communicate something.Words are to be deliberately chosen and used to convey information to another person.That's what John's saying to the Jews.The Word became flesh.Jesus Christ is God's communication to man.A living, breathing Word.So God isn't some impersonal force.God's not a generic concept.According to God's Word, He is a person.And He has revealed who exactly He is in Jesus Christ.Let's just pause for a second and ask that you would pray for me as we do this littlestudy together that I would accurately represent God's Word.Let me pray for you to have a heart open to receive this absolutely essential truth thatGod is teaching us today.So let's pray.Father in heaven, we live in a culture that is fine to think of you in general terms.But to call you a person, a father, the sovereign of the universe, it's tough for some peopleto grasp.And I just pray Father today, especially over these next few minutes, that we would reallyhave our hearts and minds open to what it is that your Word wants to teach us aboutthe way that you've revealed yourself through your Son.It's in Jesus' name that we pray.Amen.So on your outline, I want you to write some things down.I want to know God.Here's where it starts.Number one, the reality.This is the reality.Jesus is God.Let's look at these verses here.Look at verse one again.He says, "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God."In the beginning.Is that something familiar at all?That phrase, "In the beginning."Where have we heard that?Genesis 1-1, right?That's how the whole Bible starts.And John is starting in the same place.John is saying, by saying in the beginning, John is saying, "Before anything was created,the Word existed."The Word.And notice he says two things about the Word.First of all, the Word was with God.And secondly, the Word was God.First of all, let's talk about the Word was God.This claim is nothing less than Jesus Christ is Almighty God.This is all through the New Testament.If we were to just do a Bible study today looking at the verses of the New Testamentto talk about Jesus being God, we would be here long after the snow melted.But the New Testament is so full of this truth.For example, Colossians 2-9 says, "For in Him, in Jesus, the whole fullness of Deitydwells bodily."Most concise statement of Jesus' Deity is probably right here in John 1-14.It says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, gloryas of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."The Word became flesh and dwelt.That Word dwelt in the Greek is the word tabernacled.The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.You heard the tabernacle?In the Old Testament, it was this portable structure that as Moses was leading the Israelitesout of Egypt, God told Moses to build this structure and it had this tent with the HolyPlace and the Holy of Holies.And this was the place where God's unique presence dwelt among His people.So when John says, "The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us," you know, if youwere in the Old Testament times, if you lived with Old Testament Israel and somebody said,"Hey, can you point to the place where God's unique presence lives on the earth?"You would point to the building, the tabernacle.You would say, "Yeah, God's unique presence on earth is right there."Fast forward to 2025 right now.If I were to say, "Can you point to the place where God's unique presence dwells on earth?"Where would you point?It's right here, right?Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.The temple was just the permanent version of the tabernacle.This is where God lives.This is God's unique presence here.So what John is saying in John 1.14 is for about 33 years of earth's history, when youwould ask, "Where is God's unique presence on the earth?"You'd point to a man.That man's name is Jesus Christ.You would point to him and say, "Right there.That man is the unique presence of God on the earth.This is where he is."All right?Jesus is not an exalted angel.Jesus is not some special enlightened human.According to this verse, Jesus is the God.And every false religion denies this, by the way.And I can just tell you personally, you would be shocked at how many times I've had to havethis conversation with people over the course of my ministry, that people who actually say,Jesus never said He was God.You heard that argument?Jesus never said it.What the argument is this, that's something the church kind of came up with.We kind of, like some religions like us, we sort of hitched that idea onto Jesus.Did Jesus Himself, they say, "Oh, if you study the words of Jesus, He never said He was God."Well, do you remember back in Exodus chapter 3, God called Moses through the burning bush.You know, you're going to lead my people out of Egypt.You're going to lead them to the promised land.Do you remember Moses says to God, "Well, what if Israel asks who sent me?"What if Israel is like, "What is His name?"Do you remember in that moment, God told Moses what His name is?You remember?God told Moses His name is, "I am who I am."That's God's name.His name is, "I am."I love that.God didn't say to Moses, "My name is I was."Like Moses, like what's your name?And God's like, "Moses, I was.Oh Moses, you should have seen me back in high school.Oh Moses, I was so good looking and I was such a good athlete.Back in the day Moses, back in the day I was really something.No, he's not the I was.But nor did God tell Moses that he's the I will be."Right?Like Moses is like, "What's your name?"And God's like, "Well Moses, you tell the Israelites, I might not be nothing specialnow but I'm taking my vitamins and I'm drinking my milk and I'm doing my palates and I'm jumpingon my pogo ball and someday, someday I'm going to be something great.I will be."God's not the I was and he's not the I will be.God is, "He is I am."From eternity past, He is infinite, majestic holiness.He is the I am.And in eternity future, He will still be infinite, majestic holiness.He is the I am.You're like, "Well what does that have to do with Jesus?"Because Jesus repeatedly claimed that He is the I am.It's all through the gospel of John, what, like seven times.I am the bread of life.I am the light of the world.I am the way and the truth and the life.I am the good shepherd.I am the door.All through Jesus made this claim.John chapter 8, Jesus said before Abraham was, "I am."John chapter 10, Jesus said, "I and the Father are one."And in that moment the Jews picked up stones, they were going to kill them for saying that.Jesus says, "I did a lot of good works for which of them are you going to stone me?"And they said, "Oh no, you're making yourself out to be God the way you're talking."And you see, they knew exactly what He was saying.They knew exactly what He meant when He said, "I and the Father are one."Oh, and by the way, not only does the Bible say that Jesus is God, did you know that the Bible also says that God is Jesus?Here's what I mean.Look at Zechariah 12/10.This is before the incarnation, the Christmas story.This is before the baby in the manger story.This is Old Testament.Look at what God says.God says, "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a spirit of grace and please, for mercy, so that when they look on Me on Him whom they have pierced."Do you see how God identifies Himself?He identifies Himself as the one who was pierced and who was the one that was pierced.It's Jesus Christ on the cross.Do you see that?Do a little word study there.That's exactly what He's saying.They will look on the one whom they've stabbed.Right?It's also in the New Testament.God is Jesus.Look at Acts 20, for example.Paul says, "The Ephesians elders pay careful attention to yourselves to care for the church of God, which He obtained with His own blood."Who bought the church with His blood?He says God.You're like, "I thought it was Jesus that shed His blood."Well, Paul's saying that as Jesus shed His blood, that was God obtaining the church with His own blood.So Jesus is God, yes, and the Bible also says that God is Jesus.The word was God, but the Bible also says here that the word was with God.The word was with God.And in case you missed it, in case you didn't quite catch it in verse 1, verse 2, he just says the exact same thing.He was in the beginning with God.So somehow, Jesus is God, but being with God, somehow He is distinct from the Father.Like if I said to you yesterday, I was with my buddy Nathaniel, and I was my buddy Nathaniel.You would say, "Were you and Nathaniel smoking something? Like what was going on there?"That doesn't make sense, does it?How can you be with somebody and be somebody at the same time?But that's exactly what the Bible says about Jesus and His relationship with God.He's not only God, but He's also with God.And people want that explained all the time.Pastor Taylor had a couple of weeks ago, the little children back there had a Q&A thing with him.And one of the questions they were asking about, the trinity.And look, do you want to know about the trinity? Here's the reality.Nobody can figure that out. That's the truth.You can't do it.Because from the moment you were born, you've only ever known two things in your life.Your whole life, you've only ever known two things.And that's time and space.You can't fathom an existence outside of time and space.This is where we are.And now we have a God who lives and exists in rules outside of time and space.God is not bound by time and space.And somehow we think that we're going to be able to explain everything about Him.Here's what I know.The Word was with God and the Word was God.The Bible says God exists.He's one God, but He exists as three persons.Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Jesus is eternal, but distinct.And you don't have to explain it to believe it.I can't explain to you how my car works, but I believe that it does when I get in and drive it.Look at verse 3.He says, "All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made."Okay, this is just theology 101. It's all through the Old Testament.God is Creator.And John here is saying Jesus is God, He's with God.And then John takes another step and says, "Jesus is Creator. He made all things."And somehow, again, the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all involved in creation at the same time.You're like, "Can you explain that?"I just told you I could not explain that.But somehow God, the Father created through God the Son, and the Genesis tells us that the Spirit of God hovered above the waters.All three members of the Trinity were involved.And somehow Jesus is the agent of creation.The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 2 that in these last days, God has spoken to us by His Son,whom He appointed the heir of all things through whom also He created the world.Through whom He created the world.That's all John's saying here in verse 3."Every living thing gets life from something else.A tree, a dog, a woodpecker, you. You got life from something else.The only person who has never received life from someone else is God Himself."That's what John's saying, since Jesus already existed before creation,and because Jesus didn't get His life from something else, then He must be God.Those are the biblical facts about Jesus.And listen, even if you're sitting here today or listening to the podcast later or whatever,even if you don't agree with that, can we take an honest look at what the Bible says and stop trying to twist it?Oh, it doesn't really say that.The Bible overwhelmingly says that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh.That's the truth that you have to reckon with.He is God.So if you want to know God, number two, the response.The response. You want to know God? The response is faith in Jesus.The reality is Jesus is God. The response is we have to have faith in Jesus.You see, God took the initiative.God did His part in revealing Himself as Jesus, so the question is, what's my part in knowing Him?It's faith.Faith is the only way to know God.Oh, and speaking of generic,not only do people use the name of God in a generic sense,but you'll find that people use the concept of faith in a generic sense.There is a true biblical sense and definition of faith,but we live in a culture that just throws that word faith around all the time and uses it in all kinds of ways.Here's what I mean.Some people use faith like it means a wishful thinking.Faith is just wishful thinking.Like, well, I just kind of have faith that everything's going to work out.Like, what does that even mean?For some people, they think faith is just the way of the ignorant.Like, well, you believe in science.Or you believe in faith, rather. I believe in science.And they're condescending. You're just some, you know, backwoods, redneck, you're ignorant.I believe in science, but you have your little fairy tale faith.And still other people look at faith as some kind of ambiguous spirituality.You hear people say, I'm a person of faith.Do you know who else is a person of faith?Literally everybody.Everybody believes in something.What is your faith in?Because you can have faith in the wrong thing.So listen, my friends, God is not a generic concept and neither is faith.Faith is a specific disposition towards a specific person.That's why Hebrews 11.6 says without faith,it is impossible to please Him for whoever would draw near to God.That's the knowing God piece.Whoever would draw near to God must believe that He existsand that He rewards those who seek Him.It starts with obviously an acknowledgement of His existence,but it doesn't stop there. You have to seek Him.You have a responsibility.God took the initiative. He revealed Himself in Jesus.What is my responsibility in this relationship?Or how can I grow in knowing Jesus?I want you to draw these three things down.How can I grow in knowing Jesus?Letter A, you have to confess with your mouth.Romans 10.9 says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lordand believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.And you are not going to grow in your relationship with Himif you don't have one to begin with."So have you made that confession?Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on the crossto pay the penalty for your sins, that He rose from the deadto give you eternal life? Do you believe that?Because people have this idea that, well, we're all children of Godand a creative sense, yes, but not in the adoptive sense.Yes, we do all have a relationship with Jesus.The question is, do you have a good relationship with Himor a bad relationship with Him?You have to confess with your mouth.Ask to start there, letter B, you have to hear the Word.You have to hear the Word.Romans 10.17 says, "So faith comes from hearingand hearing through the Word of Christ."The only way your faith grows is through the Word of God.Because this is the only truly reliable source of informationabout Jesus, because this is the source of informationthat was given to us by God.You have to be in the Wordif you're going to know Jesus.Any relationship involves time and communication.And some people, they spend no time in His Word,no time praying His Word and reading and studying and meditating.And they spend no time at all in the Word.And then they wonder why they feel so distant.Relationships grow when time is spent together.You need to prioritize spending time and praying the Word of God.Finally, letter C, keep His commandments.Jesus says in John 15.10, "If you keep My commandments,you will abide in My love just as I have kept My Father's commandmentsand abide in His love."That's how you abide. It's through obedience.Now listen, if you're a Christian and you're in sin,sin is not going to end your relationship with Jesus.But you're obviously going to feel distant from Godif you have unrepentant sin.Any area of disobedience in your life that you refuse to deal with,you're going to feel distant.And that's not on God. That's on you.God hasn't gone anywhere. You have.So what is it in your life right now that you're like,"I know that this is what God wants me to stop doing,or maybe something God wants you to start doing,but you know exactly what it is.You need to turn from that sin.You need to obey whatever Jesus is calling you to.And you're going to enjoy the freedomthat repentance brings in your walk with Christ."This is what keeps people from coming to Christin the first place, by the way.Jesus will take you just as you are,but He won't leave you that way.Jesus wants to transform you.He wants to change you.Some people just don't want to be changed.Keep His commandments.The Word became flesh.God became a man.Our worship team would come back up.You know, I came to Christ when I was 20.And it's an amazing thing to grow up in a churchas a kid.All those days, all those yearssitting in the church, how little I really understood.But when I was led to Christ, it was this whole newworld, right?And I remember I was trying to understand.And I had this Bible that my parents got me.You know, some Bibles have the little story inserts,little devotional things that kind of build into the Bible.Well, this Bible had this story in it.And the story goes something like this.There was this farmer and his wife, it was Chris Paseeb,and the farmer's wife was going to church.And she asked her husband if he wanted to go with her.He goes, "No, I don't get that church stuff.It doesn't, that makes no sense to me.You know, I'm not interested at all, but you go have fun."Well, she went to church.And while he was home, he saw that there were birds trying to getinto his barn.This really bad deep freeze came over, kind of like,"What happened here?"And these birds were trying to get into the barn,seeking shelter from the cold.The farmer says, "Well, I can help those birds."So he goes, "I'll just go out and open the doorand let them in the barn."And when he went out, you know what birds do, right?They just kind of scattered everywhere.The farmer's like, "Well, that sure didn't help anything."So he thought, "Well, maybe if I just leave breadcrumbs,I can like guide them in there somehow."Didn't work.No matter what the farmer did, he couldn't get the birdsinto the barn to get shelter.And as the story goes, I don't think it's a true story,but as the story goes, he stood and lookedout the kitchen window, and he saw the birds back flyingaround the outside of the barn not able to get in.And the farmer thought to himself,"Those birds are going to die."And as badly as I want to save them,I don't know how I can get them into the barn.But then the farmer had a thought.The farmer thought, "You know, if I could become a birdfor like five minutes, I could approach them,they wouldn't be scared of me, I could speak their language,and I could show them the way that they could be saved."And right when he had the thought, the story goes,"Off in the distance, he heard the church's bells ringing."And that's when it connected.It's a dumb story.Admittedly, what I'm going to tell you as a young Christian,when I read that, that's what made everything click for me.Yes, that's the purpose of the incarnation,that God became one of us to save us.So what do you want for Christmas?I want to know God, not the generic knockoff,but the real person.Because knowing God is eternal life.We're going to have our elders and members of our prayer teamup front here.And in just a moment, Ashley's going to sing a song over you.And we're going to have a good old-fashioned altar call.You can stay in your seat, you can pray right where you are.But I want you to know there's people that are up here that would love to pray with youand for you.So as Ashley sings over you, we're going to invite youto come. Maybe there's somebody herethat today you're like, "You know what? I don't really know God. I know about Him.But I don't really have a relationship with Him.Today's the day. Today's the day that you can go from knowing aboutGod to knowing God. So please come.Our Father in Heaven, we thank Youfor the way that You have demonstrated Your holiness and loveby taking on flesh and blood.Father, I pray against all of the distractions. It's that time of yearthat there's more to do than we have time to do.And there's so many things buying for our attention.Father, I pray that we would take a realclose examination at the person of Jesus Christ and examine our own hearts.Are we truly walking with Him? Do we trulyhave a relationship with Him that we're spending timetogether and knowing and growing?Or are we just churchgoers?Father, I thank You. You've revealed Your heart. You want us to know You.You've done everything and have just simply called us to receivewhat You have accomplished.Father, thank You. We praise You and ask that You would continue to manifestYour goodness and presence in us by the power of Your Spirit through the wisdomof Your Word. We praise You in the name of JesusChrist, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

God's hand is upon His people. He guides and cares for us. What does believing in this look like in our day to day lives? Are we seeking God's presence or do we often not believe God is with us? In this episode, Pastor Taylor talks about walking in faithfulness in Ezra 8:21-36.Get Connected! https://linktr.ee/reachtulsa

Pastor Taylor preaches on LEGACY SUNDAY with a message on Taking Ground and speaks on the idea that where your TREASURE is, your heart will follow. follow us on instagram @reallifechurchwa 26201 180th Ave. SE Covington, WA 98042 Sundays @ 8:30 | 10 | 11:30

In this message from LifeChurchNV, we explore one of the most exhausting spiritual traps: living as if everything depends on our performance. When life runs on achievement, comparison, pride, or shame, the soul eventually collapses under the weight. But Jesus offers a radically different foundation — mercy.

Introduction: Humble Yourself: 4 Truths to Help You (1 Corinthians 4:1–13) Only GOD'S OPINION of me matters. (1 Cor 4:3–5) I've RECEIVED all that I HAVE. (1 Cor 4:6–8) God wants to SHOW everyone how I SUFFER. (1 Cor 4:9–13a) John 15:20 – Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you... 1 Peter 2:21–23 – For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. The WORLD thinks I'm SCUM. (1 Cor 4:13b) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 4:1-13What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Paul is once again admonishing them on their divisiveness over “who is the best minister”. Why do you think there is so much content on this subject in 1 Corinthians?How would you define humility? Why does the Bible say that you must “humble yourself”, i.e., that job is on you to do?In 1 Cor 4:6, Paul tells them not to “go beyond what is written”? What specifically does he mean by that? How does this principle apply to Bible study in general?BreakoutPray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Good morning. My name is Jeff and let me tell you a little bit about myself.That's such an interesting thing, isn't it? Like, let me tell you a little bit about myself.Or when you ask somebody, "Hey, hey, tell me about yourself." It's an interesting thingbecause the first thing that comes out of their mouths is the thing that they want to be knownas, right? Or known for. Let me tell you a little bit about myself. Do you know where you see this a lot?Game shows, right? Let me tell you a little bit about myself. Or if you've ever watched Jeopardy,it's such a cringy moment. You know, they come back from commercial break and some of us remember AlexTrebek, who's the guy now? Ken Jennings, okay? Like, "All right, we're going to meet our contestantsand tell me a little bit about yourself." I'm always so fascinated with the way they identifythemselves, right? It's so fascinating because some are cool, but some are just really, reallyweird. And I'm like, "You're on TV and this is going to go to syndication and this is going to beseen by millions and this is what you came up with." You know what I'm talking about? Like, youknow, this is our challenger Bill. Tell us about yourself. And Bill's like, "Yeah, one time I showedup to work and I had my pants on backwards." "Oh, what'd you do?" "Well, I just kind of stepped intothe bathroom and turned him around." I was like, "Okay. All right, let's meet Glenda." And I'm like,"What was that? Let me tell you a little bit about myself. How do you want to be known?"Well, I was thinking about that a lot this past week as we get to 1 Corinthians chapter 4,because if the Apostle Paul was on Jeopardy and the host says, "All right, well, tell us a littlebit about yourself, Paul." I think we know exactly what he'd say, because it's here in 1 Corinthianschapter 4. Look at the first couple of verses. He says, "This is how one should regard usas servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is requiredof stewards that they be found trustworthy." Tell us a little bit about yourself, Paul. He goes,"Okay, I'm a slave of Jesus Christ." Actually, this word for servant in the Greek is "the lowest slave,"like bottom rank slave. And then he says, "Stewards, what's a steward?" Well, in those days,wealthy people would have someone who was like their house manager. They were in charge ofdistribution and spending and inventory. And you know who got that job? It was one of the slaves,still a slave. Why is he saying this? Well, we've seen throughout 1 Corinthians, the issue wasall of this exalting leaders, putting Paul and Apollo, Sisyphus up on pedestals and all thesefactions. And Paul here in 1 Corinthians is saying, "Look, look, look, you're regarding us as worldchangers. You're regarding us as these elite Christians. You're regarding us as celebritychurch planners." And Paul here is like, "Ah, here is how you should regard us."I'm a slave. That's it. I'm a slave.They had this terrible problem exalting the ministers, and it resulted in them exaltingthemselves. We've seen that. The pride with their alignment, like, "Yeah, I'm one of Paul's guys."Oh, yeah, that's nothing. I'm one of Apollo's guys. And they were proud of their alignment,and they had disdain towards others. Like, "Oh, you must be one of those Paul people."Paul here is saying, "Why are you making so much of us? We're just slaves. All we're trying to dois be trustworthy." That's it. We saw back in chapter, I'm sorry, verse 18, rather, in chapter 3,look back there. Paul says, "Let no one deceive himself."We are so self-deceived. And Paul's like, "Oh, Corinthians, you think you're so wise. You thinkyou have it all figured out. You think you're on the right team. You're so full of pride."Again, that's the issue. You looked down to verse 21 in chapter 3. Pastor Taylor covered this lastweek. He says, "So let no one boast in men." That shouldn't be happening. Not Paul, not Apollo's,not Jeff, not Taylor, not your favorite podcast or YouTube's preacher. We shouldn't be exalting anyone.And when we get to this section here in chapter 4, here's what we're going to see. Paul is giving atrue biblical assessment of himself. And he tells the Corinthians, "Look, you have to takean honest assessment of who we are, and, Corinthians, you have to take an honest assessment of yourselves."So here in this passage, Paul's going to be serving up some humble pie. All right? So,strap on your helmet. This isn't going to be a very comfortable message, because Paul's like, "Hey,stop with the pride. Stop exalting people. Stop exalting yourselves. Here's a reality check. Andharvest, we need a reality check." Because it's real easy for us to point to the Corinthians and belike, "Wow, look at all the pride they have. Look at all the problems they have." That's...Pride is in every one of us problem. You realize that. Every single human has a problem with pride,has a problem with self-exaltation. And it's real easy to do that in a church identity. It was forthe Corinthians, and it's easy for a harvest Bible chapel to begin to exalt ourselves.We can look at some of the nonsense that's happening around us in other churches ororganizations that call themselves churches. And it'd be real easy for us to say, "Well,we're the only ones that are faithful. We are more mature than the other Christians.I don't know what their problem is, but I follow this guy or I listen to this guy.That means I'm one of the smart ones. I'm one of the enlightened ones." Andit's real easy to get on the path of pride.That's what we're going to see in this passage of Bible telling us to humble ourselves.Like, "Hey, hey, knock it off. Stop thinking so much of yourself.You've got to humble yourself." You know, so much in God's Word, we see things that the Holy Spiritdoes in us and through us. Yes, but from what I've studied in God's Word, the command to humbleyourself, that's on you. And that'd be a whole other sermon series, but you and I are commanded.We are commanded to humble ourselves so we don't get carried away in our pride.Because humility is the number one characteristic that God's looking for in people. You're not goingto come to Jesus unless you're humble. You're not going to live a victorious Christian lifeunless you're humble. You're not going to have a fruitful ministry unless you're humble. If you'regoing to be humble, it's on you. So on your outline, I want you to jot some things down.Humble yourself. You're like, "Well, how do I do that?" Paul's like, "Well,here's four things that will help you do that." All right. So I hope you had a good Thanksgivingand I hope you're not too full because you're about to have four slices of humble pie.And I don't feel bad at all because I've had to eat this all week. All right.So pray for me and I'll pray for you. All right. Just pause for a second. Please pray for meas I pray for you. Father in heaven, as we come to your Word, let us not be deceiving ourselves.Every single one of us have this drive to put the spotlight on us, to make much of us,to think too much of ourselves. And Father, this passageis certainly going to give us the attitude that you've called us to have.Father, I pray through the wisdom of your Word, by the power of your Holy Spirit,that you would give us the faith to make the choices that we need to make, to humble ourselvesso we can see the greatness of Jesus Christ manifest in our lives.We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Humble yourself. Here's four truths that will help you.These are four statements that Paul made about himself and that we would commend to you tomake about yourself. Number one, only God's opinion of me matters. Only God's opinion of me matters.Look at verse 3. Paul says, "But with me, it is a very small thing that I should be judged by youor by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself." Now, quick review when we talk aboutjudge, that's like everybody's favorite verse in the Bible. "Don't judge, don't judge." It'severybody's favorite because they don't understand it. Judging does not mean like, "Hey, don't callme out on sin or you're judging me." That's not what that means. Judging doesn't mean that like,"I can be a jerk and I can't care what other people think of me because of my jerking. Just don't callme out." That's not what judging means at all. Actually, this word for judge in the Greek couldbe translated cross-examined. He's talking about people, listen, he's talking about people judgingyour walk with Christ. That's what he's talking about. Judging your, as he mentioned in verse 2,judging your trustworthiness. Some Bibles say faithful or faithfulness. That's what he's talkingabout. People judging your faithfulness, your trustworthiness. And well, what does that mean toyou, Paul? He says, "Well, that's a very small thing." And in the Greek, do you know what thatmeans? That means the smallest. Your opinion of my spiritual walk does not matter for bad or for good.It doesn't. Here's what I mean. After service, if I was a guest receptionand you walk by and you're like, "Jeff, I think you're a bad pastor."Like, well, sorry, I feel that way, but your opinion doesn't matter. And right now, there's some ofyou that are like, "Yes, I can get on board with that." Your opinion doesn't matter.That's not really my main concern, though. You know what the bigger danger is?It's the guy that walks your guest reception and says, "Jeff, I think you're a great pastor."That's the bigger danger, because then that stuff can start going to your head.Right? You can start to think, "You know what? Yeah, they're right. I am pretty awesome.They nailed it. Come back. Tell me more."But the reality is for bad or for good, the opinion doesn't matter.And that's where there's a danger. I've been talking about this with our ministry team andour conference speakers of these conferences coming up.Yeah, people's opinion of your trustworthiness, your faithfulness, doesn't matter good or bad.But watch out for the compliments, because they're much harder to dismiss becausethey're much easier to go to my head. Look at verse 4. Paul says, "For I'm not aware of anythingagainst myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me."See, Paul says, "What other people think of me doesn't really matter.Neither does what I even think of myself." It doesn't matter either.Right? You need to have the funeral.I realize I'm probably not as great as my grandma thinks I am.And I'm probably not as horrible as my critics think I am.Either way, it doesn't matter. Because a slave only cares about one thing.That's pleasing his master. Look at verse 5. He goes on,"For therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comeswho will bring delight to things now hidden in darkness, and will disclose the purposes of theheart, then each one will receive his commendation from God." Okay, here's what he's driving at.At the end of the day, there's only one opinion that matters. Who's is it?God's, right? That's it. All that matters is what God thinks of me. He's going to make the final judgments.On your heart. Listen, this verse should knock every single one of us down a peg.Because you see what God's word is telling us? God sees what you do. Yes, yes, he does. Butmuch deeper than that. God sees why you do what you do. Your motives, your thoughts, what no oneelse knows, everything that you do in the dark, God is going to drag it to the light. Understandit with God. There are no secrets. You might have secrets from your family, you might have secretsfrom your spouse, you might have secrets from your boss, you might have secrets from your parents,but you do not have any secrets from God. So are you pretending? Are you pretending in yourwalk with Christ? Well, you might fool me, but it doesn't matter. You're an open book to God,and he's going to judge. Are you sincere? Like, look, I'm not perfect, but I'm sincere. I amsincerely seeking to know and honor the Lord. Jeff, I really am seeking to know the Lord.That's great because the Bible says someday you're going to receive your commendation.As far as humbling yourself, my friends, you will never humble yourself until you get to the placewhere only God's opinion of you matters. You've got to get there.Number two, not only do I need to reckon with only God's opinion of me matters. Number two,write this one down. I've received all that I have. I've received all that I have.Verse six, he says, "I have applied all these things to myself and apollos for your benefit,brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written,that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another." There is a lot going on inthat verse. All right, let's break it down here because this is so crucial in so many ways. Firstof all, he says, "I've applied all these things to me and apollos for your benefit." You're like,"I've applied what things?" Everything so far that he's been saying about pride and humility,all of this stuff. He goes, "I'm applying all of this to apollos and I for you." In other words,look, all this stuff that he's talking about, this isn't just a preacher thing and it's not just achurch member thing. This stuff about pride and humility, this is an all of us thing.You get that? He says, "Excuse me, we all need to learn not to go beyond what is written."Like, what does that mean? Listen, this is a principle that carries over in everything.You need to learn that you must not, excuse me, you must not go beyond what the Bible says.You must not go beyond what the Bible says.Like, well, what's he talking about? Here's his point. He's telling the Corinthians and he's tellingus harvests because they were exalting others and they had disdain for others and Paul's like,"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You need to view people only the way the Bible describes people."That's what he's saying. You need to view people only as the Bible describes. That's it.How does the Bible describe people? Every single one of us were born with a sin nature. We inheritedthat from Adam. The Bible says Adam brought sin into the world and he passed it on to his kids,he passed it on to his kids and he passed it on to us. We were born with a sin nature. We arerebellious against God by birth and by choice and we deserve hell. That's what the Bible says aboutpeople. But Jesus came, God in the flesh came, he died on the cross to take away our sins. Herose from the dead to give us the promise of eternal life and he has commanded us to turn from our sinand to believe in him. And when we do, the Bible says that you are born again. When you do the HolySpirit, God's Spirit Himself comes and empowers you to be who God called you to be. And every singleperson who is saved is saved that way. Spoiler alert. If you're going to heaven, you're going to hearthe same testimony a lot. Like, how'd you get here? Jesus! Look, how'd you get here? Jesus! I'mgoing to go ask this lady, how'd you get here? Jesus, you're going to hear that not a lot. You'regoing to hear that exclusively. Paul's point here is, look, you guys are all messed up aboutexalting people. Look, you need to have a biblical perspective of who we are. Don't go beyond that.Or, did you see that at the end of the verse? If you do, you will start exalting yourself, right?He says, you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. Go beyond what the Bible says,you're going to start having pride. You're going to start to think that you're better than others.And then Paul gives them the Dutch uncle. Look at verse 7.He says, he has three questions. Paul says, "For who sees anything different in you?"Like, we're all the same. The Bible describes this is who man is. And he goes,"Who sees anything different in you?" Like, what, you're something different?You're something special? You're a little snowflake?Like, all you're like, "I know what the Bible says, but I'm different. I'm special. Grandmathinks I'm special." He says, "Who sees anything different in you?" Like, what makes you thinkyou're so special? Right? Next question. What do you have that you do not receive?Get back to that in a second. What's that question, Marinette?What is it that you're in possession of that wasn't given to you?All right? Then he drives it home with this third question. He goes, "If then you received it,why do you boast as if you did not receive it?"Paul's like, "Why are you so fully yourselves? Anything and everything about you,you received that." I mean, think about that. Just think about that for a minute.That's true physically, right? Everything about you physically, you received thatgenetically from your parents.You know, occasionally, I'll meet somebody or whatever, and they're like, "How old are you?"I'm like, "Well, I'm 50." And people say, "Well, you look young for your age."And I say, "Have you been to the eye doctor lately?" No, I don't say that. I don't say that.I just smile and say thank you, or like, you know, I got good genes from my mom. But you know what I'mthinking when people say that? Like, that's very nice of you to say, but I contributed nothing to that.Like, this is what I got. That's just what I got. I received this. You're like, "I'm sorry." Well,I received this. This is what I got. This is what was given to me.You're like, "Well, doesn't that upset you?" It doesn't matter how I feel about it. This is what I got.This is the shade of my skin. This is as tall as I'm going to get. But that's true for you.Everything you have was given to you. But I don't really think that's Paul's mainpoint here. I think mainly he was talking spiritually, right? Everything that I havespiritually has been given to me. Salvation? How is a gift from God? God gave me that.What about spiritual giftedness? Where did I get that?The Holy Spirit. God gave me a spiritual gift. He gave you a spiritual gift that was given. That'swhy it's called a spiritual gift. He gave it to you, right? Oh, by the way, your talentsare given to you by God. You know, the Bible says those are given to you by God.You're natural, what we call natural talents. The Bible says those were given to you by God.Look that up. It's in Exodus.Everything about you has been given to you from God directly or from God through your parents.And you're like, not me. I work hard.Who gave you the ability to work hard?You see, why are you acting like you earned anything?And then Paul gets sarcastic with them. Look at verse 8.Obviously, dripping with sarcasm here, he goes, "Already, you have all you want.Already, you become rich. Without us, you would have become kings."That you did reign so that we might share the rule with you.You see the sarcasm? He's condemning their pride. He's like, "Oh, oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't realizethat you were these spiritually elite and wise people. I didn't realize that youattained a level of spirituality all by yourselves. You didn't need us, Madam President.Oh, I beg your pardon for thinking different."What Paul's doing here is he's pulling them back down to earth. He's like, "You guys think you're sosuperior with your pride. Knock it off. Get off of your high horse. Stop it."Because everything you have has been given to you. How in the world can you boast about that?You know, just imagine this scenario. Imagine that five of our kids from Harvest Academy,imagine I gave them each a quarter. Like, "No, don't spend it all in one place."But I gave five kids a quarter. And as you're walking out church, you see the five of those kids.Those five kids are sitting at a table up here by Harvest Academy. And you stop and listen for asecond and they're all bragging. And one kid's like, "I got a quarter. I got a quarter. Lookhow awesome I am. I have a quarter." And then the little girl beside him is like, "I got a quarter.You think you're great. I got a quarter. I'm awesome. I got a quarter." And then the next kid's like,"I got a quarter." And like, wouldn't you be like, "What are you guys bragging about? Like, Jeff justgave you all a quarter. Like, how does that... Why are you so boastful?" And that's what Paul's sayinghere to the Corinthians. You're like a bunch of kids bragging because somebody gave each a quarter.Knock it off. We're all equal in God's eyes. And equal does not mean the same, but equal does meanequal. You're never going to humble yourself until you get to the place where you recognizeevery single thing that you have was given to you. All right? Humble yourself and here'sfour truths that will help you. Number three, this is a hard truth. All right?Number three is God wants to show everyone how I suffer.God wants to show everyone how I suffer. Pick up in verse 9. Paul says, "For I thinkthat God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death,because we have become a spectacle to the world to angels and to men." Paul says,"God put us on display." He says, "We're like the lowest people on the earth." You see the picturethere? Paul says, "You know what we're like? We're like men on death row being escorted to the electricchair while TV cameras all around recording us for the entire world to turn on the TV and watch us."Like, hey, look, there they go. Off to be killed. Look at them. Everybody watch.He says, "That's how God put us on display."And you see in verse 10, Paul gets back into some more sarcasm.He says, "We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong.You are held in honor, but we in disrepute."What's he talking about here? It's more sarcasm.See what Paul's saying? Paul's like, "We're out here suffering serving the Lord. We're out hereactually suffering and you're sitting in your little pews patting yourselves on the back."Like, what's going on? Like, well, suffering how? How are you suffering, Paul? Well, he tells usto the present hour, we hunger and thirst. We are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless.And we labor working with our own hands.What is there to brag about again?Paul's reminding them the following Christ means suffering.I don't really care what the health and wealth church down in the street says about that.And I don't really care what the prosperity preacher on TV says about that.All I care is what the Bible says about that. And do you know what the Bible says?The Bible says if you follow Christ, you are going to suffer.Jesus himself said this, John 15.20. Jesus said, "Remember the word that I said to you,a servant is not greater than his master." Jesus said that a bunch.A servant is not greater than his master. What are you saying, Lord? If they persecuted me,they will also persecute you. See what Jesus is saying?God allowed his only begotten Son to suffer. So you think as an adopted child of God thatyou're exempt from that? You think that because you're adopted that you get a pass on suffering?Listen, God doesn't keep you from suffering. He puts you on display in suffering.Why would He do that? Why in the world would God do that? Are you telling methat God is allowing me to suffer so everybody can watch me suffer? That's what He said.Like why would He do that? He tells us.Continuing verse 12 here, He says, "When reviled, we bless. When persecuted,we endure. When slandered, we entreat."So why in the world would God lead us to suffering?So God can show everyone who's watching how we suffer.So He talks here about being reviled and persecuted and slandered. Have you everseen worldly people react to those things all the time? Right? What does the world do whenthey're reviled or persecuted or slandered? The world reactions are on display everywhere.It's retaliation. It's temper tantrums. I'll get even with you. You can't do this to me.It's pity parties. And oh, what was me? And that's how the world reacts. Listen,God wants you to walk through the same kinds of suffering so that you can exhibit the life ofChrist. Do you realize how awesome this is? That God is going to allow you to suffer so the worldcan watch, so God can point to you and say, "Look at how my people suffer." Oh, you see how the worldsuffers and how they retaliate and how they're bitter and how they're angry. And look at my people.When they suffer, they reflect the character of my son.Look at my people. When they're reviled, they turn around and they look for ways to bless thepeople that hate them. Do you see my people do that? God says, "Look at my people." When they'repersecuted, they don't pack it up. They don't boohoo. I quit. I can't take it anymore. Look at my people.When my people are persecuted, they endure. They are not going to give up.God says, "Look at my people." When they're slandered,they don't slander back. They don't hate the people that speak negatively about them. God says,"Look at what my people do." They entreat. They're trying to reach the people that hate them withthe gospel of my son. Look at my people. This guy sounds familiar, doesn't it?Probably because Peter said something almost identical. Look at 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 21.Look at this. Same thing. Exact same truth. For to this, you have been called because Christalso suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might fall in His steps.Here's the example. Jesus committed no sin. Neither was deceit found in His mouth.When He was reviled, He did not revile in return. When He suffered, He did not threaten,but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly.You're going to suffer. The only real question is, how are you going to suffer?Meaning, what is going to be your attitude during your suffering?You're going to lash out because your pride was hurt? You're going to humble yourselfand show them the example that Jesus gave you.But you'll never humble yourself until you understand that you are called to respond tosuffering like Jesus. One more slice of humble pie, are you full?You're like, you know what, Pastor Jeff, I think I'm just the right amount of humble.Can we sing and get out of here? There's one more.Number four, something to tell yourself when you start to think that you're so important.Number four, the world thinks I'm scum.Look at the last part of verse 13. We have becomeand are still like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.Yeah, we're scum. We're garbage. You know that. We are garbage people.To the lost, they think our message is foolishness. You realize that.You realize that to the lost, they would come in here and hear what we're doing,see what we're doing, and they would say, literally, what a bunch of morons.Look, if you're here for a little ego boost, I'd just like to remind you what the Bible says,you're trash. We're all just trash in the world's eyes.You know, when I was a kid, my dad used to say that he had this little saying that he said allthe time. And as a kid, I never understood what it meant. It was this, anytime somebody was actinguntowardly, somebody was acting like a hog or insulting you or being cruel towards you orspeaking perversely or anytime somebody was acting like that, my dad would just say,well, you got to consider the source. I never knew what that meant until I became an adult. Now I'mOh, I get what he's saying now. And I think that little saying of dad certainly applies here.It's like, hey, hey, you know, the world thinks you're scum.Now consider the source. The brilliant world crucified Jesus Christ.This world who was giving their opinion of me took God in the flesh and publicly executedhim in the most humiliating and painful way. All they think I'm scum, huh? Well,I guess I should just consider the source. You're never going to be popular with the world. If youfollow Christ, you're never going to be popular with the world. It's not going to happen. Theythink you're scum. And the truth is, I'm actually much worse than they think I am.I am. My sin is so bad it took the blood of the spotless Son of God to wash my sin away.That must mean my sin was pretty bad.So it takes us back to point one, right? God's opinion is really the only one that mattersanyways. But you're never going to humble yourself until you're okay with the world regarding youas scum. All right. So if our worship team would make their way back to the platform,I just want to leave you with this. If you're ever a contestant on jeopardy,not likely for most of us, or you start to think that you're pretty important,which is actually very likely for all of us, I'm going to give you your speech.When someone says, "So, tell me a little bit about yourself. If you want to be biblical,here's your speech." Like, my name is, I'm only here to please God. Everything I have has been givento me. God wants me to suffer so that the world can see Jesus. And the world thinks I'm scum.Tell me a little bit about yourself. Let's pray. Father in heaven, I just ask again that you woulduse your word to humble all of us. Our sin is so self-exalting, and we start tothink that we have things figured out, or we reached a level that other people should aspire towhen your word says that we should humble ourselves. Father, remind us of these truthsthat someday we're going to stand before you, and on that day,we will learn the truth that it is only your opinion that means anything.Increase our faith, Father. Give us the drive to humble ourselves. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Thank you for joining us this week as we hear from our Lead Pastor Taylor Little for week 1 of our Advent series leading up to Christmas! You will hear from our very own Bob and Carmella Atkins for our first week of advent. Then Pastor Taylor will lead us through the Genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 explaining how it is important to the story of Jesus because it proves that he was the Messiah come and shows us that God will never forget. We hope you are encouraged and convicted by this message and we can't wait to see you next week! As always — love God, love others and make disciples!

Pastor Taylor continues our LEGACY sermon series with a message on how because we have entered into the family of God, we do not need to act as strangers to Him because we belong in the Household of God. Building our foundation strong in Him. follow us on instagram @reallifechurchwa 26201 180th Ave. SE Covington, WA 98042 Sundays @ 8:30 | 10 | 11:30

Pastor Taylor continues our Take Ground series in our LEGACY season with a message on not letting FEAR be our filter, but to have FAITH be our filter in which we view our lives , and the decisions we make.follow us on instagram @reallifechurchwa 26201 180th Ave. SE Covington, WA 98042 Sundays @ 8:30 | 10 | 11:30

Pastor Taylor unpacks the seven commands found in Psalm 100

Pastor Taylor Shippy - Joshua 4:1-8, 19-24In this end-of-the-year message, Pastor Taylor looks back over five years of ministry at Gibbon Baptist Church—gathering “stones” of God's faithfulness from both personal moments and church-wide milestones. Through reflection, gratitude, and a call to keep journeying forward together, this sermon invites us to remember where God has brought us… and to trust Him for the stones still yet to be stacked.

Introduction: Romans 14:12 – So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. Revelation 22:12 – Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. How to Have a Successful Building Campaign (1 Corinthians 3:10–17) Build on the right FOUNDATION. (1 Cor 3:10–11) Matthew 16:15–18 – He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Use the right MATERIALS. (1 Cor 3:12) 2 Corinthians 5:10 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Pass INSPECTION. (1 Cor 3:13–17) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 3:10-17What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Your works will be tested by fire (1 Cor 3:13). What determines if a work is good or useless (precious metal or straw)?Is it wrong to be motivated by rewards? How much do rewards motivate you to serve Christ?How would you answer the question: “What exactly is the reward Jesus is giving in 1 Cor 3:14?”?BreakoutPray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Open up those Bibles.The 1 Corinthians chapter 3.1 Corinthians chapter 3.Just pause for a second.As we so often do, I'm just going to ask you to take a moment and pray for me to be faithfulto communicate God's Word, and I will pray for you to be ready to receive what it is thatthe Lord has to say today.Let's pray.Father in heaven, your Word tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing throughthe Word of Christ.Father, I pray today that you would increase our faith as we sit under your Word, and thatyour Word would not just encourage us, but it would move us.To be the people that you've called us to be so that we would do the things that you'vecalled us to do, Father, for your glory and honor.We praise you in Jesus' name.All of God's people said, "Amen."1 Corinthians chapter 3.My wife, Erin, loves gardening.And if there's a story that sort of encapsulates Erin's gardening experience, it would bethis one.Several years ago, somebody gifted Erin a little greenhouse, and she was so excited.She spent so much time building this greenhouse, and then inside the greenhouse, you know,she had to build - it wasn't like this massive structure, but it was a pretty nice structure.And then inside the greenhouse, she built all these shelves, and then there were allthese, you know, those little plastic trays, and you fill them with the dirt, and she wentthrough.But some of them, you know, you had to have the pots, and she had the most magnificentgreenhouse.She spent so much time, and I'm like, "We are going to have such a harvest.We're probably going to have to hire people to come and harvest this bountiful crop.We're probably going to have to buy like machines."There was so - I'm like, "This is awesome."Well, one day, we were out somewhere, we returned home.There was a really, really bad storm.And when we got in the house and went about our business, and at one point we looked outthe window and saw her greenhouse was completely leveled.And everything was strewn across the yard.Literally nothing was salvageable.You thought this was going to be funny, didn't you?Trust me, I didn't laugh.Husbands, in a moment like this, you do not laugh.She spent so much time and so much work and so much energy building this thing, and itwas all for nothing.She at the end had nothing to show for it.And you know, the Bible says, Christian, that your life can be like that.Did you know that?That you can live your whole life doing lots of things, lots of energy, lots of time spenton things.And at the very end, you find out that you have nothing to show for it as you enter intoeternity.That's what this passage is about today.We're going to be picking up in verse 10, but I want you to drop down for a second andlook at verse 16, because we're going to grab this so that we understand this passage.Some of you probably know this verse off by heart.1 Corinthians 3.16 says, "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God'sSpirit dwells in you?"And what I want to point out here is in the Greek, that word you is plural.And a lot of times when we talk about you are the temple of the Holy Spirit, we thinkabout individual salvation.Yes, absolutely God's Spirit and dwells in the individual who receives Christ.Absolutely.But listen, at the same time, I want you to hear me very closely on this.There is a corporate aspect of salvation, meaning this.You are saved to be a part of a community.And that is cover to cover in your Bible.Look at Old Testament Israel.God dealt with them as a community nation.Look at the New Testament church in the book of Acts.It is a community.Look at the description of heaven in Revelation.What is it?It is a community.It is a community of people that are saved together worshiping.So salvation yet it is an individual choice to receive Jesus Christ.Yes, it is going from death to life individually, but we are always, always, always called tocommunity.Always.We are God's temple.That's why this unity issue is so important.Salvation is not just a me thing.It's a we thing in the church.And in this passage we are looking at today, we have a new analogy.Last week Pastor Taylor walked us through the previous analogy that Paul gave us.That was the farm.Planting and watering and harvesting.We are moving today from the farm to the construction site.And in this passage we are going to see that you are each a part of God's building project.And the inspector is coming to evaluate your work.And Christian, you are going to be judged.You are like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, time out, time out.Pastor Jeff, this isn't my first time at this church.And I've heard you say that a Christian will not be judged.You will not be judged for your sin.You will not.But I want you to understand that when the Bible talks about judgment, there are many,many, many, many, many, many, many kinds of judgment the Bible talks about.For example, the Bible talks about the judgment of the nations.Matthew 25, the Bible talks about the judgment of demons.Jude 6, the Bible talks about the judgment of the unsaved, the great white throne judgment,Revelation 20.The believers will be judged.And if you are a follower of Christ, you will be judged not for your sin.Jesus took care of that on the cross.If you are a follower of Christ, sin is in the rear view mirror forever in God's perspective.That is a done deal.But you will be judged for your works in terms of receiving rewards.Jesus is the judge, John chapter 5, and He will judge you for rewards according to whatyou do after you are saved.The Bible is so clear in this.There are so many verses.Here's a couple that just highlight this.Romans chapter 14, verse 12, there it is.So then each of us will give an account of himself to God, each of us.He's talking to the church.He's talking to us.We will give an account to God.And look what Jesus says, end of the book, right?Revelation 22, Jesus said, "Behold, I'm coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repayeach one for what he has done."Each one.And you look at the context of that passage.He's talking for the bad, and He's also talking for the good.He's going to repay.Alright?So in this passage we're looking at today in 1 Corinthians, believers works.Listen, this is the whole theme.This is the whole, I don't know, is it a metaphor?Is it a simile?Is it an analogy?Whatever the whole word picture here is construction terms.And in this passage the Bible is talking about your good works in terms of building something,building a structure.And your works will be judged.Are they worthy of a reward?So on your outline, this is very timely for us as a church.It's all straight from the text here.This isn't gimmicky or campy.This is all straight from the text.How to have a successful building campaign.You want to enter heaven someday with something to show for your time here on earth?That's what this passage is about.And it's actually exactly like having a regular building campaign.Same principles.How to have a successful building campaign.Number one, write this down.Build on the right foundation.That's where it has to start.You get a build on the right foundation.Look at verse 10.Paul says, "According to the grace of God given to me like a skilled master builder,I laid a foundation and someone else is building upon it.Let each one take care how he builds upon it."Paul here talking about himself, he planted the church in Corinth.He spent 18 months laying the foundation.And he refers to himself as a skilled master builder.He wasn't exalting himself.He wasn't bragging.He just said in the previous passage that he is nothing.We already established that.All Paul is pointing out here is, "Look, I know how to plant a church.I know how to do that."Like, have you ever read the book of Acts?He wasn't bragging.He's like, "I know how to plant a church."He had a technique and it worked.And he planted many churches that we're still talking about today.He knew what he was doing.And he says, "Someone else is building upon it."Pastor Taylor talked about that a little bit last week.That's Apollos.The next pastor, Apollos is building on the foundation of Paul-Aid.But notice he says here, verse 10, "Lest you think..."Well, you know, good for preachers, right?Good for them.He says, "Each one..."Look at that.Look at that in your Bible."Each one, take care how he builds upon it."Each one.You know what that phrase, "Each one" tells me?This passage isn't just for pastors.This passage isn't just for the clergy.Each one.Each one.Look, you serve in this church in any way.Church Academy, teaching the kids.Guess what?You're one of the each one.You're a small group leader.Each one.Are you a ministry team leader?Each one.Are you serving on one of the ministry teams?Each one.This is for all of us here.Each one of us have to take care on how we're building on the foundation.Every single one of us.You know what the problem is?It's too often the church is like Pendant.Some of you already know what I'm going to say.And if you work for Pendant, I'm certainly not talking about you.But how many of us?Come on, let's just be honest.We've been driving by Pendant, road work.What do you see?One or two people working and eight or nine people watching.True or false?Don't leave me up here.Pastor Jeff hates Pendant?No.Pastor Jeff is just observant.You've seen it too.But you have one or two guys like really working.And then you have eight or nine guys just standing around watching and eating a sandwichor smoking a cigarette and like hanging out on their cell phone.That's the church, honestly.That's what you have at the church.You have a small percentage that are working really hard in so many ways and you have alot of people that just kind of sit around and watch.Maybe contribute with some occasional criticism.The church is too much like Pendant.Look, if we're going to build, we're going to start with a foundation.And you're like, "Okay, well Paul said he laid a foundation.Are we just going to go with the one that Paul laid?"Yeah, I would recommend that because look at verse 11.He says, "For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is JesusChrist."The church, listen, the church only has one foundation.And the foundation of the church is Jesus Christ.This is what he talked about in Matthew chapter 16.I'm going to paraphrase here.But Matthew chapter 16, Jesus said basically like, "What's the word on the street?Who do people say that I am?"And the disciples are like, "Well some people think you're John the Baptist or Elijah, oneof the prophets."Jesus says to his disciples, "But who do you say that I am?"And then Peter spoke up.Look at that."You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."That's what Peter said.And Jesus blessed him for that.Jesus said, "And I tell you, you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church.On this rock I will build my church."They're like, "Well what is the rock?"Well, some people believe that Peter is the rock because the name Peter means rock.But there's a lot of Greek linguistic reasons why that isn't exactly accurate.But Peter is not the foundation of the church.The foundation of the church is Peter's confession.Because we see here what the foundation of the church is.The foundation of the church is Jesus.The foundation of the church is Jesus.So it is Peter's confession, meaning the church is built when people confess that Jesus isthe Christ.That's the foundation of the church.Churches abandon the mission when they try to build on another foundation.And listen, when a church is built on a foundation other than Jesus Christ, then it's not reallya church.Well we believe the church is here to go after social causes or focus on politics or tryto entertain people.We're on the wrong foundation.But I want you to listen very closely.Yes, the church is called to be salt and light.Yes, the church is called to influence every arena where God puts us.Absolutely.But any of that stuff that's happening has to come from the foundation that we are acommunity that believes in Jesus Christ.We are a community that has been transformed by the spirit of Jesus Christ.And we carry out the mission of Jesus Christ to make more disciples of Jesus Christ.So I have to ask you, have you personally made that confession?Have you confessed in your own heart and mind with your own mouth that you believe thatJesus is the Christ?You believe that Jesus is the Son of the living God?Have you made that confession?Because Jesus must not only be the foundation of this church, he has to be the foundationof your very life.So the first step in having a successful building campaign, you've got to make sureyou're building on the right foundation.We could spend so much more time on that, but we recently had a whole sermon about buildingon the rock, not on the sand.Right?So build on the right foundation.Number two, successful building campaign means you've got to use the right materials.You've got to use the right materials.Look at verse 12.He says, "Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood,clay, straw, stop right there."All right, building project.Let's say you're putting up a structure.All right?And let's say money is no object.What kind of materials would you want to use to build your structure?Have the three little pigs taught us nothing?The materials matter, don't they?You'd obviously want to use the highest quality, right?Marble, gold, silver.What's Paul's point here?The quality of materials.Listen, if you miss this, you're really going to be confused for a few minutes.The quality of materials speaks to the quality of your service.Are you teaching biblical doctrine representing the Word?Are you led by the Holy Spirit?Are you rightly motivated by the glory of God?Are you putting forth your best effort serving the King of the universe with excellence?That's not about the show.It's about dazzling people.We already talked about that.The question that you have to ask yourself, you have to evaluate yourself, it's this,what kind of an effort am I putting in to glorify in Christ by doing His work?What kind of effort are you putting in?Because some people settle to build out of wood and grass.Well, it's easier, quicker, right?You want it a building, here's a building.I did my job.You have to understand that Christ considers that type of effort to be worthless.I want you to look at Paul talks about this again in 2 Corinthians.Look at 2 Corinthians 5-10 on the screen.It's the same teaching, but I'm going to point something out here.He says, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each onemay receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil."Now there's a problem with this translation.The problem is the word evil.That is not the right translation of that word.You can do the Greek study yourself and you'll find that that word evil should be translatedworthless.He's not talking about something morally evil like from the devil.He's not talking about that.He's talking about something that's worthless.Things done even in the name of Jesus that ultimately end up being worthless.What in the world are you talking about?Things like things done for Christ only in human effort.How about that?Not spirit-led.Not really motivated by God's glory.I mean, I'm doing this and I'm doing it in the church, but I'd really be happier ifpeople noticed me.Those kinds of things aren't really evil as much as they are worthless.Just building out a straw.And you know, church, we can fill up the church calendar with all kinds of busyness that hasnothing to do with the mission of evangelism and discipleship.And at the end of the day, do you know what it is?Straw.It's just straw.On the other hand, when you are motivated by God's glory, when you are dedicated to maximumexcellence, when your heart is in the right place because you're being led by the HolySpirit, that's like building with gold and silver and precious stones.And you're like, oh, okay, so being part of a big church means big reward, right?No.Look, we're not speaking negatively of big churches, but I do have to point out thatsometimes we think that size equals value, and that's just not true.A handful of diamonds is much more valuable than a truck full of logs, despite the obviousdifference in size.But if you want a successful building campaign, better use the right materials.You're like, man, wow, this might be new information for some of you, and you're like, how do Iknow?How do I know?How do I know I'm using the right materials?Well I know one thing for sure we're going to find out, because number three is you'vegot to pass inspection.You've got to pass inspection.Look at verse 13.Paul under inspiration, the Spirit goes on, he says, "Each one's work will become manifest,for the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will testwhat sort of work each one has done."The day is coming.You know the day, the day.And the inspector is coming to test by fire.You're going to see here throughout the rest of this passage, there's three kinds of people.Let's look at the first one, verse 14.He says, excuse me, "If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he willreceive a reward."There is a reward for the faithful worker.Again, we went through the sermon on the Mount.We talked quite a bit about this.From Matthew chapter 6, verse 20, "Jesus commanded us to lay up for ourselves treasuresin heaven."And anytime we talk about rewards and treasure in heaven, people say, "Well, what is it?What are the rewards?"And I'll tell you the same thing I always say.Not really sure.But we can't imagine that it's a kind of reward like earth, like cash.Right?What is the reward?And again, I would suggest to you that maybe God's word isn't specific because it's somethingthat we wouldn't fully understand on the earth.But we do know quite a bit about eternal rewards.We know a lot about them.First of all, we know they're eternal.We know this is something you're going to have for eternity.And something else we know is it's better.It's better than anything that we know of on earth.And if every good and perfect gift comes from above, don't you trust when God says, "Thisis awesome.You should work for this."Don't you think that it's going to be good?You're like, "No, it's going to be awesome."Right?So we know that.We also know there's no second chance to earn rewards after we die.According to the Bible, this is your chance.If you're hearing this message right now, you are in prime opportunity to earn rewards.We also know that this is a motivator.It's a motivator.We build with excellence because it's going to result in eternal reward.How are you doing?Some of you are going to get a huge reward.Some of you are.Who is?Those of you who have spent the money that God has entrusted you on missions, on the church,on gospel purposes, Jesus said you're going to get a huge reward.Those of you who know your spiritual gift and you have used it to bless the church, you'veused the time that God has given you here.You've taken your opportunity.There is a huge reward coming for you.On the other hand, let's look at the second group of people, verse 15.He says if anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will besaved but only as through fire.Okay, so we talked about the person that's working, giving, serving, faithfully, usingthis opportunity.Now we're going to talk to some of the rest of you.On the other hand, some of you are saved but you're lazy.You're irresponsible.God gave you two things to use for him, time and money, and you have spent both of thoseon yourself.You attend church but that's really about it.Your contribution to the kingdom is warming a seat.You didn't invest much money into the kingdom.You don't really serve the church in any way.You're like, am I still going to heaven?Yeah.If you truly believe in Christ, if you've truly been born again, yes, yes, he says righthere.He's still saved but it's like jumping out of a burning house and then watching it burnto the ground.You lost everything and you got nothing to show for it.Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.You're telling me.You're telling me, Pastor Jeff, everything I worked for in my life is ultimately goingto be nothing in eternity.Are you telling me that when I cross over into heaven that I'm going to have nothingto show for my time on earth?That's what he said.I think that's also why he said in verse 10, "Take care how you build."So take care.Take care, pewsitters, God tippers, and part timers.Take care, ear scratchers, bench warmers, and buck passers.Take care because today you should examine the quality of the work that you're puttingin to serve Jesus because He's coming to test it.Salvation in Christ is a gift.But what we do with it, it's on us.There's a third group.Look at verse 16.He says, "Do you not know that you are God's temple and God's spirit dwells in you?"Do you realize how precious you are to God?Do you realize what you are to God?You're not some she-shed.You are His temple.You are the place where God resides.You individually, and again, this is plural.He's saying you corporately.This is where God chooses to dwell.Therefore, verse 17, "If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him.For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple."This is the third group.And I think it's pretty obvious, right?He's talking about unsaved people here, right?People that destroy what others build.We're talking about false teachers, obviously.But you know what else we're talking about?Those in the church who aren't saved but are divisive.Those who hinder the work of the church.Those who are constantly causing problems for the leaders of the church.Are you protective of your house?If you went home from church today and there was somebody inside your house destroying it,what would you do?Well, God is pretty protective of His house, too.And when He looks down and He sees His house and He sees somebody that's trying to destroyHis house, God says, "I'm going to destroy Him.I'm going to deal with Him severely."Any building campaign, really, at the end of the day, any building campaign can onlybe said to be successful if it passes inspection, right?I'd like to invite the worship team and our communion servers to come up because we'vegot to close a passage like this by gathering around the Lord's table.Why?Well, the Lord's table for the Christian, for the church, it means so much.A couple of things in particular means that we are reminded as we gather around.First of all, this brings us back to our foundation.Lest we ever be tempted to build a foundation on anything else, the Lord's Supper bringsus back to the place.You know, this is the foundation of the church, the Lord who died for His church, who rosefrom the dead for His church.So not only is it our foundation, but I think another huge aspect of the Lord's table isour motivation.Because look, the Bible talks about rewards.Should we be motivated by rewards?Absolutely.But rewards should be a motivator, not the motivator.The motivator is the God who died for you, the love that He poured out on the cross.He died for you.So we are motivated to live for Him.

How will we escape the law if we neglect God's own testimony about His Son? God has shown us the way of escape and it is through the perfect high priest, Jesus Christ. We must not harden our hearts to Him. In this episode, Pastor Taylor talks about God's own testimony in Hebrews 2:1-4.Get Connected! https://linktr.ee/reachtulsa

VISION SUNDAY: Pastor Taylor kicks of Legacy SZN with a flyover of our year from Legacy 24 - now, and reveals our Legacy theme of TAKE GROUND, and reminds us that in the world and culture we are in, it is important that we take ground in our households, schools, communities, and the world.follow us on instagram @reallifechurchwa 26201 180th Ave. SE Covington, WA 98042 Sundays @ 8:30 | 10 | 11:30

In week three of the Hosea series, Pastor Curt Taylor spoke about God's restoring love, a love that pursues us even when we've wandered far away. Drawing from the story of Hosea, he reminded us that God's heart is not to condemn but to restore His people to wholeness and relationship with Him. Through repentance and trust, we find the renewal and grace that only God can offer. Pastor Taylor encouraged us to open our hearts to that restoration and allow God to reshape our lives from the inside out. It was a powerful reminder that no amount of brokenness can stand against the restoring love of God.

Jesus was not just a good person with good moral teachings. He wasn't one of many wise men that showed us how to please God and get to heaven. He was God Himself and the only one capable of taking us before God into heaven. If we do not follow this divine king, we have nothing left. In this episode, Pastor Taylor talks about the divine kingship of Christ in Hebrews 1:5-14.Get Connected! https://linktr.ee/reachtulsa

Introduction: Matthew 11:25 – At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children..." John 16:13 – When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. How Do I Know if I Have the Mind of Christ? (Philippians 2:5–8) When I don't insist on my RIGHTS. (Phil 2:6) When I act like a SERVANT. (Phil 2:7) When I OBEY God All the Way. (Phil 2:8) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 and Philippians 2:5-8What was your big take-away from this passage / message?Why do you think the world is so interested in the “wisdom” of celebrities and politicians, the “rulers of this age” (1 Cor 2:6)? What does God say about them?What is this passage saying about how the Bible was written (1 Cor 2:10-13)? Why is this important for unity in the church?According to Philippians 2:5-8, what does it mean to have “the mind of Christ”? Give specific examples of what that looks like.BreakoutPray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Open up to 1 Corinthians in chapter 2.Let's just pause for a moment.Please pray for me to be faithful to clearly communicate God's Word,and I will pray for you to have a heart open to receive it.This is a complicated passage.But I think that's one of the great things about expository preaching.It allows us to slow down and see what exactly it is that God actually said in His Word.Sometimes it's a passage that we have read through quickly so many times.I'm not quite sure what's going on there, but next.And there's so much here that the Lord wants to teach us.So please pray for me to be clear and accurate,and I'll pray for you to receive it.All right? Let's just take a moment.Father in heaven, we need Your Spirit, and we always do.I guess sometimes we feel it, that we're more aware of it than others.This is one of those times for a lot of reasons.Father, I pray that Your Spirit and Your Word would do what only You can do.glorify Your name as we spend some time in Your Word today, Father, in Jesus' name.All of God's people said, "Amen."Amen. You know, I try.But it gets harder and harder to keep up with the language that these kids are using these days.Since I'm working with the youth group, I really want to speak their language,but I'll be honest with you, I don't get it.I don't get it. I'm not sure, Justin, you still get it anymore.Mid? See? He gets it.I just find myself so awful. I don't get it. I don't get what you're saying.Like Pastor Taylor a couple of weeks ago dropped the 6-7 thing.Do you know like dictionary.com or something made that the word of the year?Did you know that?Do you know where that's from?It's from some basketball player that's 6-7. Aren't they all?I don't get it. I don't get it when the kids say words like "Skibbity toilet riz."Have you heard this one?I had to have somebody explain it to me. I still didn't quite understand it.But that is a thing and I don't get it. I just don't get it.I remember many years ago when the nieces on my wife's side were younger,probably teenagers-ish. But one family gatherer, I was Thanksgiving, Christmas, whatever.I just remember the three girls were just walking around going,"I just bought a new alligator purse at Walmart for $4.99."And then they would laugh hysterically.So I'm like, "Well, I went in on the hilarity."So I'm like, "Well, I just bought a new alligator purse at Walmart for $4.99."And everybody laughed hysterically. I don't get it.I don't get "dolulu" and "juzh it up."And by the time this is on our website, somebody's going to listen to this and be like,"Oh, those are old words. We don't say that anymore."I try.I don't get it.And see, that is the point of the passage that we're looking at today.Here's the whole sermon.When it comes to the Word of God, unsaved people don't get it.But those who are born again, who have the Spirit of God residing in them,we come to the Word of God and we get it.This whole section that we're in in 1 Corinthians is contrasting man's wisdom and God's wisdom.And last week we focused specifically on the show.Why? Because Paul says he came in weakness.He wasn't like one of the lofty speaking philosophers putting on a show.Paul says, "I didn't come to you like that."So last week we talked about the show. This week we're going to talk about the content.The content of wisdom.Look at verse 6.He says, "Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom,although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age who are doomed to pass away."So there's two kinds of wisdom.We talked about this many times in the past.I've gone through the Proverbs, I've gone through the book of James.There's two kinds of wisdom.There's man's wisdom, worldly wisdom, earthly wisdom, and there's God's wisdom.And that's what Paul's talking about here.Paul's like, "Don't throw out anything called wisdom because there's different kinds."We didn't come with man's wisdom, we came with God's wisdom.Now listen, when we talk about man's wisdom, we are not saying that man is incapable of doing anything with earthly wisdom.Man has done so much with medical advances, engineering, art, obviously.But man's wisdom cannot do anything about spiritual matters.When you try to apply man's wisdom to spiritual matters, do you know what you get?You get one of two things.You get heresy, or you get nonsense, or maybe you get both.Paul here talks about the rulers of this age.It's not a wisdom of the rulers of this age.Like, who are the rulers of this age?Well, in Paul's day, right, scribes, Pharisees, Roman officials.It's the important people, right?And who are the rulers of our age?It's pretty obvious.Politicians, celebrities.The loud, anti-God actors, musicians, athletes.You know, church, if I live to be a billion, I will never understand why we take so much stock in the opinions of celebrities.I don't understand that.You know, like somebody is paid millions of dollars because they're able to catch a ball.Which is a talent.Don't get me wrong.It's a talent.All of a sudden, we're like, well, I got to hear what his political views are.Why?Or you got some young lady who, she writes songs for a living.She writes really catchy pop songs about bad relationships.And we're like, man, I wonder what she thinks about immigration.Why do we care?Right?An actor whose very job is to pretend to be someone else.And they are fantastic at pretending to be someone else.And the world is just waiting to hear, what do you think about God?Paul says, I'll tell you what to think about them.They're doomed to pass away.Alright?God's word will stand forever, but a celebrity's opinion will be forgotten.Alright?So look at verse 7.He says, "But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before theages for our glory."None of the rulers of this age understood this.For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.See here, Paul's talking about the secret wisdom.These are spiritual truths that man cannot know unless God reveals them.God has revealed knowledge about Himself.Paul says, "For the glory of His people," and he says, "Those who are not born again,they don't get it."They don't get it.That's why he says, "None understood."None of the rulers of this age understood.They don't get it.They can't get it.Paul says in verse 8, "Here's an obvious point that they don't get it.God showed up in the flesh and they nailed them to a cross."Do you think for a second if they really understood who Jesus is that they would have crucifiedHim?Do you think for a second if they're like, "Well, this is the God who created me.This is the God who's ultimately going to judge me, and He's here right now.What should we do with Him?"Do you think they would have killed Him if they got that?Obviously not.So look at verse 9.He says, "But as it is written, what no eye has seen nor ear heard, nor the heart of manimagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him."So here Paul is paraphrasing concepts from the book of Isaiah, specifically Isaiah 64in verse 4.Now listen, when people read this verse, people immediately want to interpret this as, "Youcan't believe how awesome heaven is.You can't believe the things that God has prepared for us."And that's really not what this verse is about at all.Listen, this verse is about unbelievers not being able to understand salvation.Believers don't get it.That's what this verse is about.Look at it again.He's saying that spiritual truths about salvation can't be obtained through natural processes.Look at it again.He says, "What no eye has seen nor ear heard."He's saying, "Unsaved people can't understand spiritual truths by external means."He's saying you can't look at a sunset or the stars in the sky and understand salvation.You can understand some things about the power and beauty of God.Yes.But you can't look at a sunset and understand salvation.You can't perceive with your eyes or your ears.Then he goes on to say, "Nor the heart of man imagined."What's he saying?That's internal.That you can't come up with truth about God from your mind.You can't just sit around and say, "I wonder what God's like."And you imagine truths about salvation.Can't happen.You'll try though.You hear people say things like, "Well, you know, I think that we're all God's children.I believe love is the only thing that matters.I don't believe God condemns anybody.And with all due respect, it doesn't really matter what your opinion of God is."It's like a fruit fly trying to figure out how an iPhone works.It's not going to happen.And you trying to figure out on your own how God works, it's not going to happen.You can't do it.Truth about God must be revealed by God.That's Paul's whole point here.Human perception or wisdom can't contribute to this.People have no idea externally or internally what God has prepared.Everything for those who love it.They're like, "All right, I have a question.How exactly did God reveal His truth to man?How did He do that?"Well, that's what he goes on to answer.Look at verse 10.He says, "These things..."What things?"The things that God has prepared, the content of the gospel message.These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.Through the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God."So Paul says, "God revealed the content of the salvation message."He said he revealed it to us.And us in the Greek is emphatic.They're like, "Well, who is us?"Well, go back to verse 10.Paul's refers to those who love Him.Right?Like, what is he talking about here?Well, really, he's talking about something Jesus already gave us the heads up on backin Matthew 11 when Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that youhave..."Look at this."Hidden these things..."What things?Matters of salvation, revelation from God.Truth about God.You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding, the important people, therulers of this age is what Paul calls them.Jesus says you've hidden them from the wise and understanding and revealed them to littlechildren.That's the point of this passage.You think you're so wise.No, no, no, no.God has to reveal truth if you're going to know anything about God.And God didn't reveal it to the important people.He revealed it to the children, people who love Him.That's his point.He gives an easy analogy.Look at verse 11.He says, "For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person which isin him?"So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the spirit of God.That's an easy analogy.No one knows a man's thoughts except that man.I mean, I can wonder all the live long day what Bob Brown thinks.I'm never going to know.His thoughts, his opinions, his hopes, his dreams, his fears.That's all within him.Nobody knows that about Bob Brown the way Bob Brown knows that about Bob Brown, right?And the only way I'm going to get a clue on any of that is if he tells me, right?And that's what Paul's saying here.Only God's spirit knows God.No one knows what God thinks but God.And God's spirit has to reveal God's thoughts to us.You're like, "What is that?"He's talking about the Bible.This book is the Holy Spirit revealing things that are known only to God.Like, "Wait, wait, okay."So you're saying that this book is the book of God's thoughts.Yes, that's what the passage is saying.Well how in the world could an infinite, holy, awesome God reveal his thoughts in a way thatwe could understand them?Because he's way above us.How in the world could he reveal his thoughts?So we could understand them.Verses 12 and 13, Paul answers that.He says, "Now we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God,that we might understand the things freely given us by God.And we impart this in words."Look at this."And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit."Here it is interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.He's talking about how we got the Bible.When he says "we" here in verse 12, he's talking about the apostles.It's obvious from the context.God didn't give you books of the Bible to write down.You might have some blank pages at the end of your Bible like in the book.That's not for you to write your own book.That's not what those are for.You're like, "Well, what are they for?""I don't know what those are for."But they're not for writing your own parts of the Bible.That was for the apostles.The apostles, Paul's saying here, "received the Spirit to put God's thoughts into humanwords."Again, this is something that Jesus promised would happen.Look at John 16.Yeah, Jesus said, "When the Spirit of truth comes," the Holy Spirit, "he will guide youinto all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears,he will speak and he will declare to you the things that are to come."This is how you got your Bible.God's Spirit gave God's thoughts to these apostles and he enabled them to write God'sthoughts down in a book, an objective source of God's truth.And you're like, "Okay, all right, all right."So if that is what the Bible actually is, the thoughts of God written in human words,why doesn't everyone accept the Bible as the Word of God?Why doesn't everybody just get on board with that?Why doesn't everybody just understand it?All that Paul has said is to drive us to this point.Are you still with me?All right?There's no sermon today.It's like Sunday school.There's a little sermon at the end.This is like Sunday school class.Everything he's saying here is to drive us to this one point.Understanding the thoughts of God revealed by the Spirit of God put in this book.Understanding this book also requires the work of the Holy Spirit.This is what he is driving us to.Look at verse 14.He says, "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for theyare folly to Him, foolishness to Him, and He is not able to understand them because theyare spiritually discerned."You see Paul saying the Holy Spirit gave God's Word to the apostles and He makes known themeaning of God's words to those who love God.Non-spiritual people.Listen.They're like, "Why do we theology?"Because right now there's a whole lot of light bulbs that are going to go off.Non-spiritual people cannot accept the Word of God, and they do not understand the Wordof God.That's what he says in verse 14.Non-spiritual people cannot accept it.People who hate the Bible are just acting naturally.Why do you hate the Bible so much?Well, I'll give you a reason.He tells us right here in verse 14, "They don't understand it."They don't understand it.It makes no sense to them.And listen.Listen.If you refuse to believe in the Word of God, you will never understand it.Never going to happen.This is interesting, but like what does this mean in real world application, Pastor Jeff?Well let me tell you a lesson that I had to learn some time ago.I had to learn that you cannot put biblical standards on non-Christians for this veryreason.They're like, "Can you be specific?"Yeah, how uncomfortable do you want this to get?All right, let's talk about people that are living together, but they're not married.They live as if they're married, but they never got married.Cohabitation.I've dealt with this a lot, especially at my old church.It was a downtown church.It was a big, old, beautiful building.And we would have complete strangers coming off the street.They're like, "I want to get married here."Why?Not because they knew me or anybody else in the church.It's just pretty architecture."I want to get married here."But they were living together.We've had people like, "I want to join harvest and I want to actively serve at harvest."And they're living together, but they're not married.And in all of these cases, people are outraged that we would say, "Well, that's sin."It's sin.People were like shocked and outraged that you would even hold such an opinion.What do you mean it's sin?And this is tying into Paul's point here, my friends.When a couple was in that situation and understand their biggest issue is not cohabitation, thebiggest issue is they have no regard for God's work.That's the issue.And it's a scary thing because this is evidence that they don't have the Holy Spirit.And it's evidence, if all this is true, it's evidence that they're not born again.So you see, cohabitation isn't the biggest issue.Non-spiritual people don't get it.They can't accept that they don't understand.Light bulb should be going off.I hear this all the time.I hear this all the time and my heart breaks.But I hear people say, "People have adult children."I raised my kid in the church and now he absolutely refuses to go to church.He doesn't want anything to do with church or Bible study.My teenager hates going to youth group, refuses to go.And they won't listen to any biblical instruction.And I don't understand why.I'll tell you why.If this passage is right and I certainly believe that it is, the Bible makes no senseto them.They don't believe it.They don't get it.And when they come to church, they don't believe it.They don't accept it.They don't understand it.They don't get it.They come to church and I get up here or Pastor Taylor gets up here or Justin gets up hereand we're talking and people don't get it.All they hear is us standing up here going, "I bought a new alligator purses at Wal-Martfor $4.99."They're like, "What's that all about?"They don't get it because it has to be spiritually discerned.You're like, "Oh, so you're saying I shouldn't drag my kids to church?You're saying I shouldn't teach my kids the Bible?"Of course I am not saying that.Come on.But they aren't really going to get it if they don't personally make a decision toreceive Jesus.That's what you need to drive them to.Look at verse 15.He says, "The spiritual person judges all things."Stop right there.This is a statement.We who are spiritual, we who have the Holy Spirit can judge all things.What's He talking about?He's just simply talking about this.The Bible, when rightly understood, makes sense of everything.It makes sense of the world.It makes sense of man.It makes sense of God.It makes sense of the way sin works.Understanding the world through the lens of God's Word when we understand it makes everythingmake total sense to us.We get it.We get why lost people act like lost people.We get it.You're spiritually dead.We get it.Bless you.We get people get old and die.We get it.Why does that happen?We get it.We get it when we have a loved one that's stuck in an addiction.Like I get it, it's a worship disorder.They're worshiping something and it's not Jesus.It's an addiction.We get it.We get it when a believer still struggles with sin.Like why is he still struggling with sin?We get it.Because he's a spiritual person that lives in fallen flesh.So there's going to be a war going on until he's removed from the fallen flesh.We get it.It all makes sense.We get it, church.We're rightly able to judge these things and we're rightly able to judge what's happeningout there.We can watch the news.We can rightly judge all of that stuff if you really understand the Bible.Like for example, what was the big news story last week?The snap benefits getting cut off, right?We can understand that through the lens of God's Word.Anybody not offended yet because you might be here in a second?Understand that through the lens of God's Word?Look, the government doesn't need involved in that.In feeding people at all.Whose job is that?It's the church's job.Here's what should happen.The church should be providing for those in need who are unable to provide for themselves.But someone who can work and refuses to work doesn't get to eat.That's what the Bible says.We can rightly judge all things, right?We rightly judge all things.Things like racism is idiotic.It's just stupid.We're able to judge that.We realize we all came from the same parents.We all come from Adam and Eve.So if your skin's a different color, your eyes are a different shape, who cares?It's stupid, but people make that an issue because they don't get it.We get it.Why has Israel survived for thousands of years even though everybody's constantly tryingto exterminate them?Why are they front and center in the world stage all the time?We get it.We get it.That's what Paul's saying.We judge all things.Like, yeah, we get it.But look at the back of verse 15.He says, "But is himself judged by no one."But is himself judged by no one.So Christian, don't worry about how the world judges you.Don't worry about how the world looks at you.You close-minded, anti-science, misguided, uneducated, unintelligent, fairy tale believing,homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic jerk.Don't worry about what the world calls you.They don't understand the word.They don't value the word.So they're not going to understand you, and they're not going to value you either.You judge by no one.Right?Now look at verse 16."For who has understood the mind of the Lord as to instruct Him?"That's Isaiah 40, verse 13.He says, "But we have the mind of Christ."That last line, that's the punchline here.Meaning he's saying, gets to this one sentence, "But we have the mind of Christ."And if Paul would have just come out and said that first without any explanation, we wouldhave been like, "What in the world are you talking about?"Well, who's the we here?Why is he saying we?Why doesn't he say, "You have the mind of Christ?"He could have.Why does he say, "We have the mind of Christ?"Why we here?Well, what's Paul talking about throughout the first several chapters of 1 Corinthians?What's he talking about?Unity.Right?Here's the point.Unification can really only happen if we are all thinking the same way.If we have the mind of Christ, if we think like Jesus, that is what will unify.We, that is what will unify us.This unity comes when I walk around here saying, "You all need to think like Jeff."You need to think like Jeff.That's the problem with this church.You all don't think like Jeff.That causes disunity.Right?And then, like, Laura gets up and she goes, "No, the problem is you need to think likeLaura."That's the problem with this church.Everybody think like Laura will be good.And then Brian gets up.Brian's like, "No, no, the problem is everybody needs to think like Brian.You think like Brian will be in good shape.That will unify us."No, no, no.That just causes division.We need to think like Jesus.And with a statement like this, I couldn't just be like, "Okay, we have the mind of Christ.You're loved.See you next week.Let's sing a song."Like, that's such a statement that I figured we have to take a couple of minutes to unpackthat.You have the mind of...Not...You should have the mind of Jesus.You have the mind of Jesus.You do.And until you think like Jesus, church, we're never going to have unity here.We're always going to be fighting over something.So I do want to leave you with this.Just a couple more minutes here.So just grab your neighbor's sleeve right now and give him a shake and say, "Okay, theSunday School Lessons over, now we're getting to the sermon.Take a minute and do that."Some of you aren't shaking hard enough.We're just going to close with this.We have the mind of Christ.And you're like, "Well, how do I know?How do I know if I have the mind of Christ?"Well, Paul tells us.Under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul tells us in Philippians.Turn over in your Bible to Philippians chapter 2.I know usually we like camp in one passage, but we can't just end with that statement.We have the mind of Christ.What's that mean?Turn to Philippians chapter 2.Just over a few pages.Look at verses 5 through 8.Paul says, "Have this mind among yourselves."And you look at the context.He's talking about unity here again, right?Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.You have the mind of Christ?Well, how do I know?How do I know if I have the mind of Christ?Write these three things down very quickly.Number one, you know you have the mind of Christ when I don't insist on my rights.I know I have the mind of Christ when I don't insist on my rights.Look at verse 6.He says, talking about Jesus, "Who, though He was in the form of God, did not countequality with God a thing to be grasped."I know I have the mind of Christ when I don't insist on my rights.In Jesus' mind, He didn't feel the need to tightly cling to the privilege that comeswith being God.And oh, Jesus would have had every right to demand everyone treat Him as God, becauseHe is.Jesus could have walked around on the earth and said, "Serve me.Get me this.Fetch me that.Now chop chop.I'm God.Serve me."He could have gotten away with that.He's the only person in history that could have.He let go of that.That was His right and He let go of it.And you have to get to the place where you made up your mind that you don't have to insiston your rights.I deserve more.I deserve better.I can't believe you asked me to do that.Do you know how important I am?I'm not thinking like Jesus.See, the world says, "Hey, you go out and you demand your rights."But when you think like Jesus, you say, "Yeah, I let go of my rights."When you do that, you get it.You get it.How do I know if I have the mind of Christ, number two, when I act like a servant?Verse 7.Verse 7.He says, "But made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likenessof men."We've done sermons on this in the past.This one phrase really stands out to me more than anything in this whole passage, really.It says that Jesus took the form of a servant.And you know, you have the mind of Christ.You know you're thinking like Jesus when you act like a servant.By the way, God's wisdom is opposite of the world's wisdom.If I said who's the greatest person in the world, you would say, "Well, it's whoeverhas the most people serving him, right?"That's how we determine greatness.Who has the most people serving them?Jesus said the greatest among you will be the servant of all.And His life was an example of such greatness.You know you have the mind of Christ when you act like a servant.Like, well, how do I do that?Well, you won't know.You won't know if you're a servant until somebody treats you like one.Then you find out.If you walked in here today and I had one of them stickers that said, "Hello, my nameis," and I wrote on there, "My name is slave.Tell me what to do."And I slapped that on your chest.How would that make you feel if that's how everybody regards you?"Hey, they're slave.I'm going to tell them what to do."You won't know if you're a servant until somebody treats you like one.But God took the form of a servant.And when you're like, "I'm here to serve," then you think like Jesus.Then number three, how do I know I have the mind of Christ when I obey God all the way?All the way.Unconditionally, no limits.Look at verse 8.He says, "And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient."How far did you take that, Jesus?Abedient to the point of death.Even death on a cross.You see, Jesus' way of thinking determined what He did.He humbled himself and became obedient to His Father all the way to death.And not just death.All the way to the worst way to die.Death on a cross.All the way, and everything else, along the way, all the way, everything Jesus did wasan obedience to the Father.So how far are you willing to take your service to God and to others?How far are you willing to go?How much is too much?If you say, "Okay, all right, all right.I'll serve in the church.All right, I'll serve, but only when it's convenient."Or you're not thinking like Jesus.If you're like, "Okay, all right.I know I'm supposed to give to the church.And the Bible says that.We've walked through that.I'll give, but listen, I'm only going to give a little bit.I'm only going to give like what I won't miss."You're not thinking like Jesus.And if you're like, "You know what?That person wronged me."And yes, they reached out.They apologized."I will never forgive her.I will never forgive her for what she did to me.No matter how many times she says she's sorry, I will never forgive her."You're not thinking like Jesus.The world says be true to yourself.You think like Jesus.You say, "I'm obedient to God, no matter what."We'll take it all the way.You get it.You get it.Our worship team will make their way back up front.You know, we could go on and on and on about the mind of Christ.But really, it can be summed up in one word.If you really say that Philippians 2 passage, the word is selfless.Are you a selfless person?You will be if you think like Jesus.But when you have God's Spirit within you, enabling you to discern and understand andapply God's Word, you will think like Jesus.You'll get it.You will get it.Let's pray.Father in heaven.That's such an interesting thing, the way your Spirit works with your Word.Somebody can stand up here and preach the most Biblically accurate message and it'sgoing to go right over the head of people that don't have your Spirit.Father, when your Spirit moves in the hearts of people and your Word is proclaimed, youdo something.And God, that's what I'm asking, is that you would soften the hearts of those maybewho are sitting here and are heart-hearted and haven't been getting it for a long time.Those who are closed-minded towards your Word, they don't get it.Maybe they think they do.And I just pray, Father, for your Spirit, for all of us, you draw us just one step closerto you today.We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

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The Christian life is not a life of ease. Sometimes it's easy to wonder if it's worth all the trouble. The question is not whether or not following Jesus is worth it, but what will it cost you to not follow Him? In this episode, Pastor Taylor starts a new series in Hebrews on the first place of Christ above and before all things.Get Connected! https://linktr.ee/reachtulsa

Introduction: We're Not Putting on a Show (1 Corinthians 2:1–5) Because the show will replace God's MESSAGE. (1 Cor 2:1–2) John 17:17 – Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. Because the show will replace God's METHODS. (1 Cor 2:3–4) Because the show will replace God's MISSION. (1 Cor 2:5) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 2:1-5What was your big take-away from this passage / message?What are some ways you have seen a church make the Gospel into a show / performance?Why does God prefer to work through weak people instead of strong & talented people (1 Cor 2:3-4)?How can you tell if a “good preacher” is a real Spirit-filled preacher, or a talented man just using his own gifts?BreakoutPray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Open those Bibles up to the book of 1 Corinthians. We're going to be in chapter 2.Let's just pause for a moment.And I'm going to ask that you would please pray for me to be faithful to communicate God's Word accurately and clearly.I will pray for you to have a heart open to receive what God said in His Word.Alright? Let's pray.Father, there are so many things that compete for our attention and devotion.Give us a hunger for your Word, because it is through your Word that we know you.So I pray, Father, that our appetites would be for nothing but the bread of your Word.Let us dial into what your teaching is here in this passage, Father. We pray in Jesus' name.Amen.Amen.1 Corinthians chapter 2, are you there?I was today years old when I learned what that phrase meant.How many people have heard that? I was today years old. How many have heard that one? How many of you used that?Some of you are like, I don't know what you're talking about. Well, maybe you're not hip like Justin Cady,knowing all the vernacular of the children.But let me give you an example. I was today years old when I learned that on a box of tic-tacs,do you know when you open it up, there's this little oval in here? Do you know what that's for?That is to serve the tic-tac. Did you know that?Have you been just eating your tic-tac straight from the box like a wolf?Did you know that you're supposed to use this thing to...Ta-da!Maybe you can flick it in your mouth.Never mind.I'm going to give you, in all seriousness, the biggest and most shocking thing.The whole phrase I was today years old means there's something I should have known.I'm just finding out this thing that I should have known my whole life and wow, it changes everything.Well, here's the biggest one of all time.Did you know that you have the ability to take power out of the cross of Jesus Christ?Did you know that? You might be leaving here today saying I was today years old when I learned.I can empty the cross of Jesus Christ of its power. Do you realize you have that ability?The Bible says we do have that ability. Look back at chapter 1 verse 17.We covered this a couple of weeks ago, but very briefly because I knew we would be hitting it hard this week.But chapter 1 verse 17, Paul says, "For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel,and not with words of eloquent wisdom lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."What? I can take power away from the cross of Christ? That's what he said.How can I take power away from the cross? How can I empty the cross of Christ of power?He tells us right here in verse 17 by relying on eloquent wisdom.Look at chapter 2. We're going to look at the first five verses, but I want us to read it all first.I want us to be very clear what the Lord is saying here.Paul says through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, "And when I came to you, brothers,did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were notimplausible words of wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.That your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."See a theme there? Over and over and over he's talking about wisdom.And you're like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on, hang on, timeout Pastor Jeff, hang on."I thought wisdom was a good thing, right?And we've had whole sermon series on wisdom and there's books in the Bible called wisdom literature.I thought wisdom was a good thing. Why are we poo-pooing wisdom here today, Pastor Jeff?Well, wisdom is one of those words that can have different connotations depending on the context.A lot of words like that, right? Like the word aggressive.Is that a good word or a bad word?Well, depends on where we're using it, right? It's great if you're playing hockey.It's bad if you're in a meeting. See?Or how about the word judge? You hear that word judge, is judging good or bad?Well, depends how you use it. We are commanded to judge to discern.But we are forbidden to judge in the sense of criticizing people like we talked about in the sermon on the Mount.So you see, judge is bad or good depending on the context. And it's the same with wisdom.Because the Bible is clear there is God's wisdom and there is man's wisdom.And the obvious point of this passage, all circles around this idea of not man's worldly, earthly wisdom.That's the point. He says it in verse 1. He says it in verse 4. He says it in verse 5.So to sum up this passage, here's what Paul is saying.He's saying, "I didn't come proclaiming man's wisdom. My message was not in man's wisdom and your faith can't be in man's wisdom."You're like, "What's he saying? What's the problem here? Why is he so adamant about this?"Well, you have to understand something about the Greeks.You have to understand something about the people that lived in Corinth.You see, for them, public speaking was entertainment and competition.Now please dial in here, because if you miss this, you're going to be so confused as we go through these verses.Public speaking was entertainment and competition.They would actually compete for money and prizes and fame with public speaking.So for the Greeks, those in Corinth, public speaking was putting on a show.Public speaking was a performance.Remember, they didn't have TV.They weren't sitting down to entertaining themselves by watching the Judge Judy or whatever.They didn't have the internet where they would sit on their phone and death scroll through countless videos about cats.That's not how they were entertained.They were entertained in the Greek culture by two things, really.Sports, we get that, right? But their other form of entertainment was public speech.And public speech, listen, public speech was evaluated on eloquence.We get that, because how many countless TV programs do we have about judging talent?Right? The Americans got talent and American Idol and The Voice, The Mass Singer, what else is there?All these shows where, you know, so you think you can dance, we're constantly evaluating the talent level of people on these programs.Public speaking was that in Corinth.Now, do you see the issue?Paul came to them with a speech, the Gospel.He came to them with a speech and he came to a culture that evaluates a speech based on the performance of the performer.So if you look at this passage again, I'm going to look at it again, just abbreviating it, but you could substitute this phrase where it talks about wisdom.You could substitute putting on a show. That's what he was talking about here.Paul's saying, "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come proclaiming you the testimony of God by putting on a show."And then down in verse 4, "My speech and my message was not about putting on a show."And then in verse 5, "Your faith might not rest in the show, but the power of God."You see? That was the issue for that culture.And you're like, "Phew! Stinks for that culture because I get a... You know what, Pastor Jeff, it would be absolutely horrible.I mean, that would be terrible if people today turned the Gospel into our show.I mean, could you imagine how tacky it would be if people made church a performance?We don't have to stretch our imagination, do we?What do you see when you go to a lot of churches and Bible conferences, right?Fog machines and lights and how about a man pole dancing and swallowing swords?That happened at a men's conference.And oh, every spring I gag as I see churches promoting this summer at such and such church, summer at the movies.Life lessons according to Toy Story 2.I'm like, "Really? You've preached through the whole Bible and you're out of material and now we're turning to Pixar.Really?We made it into a show.Come to our church. We're dropping Easter eggs out of a helicopter.Oh, you know what the worst is. This could be... And this is personal opinion. This is the worst.The pastors that get on stage dressed up like a character.Have you seen this? Have you seen this nonsense?Pastor Taylor sent me a video for the record making fun of it.He sent me a video of a pastor that got on stage and their whole thing was Indiana Jones.And look, I love Indiana Jones, but the pastor was dressed like Indiana Jones.It was so stupid. He had a whip and he's just standing up there.It was so foolish.I have a... Noa guy who's a pastor, local-ish.We're talking about what's happening in church, what's going on in your ministry right now.And he went on and on and on bragging. He bought an evil-can-evil costume and preached as evil-can-evil.I'm like, "Great. Did you have to spend 20 minutes explaining to the people under 60 who evil-can-evil is?"Like, "Really? That's church?"What are we doing?If you sit these people down that are putting on these performances, these pastors,that are putting on these performances, like, "Why are you doing this?Why are you standing on stage waving a silly whip around like Indiana Jones? What are you doing?"They would say, "Well, that's how I get people to church.""Hey, no need to thank me, Jesus. I have a brilliant plan to fill the seats."And just as sad, churchgoers applaud these gimmicks because they get attention, right?That's why we're sharing these videos. They get attention.Oh, but then we get out to do each other, don't we?He dressed like Indiana Jones next week, harvest."You come to church next week. I'm going to be dressed as Darth Vader."[sighs]Your faith is weak.Won't that be awesome?You're like, "No, Pastor Jeff, that would be stupid."And you're right.We're going to top the other guy, and then we're going to top ourselves, right?Okay, so my thing with Darth Vader, people are clapping and giggling for that.So what am I going to do next week that's better than that, right?Just like one of those Lord of the Ring elves or something, and we'll blast fireworks on stage.What are we doing?This is exactly what Paul's talking about here.This is the principle. Lofty speech, human wisdom, plausible words.It's making the gospel into a show in order to win people.Paul says, "I didn't do that when I came to you in the Harvest Bible Chapel.We're not doing that either."And somebody right now is like, "Oh, Pastor Jeff, come on, what's the big deal?"Lighten up.I mean, if it draws people to church,why wouldn't we apply a little worldly wisdom?Listen, we are not putting on a show.We are not putting on a show.That is a hill that I will die on.You're like, "Well, what's the issue?"Well, let's revisit the text here, and we're going to see it's a much bigger issue than you think.We're not putting on a show.Write some things down. Number one, because the show will replace God's message.That's why the show, the show will replace God's message.Look at the first two verses again.Paul says, "And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to youthe testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom, for I decided to know nothing among you."Except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."When I came to you, you can revisit this story."Acts chapter 17, Paul was in Athens and he preached and responds, "Not so great."Then Acts chapter 18, he goes to Corinth.He's alone and he's looking around and he's like, "This place is even worse than Athens."And Paul here is saying, "So when I came to you, did I come with the fancy talk?Did I come like your public speakers putting on a show for you?"He's like, "No, no, no, no, the Gospel isn't about that.I didn't come to you like one of your philosophers.I came to you as a witness of Jesus Christ."And I love this.What is it?He says, "For I decided."It wasn't a whim.It wasn't one of those tweak and go things, last minute change.He goes, "No, no, no, no, no.I made the decision ahead of time that I'm not going into Corinth and I'm not going to try to dazzle them into the kingdom."By the way, do you think Paul could have?Do you think he had the ability to dazzle people with the knowledge that he had?Yeah, he could have.He said, "I will not do that."So what was your plan, Paul?He tells us this was my plan, verse 2, "For I decided to know nothing among you."Except what?Say it.Jesus Christ and say it.Him crucified.That's it.That's all I wanted to know.That's it.The only thing I wanted to know.The only thing I wanted to teach.The only thing I wanted to talk about was Jesus Christ and Him crucified.You're like, "Oh, time out question.Isn't there more to the Bible than that?"I mean, isn't there more to the Bible than that?Nope, there's not.Listen, the cross of Jesus Christ is literally everything.Everything.How is it that a person is saved?How is it that a person can have their sins taken away and the promise of being in glory with their God forever?How does that happen?The cross of Jesus Christ.How do we know that God loves us?How do we know that the God who created us has a love and compassion and He really cares for us?How do we know?The cross of Jesus Christ.How do we know that God is holy, that God is a God of justice?How do we know that God always upholds His Word, always does what He says?How do we know that?The cross of Jesus Christ.How does God feel about sin?How does God feel about our rebellion, our thumbing, our noses at Him and our...How does God feel about our sin?Where do we get our answer? Shout it out.That was the weakest shout it out I've ever heard.Come on, you can even hit the Sunday School Answer here.How do we know how God feels about sin?Where do we look? Tell me.The cross!That tells us.You know, I was really hitting this this week, hard thinking,is there anything that's not finding its foundation in the cross?I couldn't think of anything.And somebody's like, well, how about money?How about money, Pastor Jeff?Does the cross speak to money?Yeah, it does.Why do we give?Because God is a God who expresses His love through giving.And the cross of Jesus Christ tells us why we should be generous givers.Read 2 Corinthians chapter 8.He talks all about that there.So yes, the cross is a foundation even for giving.Oh, okay, okay, Pastor Jeff.Very slick.What about marriage and sexuality?I bet the cross doesn't talk about that.Oh, you got me. No, you didn't.Who did Jesus die for?His bride.Jesus died so that He could have a bride that was spallus.And heaven is described as the marriage supper of the Lamb.And husbands are to conduct themselves in a home in the pattern of Christbecause the purpose of a marriage is to put on a graphic displayof the relationship Jesus has with the church.Husbands represent the self-sacrificing love of Jesus Christ to their wives.Do you see how the cross speaks to marriage?We could do this all day.Fight me.Fight me.Show me something.Show me something that the cross of Jesus Christ doesn't cover.Doesn't explain.Paul says, "I wanted to know nothing.I decided I'm not going to know anything except Christ and Him crucified."Then I'm going to tell you, church,it is absolutely baffling to me when I see all these goofy gimmicks that people are doing in churches.It's absolutely baffling to me when we're dressed up like Indiana Jonesor Evil Can Evil or Super Mario or whatever.It's absolutely baffling to me.I'm like, do you realize the message that we have in the Word of God?Do you know what this message is?The message is God spoke everything into existence.He created us in His image.We rebelled against Him so God in His love came to this earth as a manand demonstrated supernatural abilities proving who He was.And then in the ultimate act of love, He sacrificed Himself on the crossso that we could be forgiven and then they put Him in a tomb and He rose from the dead.And that's not it.Then He flies to heaven and He's making a place because He's going to come backand He's going to take us so that we can be there with Him forever in a place that's so glorious.And like, is there anything better than that?There's the greatest message in the world.And somehow we think it needs bling.We think we need some kind of a gimmick to make Jesus exciting.What are you talking about?That's Paul's point here.It's the greatest message and it always will be in any attempt to put on a show.It's not going to enhance the gospel. It's going to replace the gospel.You know what I mean by that?Take our good friend Indiana Jones.I hope you weren't in that service.But if you were, could you imagine what people were talking aboutwhen they walked out of church that day?Do you think they walked out of church going, you know,after watching the pastor get around and waving his silly little whip around?Do you think people walked out of church going, Jesus Christ is so awesome?Do you think they walked out of church going, oh how wonderful the salvation of Godthat He would so love us?I'll tell you what people said walking out of that church.People walked out going, man I got to find my temple of doom VHS.We've replaced the message of how to be safe from hell with nonsense to entertain people.Well, at harvest Bible Chapel, Bible is our middle name.We are committed to pillar number one, proclaiming the authority of God's word without apology.Why are we so committed to nothing but expository preaching, representing the word?Why are we so committed to that?Like why are you so hard-nosed about that?I'll give you three reasons why.Number one, because it's commanded.God said this is what we were to talk about.So that's what we're going to talk about.It's commanded.Second reason that we're so committed to the word of God is it's literally the only thing that's effective.God said He is watching over His word to perform in Jeremiah 1.God says Isaiah 55, that His word always accomplishes the purposes for which He sends it out.It's effective.Nothing else will change a person.But the Spirit of God working through the word of God.That's it. That's the only way change happens.There's another reason that we're so committed to the word of God is because it's unifying.In John 17, Jesus was praying for us, and Jesus said, "Sanctify them in the truth."Sanctify means set apart.Jesus said, "Regarding His people, regarding us, we are to be set apart in the truth."Like where do we find that?Right there, Jesus said it.As He was praying to His Father, He says, "Your word is truth."So Jesus said, "The thing that must unify us, church, isn't some gimmick or a favorite form of entertainment.The thing that must unify us is the word of God. Get under the word."That's why we're committed to that.And you know what? I got to tell you this personally.This is so freeing for me.This is so freeing.I don't have to wonder what to say to you.See, we don't get in our offices through the week and we're like,"Oh, Pastor Taylor, what do you think we should say this week?Let's come up with some really great thing that's going to really fire people up."We don't have to do that.We just have to share the word of God.It's so freeing. I don't have to think, "How do I top last week's show?"I mean, people were really entertained last week.How do I top that?It's freeing for you, too.It's freeing for you.We talk about witnessing.One of the main obstacles people have about witnessing,I hear this all the time, Pastor Taylor,you've heard it a billion times as well, give or take.But you know what people say about witnessing?They say, "I don't know what to say."I would share my faith, but I'll be honest with you.I don't really know what to say. Yes, you do.You know exactly what to say.What do I say?Try this. Try Paul's technique.Nothing but the cross. How about that?Nothing but the cross. Share that.Do you know about the cross? Share that.You know, when people come to you and they're like,"Well, you know what does the Bible say about politics?"And like, Republicans and Democrats, you're like,"Well, do you know that Jesus Christ died for your sins?Did you know that?"And then they're like, "Well, what does the Bible say about AI?"I mean, AI is kind of scary.What does the Bible say about that?And your response is,"Do you know that God loved you so muchthat He sent His Son to die on the cross for you?That's how much God loves you."And they're like, "Well, does the Bible say anythingabout in vitro fertilization?"And she's like, "No, no, no. All I know is that Jesus died for you."That's all we need to know.We're not putting on a show because the showwill replace God's message of the cross of Christ.Number two, write this one down.We're not putting on a show because the show will replace God's methods.The show will replace God's methods.Look at verses 3 and 4 again.He says, "And I was with you in weakness and in fearand much trembling.And my speech and my message were notin plausible words of wisdom,but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power."Paul reminds them, he didn't come to themlike a boxer going to the ring.Like, "I fired up."Yeah!You see, there's really goofy, like,WWE professional wrestlers.Do you ever see these guys that come to the ring with the fireworks?Yeah!Yeah, and Paul's like, "That's not how I came to you.Like some goofy entertainer."He says, "I came to you. Use the three words, 'weakness,' fear, and trembling."What do you mean?What do you mean by that?Well, you look at how it's used biblically.Trembling is talking about mental anxietyover an important issue.That's when you feel something heavy in your heart and mind.You feel something so heavy that it's like weighing on you.And here's what I mean.Have you ever had the unfortunate business of having to give somebody newsyou didn't want to give them?Unfortunately, in my role, I've had to do that too many times.And it's so heavy on you.You're driving to the person's house because you have to tell them face to facethat there's been a terrible accident and things don't look good,that heaviness that you have while you're heading there.And delivering the message, just...That's what he's talking about.Or the heaviness, like if you have to confront somebody about their sin.Like, it's been brought to my attention that so-and-so is involved in a relationshipthat shouldn't be involved in.Now I gotta go talk to them about that.You see, you don't walk into that like a WWE wrestler, do you?Like, "Hey, guess what? I got news for you.There's been a terrible tragedy!"Like, what's the matter with you?No, that's the heaviness of having to deliver a serious message.That's what he's talking about here.Paul says, "This was my posture when I was with you.Not exactly the celebrity showman that the Corinthians would have preferred."Paul is saying, "I came in weakness because I didn't want to put on a showbecause I didn't want to get in God's way."Why, Paul? Why?Because the show will replace God's methods.You're like, "Well, what is God's method for reaching lost people?What is God's method?"It's the foolishness of preaching from a weak preacher.That's God's method.Did you ever say something like magnanimous, you have this really idealistic convictionand then the word of God kind of changes your mind on that?What I mean is, in past time I've said things like,"Well, you know what? The messenger is insignificant. The message is everything."After my study this week, I'm not so convinced of that anymore.Yeah, look, we established already that the message cannot be replaced.We already talked about that.But you cannot separate gospel content and gospel communication.Because according to this, in 117 that we already talked about at the beginning,you can suppress the power of the gospel message if attention is taken away from thatand put on the speaker.And you're like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on. Hang on a second, Pastor Jeff.Are you telling me that popular people can't be faithful preachers?"Sure they can.So long as the spotlight isn't on them, you see.You're like, "Well, where's the line? Where's the line?"It's a hard issue. I'm not sure that we can see the line, but I know that God can.And I know that there is a difference between preaching Christ and showing off.And please hear me. You don't need to dress up as Indiana Jones to show off in church.You can dress like Pastor Taylor.You know, you really hurt his feelings by laughing just there.There is nothing wrong with how you're dressed.I'm sorry, Pastor Taylor.Do you know what this thing is for in a tic-tac box?You put the tic-tac in there.Moving right along.You don't need to dress up as Indiana Jones to show off.You can dress like Pastor Taylor, but unlike Pastor Taylor, you can try to make yourself the star.Unlike Pastor Taylor, you can put all the attention on yourself.You know, the message of the cross, you know what the message of the cross is?The message of the cross is about the humiliation of God.And preaching and witnessing require the humiliation of man.If you're sitting here today and you're like, "Well, I'm not really anything special.I'm just a sinner saved by grace."Well, if that's your attitude, then that's exactly why God wants to speak through you.Because you've found nothing to boast of in yourself.And instead, all you can do is exalt Jesus Christ.The power is in the gospel, which is why it must be preached by someonewho isn't going to drown out the gospel message with the sound of tuning their own horn.So we're not putting on a show because the show will replace God's method of preaching through weak men.One more.We're not putting on a show, number three, because the show will replace God's mission.Look at verse 5.He says that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.See here Paul's landing. This is the end game.The results.Here's the bottom line.If you're dazzled by men, your faith is going to be in men.But if you are dazzled over the power of God, if your experience is with the power of God,then your faith is going to be in God.What you win people with is what you win them to.See we're not putting on a show, why?Because if we win people with the show, with entertainment, we've won them to entertainment.And guess why people are going to come to harvest?Because they want entertained.But if we win people with Jesus, we've won them to Jesus.And people are going to come to harvest because they want to know Jesus.Putting on a show replaces God's mission.Instead of making disciples of Jesus, I'm making disciples of me.There's a very pragmatic problem with that too.If the church is replacing God's mission for the show, it leaves the converts vulnerable.Why? Because there's always a more impressive performance.There's always a more charismatic personality out there.There's always a better show somewhere else.And that's why, listen, that's why people bounce around churches.People bounce around churches looking for something more entertaining.They're not going to use the word entertaining.They want something that is going to be more appealing to them.We hear it all the time."Oh Pastor Jeff, we love harvest.We love the people here and we love you.But such and such church has a better playground.We've got little kids and they need better facilities like that with playground and stuff.I had one family.I said, "Oh Pastor Jeff, we love harvest."But he said, "My kid, he had a 12 year old kid.He said, "My kid loves the concert atmosphere at such and such church, so we're going there."I'm like, "First of all, Dad,I seriously doubt the wisdom of leaving the decision of the spiritual direction of the familyin the lap of the most immature member of the family.That's a problem.But is that how we're picking churches who has the best concert?You see, if the faith of the responders is produced by the preacher's show,what if the preacher leaves?What happens when that preacher retires?What are we going to do now?Worse, what if the preacher fails?See, you replace the mission for the showand Paul says you're missing out on God's power.God's power, you're like, "Well, what is the power?What is the power?"You're like, "Oh, I know this one.I know what the power is because I've seen this on TV."Who's that guy that's...He slaps people and heals them?What's his name? Benny Hill?Hen, Benny Hinn.Benny Hill's different.I've seen that show.He slaps the people and they're down.And then he waves at a group of people and they all fall down.That's the power of God, right?Well, back in chapter 1 verse 18 of Pastor Taylor preached on last week,we learned what the power of God is.You know what the power of God is?The gospel.The gospel. Romans 1.16, the gospel is the power of God.You're like, "Well, do we see the power of God at Harvest Bible Chapel?"Yeah.Every time that we have a baptism serviceand you have somebody stepping in to the tubgoing, "I turn from my sin and I receive Jesus Christ, I am born again."You're witnessing the power of God.Every time somebody chooses forgiveness,"I was wronged, I was offended, I want to forgive, I want the relationship restored."Every time that happens, you're seeing the power of God.Every time somebody uses spiritual gifts to minister to others in the church,you're seeing the power of God.You see, the power of God is a changed life.You're the power of the Holy Spirit.That only comes from Jesus.In church, we are doing a major disservice to peopleto replace people experiencing His power with people enjoying my performance.I have no power at all.I can't save anyone.I can't change anyone.Only Jesus Christ can do that through His Spirit.So we're not putting on a showbecause the show will replace God's mission of making disciples of Jesus.The Harvest Bible Chapel, there's no tricks for results herebecause the Gospel just simply points to the bloodied Jesus Christ on the crossand says, "There, right there on the cross is your salvation.There on the cross is your example.There on the cross is your victory.There on the cross is your power."So this is a call for discernment.Look, are you new here?You're a first-time visitor here today?Have you been bouncing around visiting churches?And this is just one of many that you've been checking out.Or maybe you're somebody who's been attending for a while.Maybe you're even a member who's been thinking about moving on.I just want to ask you a couple of questions in light of what God says here.What are you looking for in a church?Wait, wait, maybe that's not the right question.Maybe the better question is what should you be looking for in a church?More fireworks?More pizazz?Or is Jesus what you really want?Are you saying, you know, I want to know the Gospel.I want nothing more than to experience the power of God in my life.Well, wherever you choose to worship,I would encourage you to make your decision based on the right factors.I have no say over what other churches do.I have some say here in a harvest Bible chapel.We're not putting on a show.We buy our heads as the worship team makes their way back up.Father in heaven, we bow before you as people who live in a culturebombarded by entertainment.Bombarded by churches trying to win people through goofy stuff.Father, your word is so clear on that in this passage.That your Gospel doesn't need help.It's just He's proclaimed.Father, I'm sorry for all the times that I thought it was about me.I'm sorry God for all the times that I was trying to factor in some element of creativityor something to really wow people and your Gospel doesn't need that.My efforts will just replace the pure, simple, clear message of the crucified Christ.Father, I pray for all of us that we would have the discernment that only comes from your spirit.That as we are evaluating where we are worshiping and how we are worshiping,we're evaluating the methods that you've laid out in your Word.We're evaluating the mission that you've laid out in your Word.We're evaluating the message that you've given us, Father.Give us discernment.We pray in Jesus' name, amen.

What we believe determines how we act. We say we know the Gospel and believe in Jesus, but then we live as people He is returning. What is the outcome of what you know about God? In this episode, Pastor Taylor talks about believing that Jesus is going to return in 2 Peter 3:8-18.Get Connected! https://linktr.ee/reachtulsa

Pastor Taylor speaks a message on how our JOBS and our WORK, regardless of what we do, is ultimately & primarily worship to God. follow us on instagram @reallifechurchwa 26201 180th Ave. SE Covington, WA 98042 Sundays @ 8:30 | 10 | 11:30

In this message, Pastor Taylor takes us through the powerful encounter between Saul of Tarsus and the risen Lord. Saul —the “Big Bad Wolf” who breathed threats and murder against the church— is struck down by the glory of the “Lion of Judah” on the road to Damascus. There he discovers that true righteousness is not earned by works of the law but received by faith in Christ. A powerful story of how the grace of Jesus can tame human pride and transform an enemy into a faithful servant.Time:MorningMinister:Rev. Taylor KernTexts:Acts 9:1–22Series:The Church on Fire

Introduction: Why Is Self-Promotion So Foolish (1 Corinthians 1:18–31) Because it misses the power of THE CROSS. (1 Cor 1:18–25) Because it misses the strength of a WEAK CHURCH. (1 Cor 1:26–28) Because it misses the glory of BOASTING IN CHRIST. (1 Cor 1:29–31) 1 Cor 4:7 - “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 1:18-31What was your big take-away from this passage / message?What is self-promotion? Where do you see self-promotion at play in this culture and in the church world?How do you struggle with exalting/promoting yourself?Why is being weak your greatest strength?What does it mean to “boast in the Lord?” List practical ways that you can boast in the Lord/promote Christ on a daily basis. BreakoutPray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Alright, 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verses 18 through 31.1 Corinthians chapter 1 verses 18 through 31.As a teenager, I was the last of my friends to create a Facebook account.For years I held strong against the peer pressure,but do you want to know what finally led me to get a Facebook account?The desire to boast in myself and self-promote.See, back in the summer of 2009, my family and I went to Hilton Head, South Carolina for vacation.And on that vacation, we went shark fishing.And during that expedition, I caught a baby hammerhead shark.Pretty impressive, right?My one friend who was on the trip took a picture of me holding up that hammerhead shark,and I thought it looked so cool.And as soon as I got back to the condo, I fired up Facebook, I created an account,and I made that picture my profile picture.I'm not going to show that picture on the screens because I don't want to selflessly promote myself yet again,although I already see Jamie Kendrew looking up Facebook right now.And I'm sure that many of you will do the same after service,so happy hunting trying to find that picture.But I went back and looked at this cringy 16-year-old postto see how many likes and comments it received.How many likes do you think that picture got?A hundred?Wow, Jeff, you have a lot of confidence in me.Six.Talk about going viral.I think I might have missed my calling as a social media influencer.But as I was looking at this old post, I also saw the comment of my friend who took that picture.He wrote this on the post.I'm just going to point out that this picture is the only reason you even got a Facebook.You just wanted the world to know about the shark.My friend saw right through my motivations, and he knew why I created that account.Self-promotion.But I'm not the only one who has utilized social media for self-promotion, right?That's the main drive for most people who have an Instagram, a Facebook, or a TalkTix,as Pastor Jeff often calls it.On social media, you put your best foot forward.You curate an image of yourself that isn't exactly accurate or realistic,but you don't really care because that's how you want other people to view you.This past week, I did a deep dive into self-promotion,and I came across a lot of interesting content.I came across really buff dudes who lectured not so buff dudesabout the importance of being a perfect physical specimen,the art of destroying the competition and manifesting your dreams into reality.I also came across inspirational coaches who pamper with self-help talk,like, "Whenever you succeed, tell yourself, 'I'm so proud of myself.'I'm my own personal hero."I saw this one last week.I'm becoming a person that the younger version of me would have looked up to.Oh, gag. That was really hard to hear.Here's one quote that I haven't been able to stop thinking about as soon as I read it."If you don't promote yourself, nobody will."Do you want to know what I thought when I read that?That's exactly right.If you don't promote yourself, nobody will, because they are too busy promoting themselves.We live in such a me-centered society.Focus on me. Pay attention to me, because I'm so special and unique.Don't be unfair to me. Don't tell me what to do.Listen, self-promotion isn't just a problem out there.Self-promotion is a problem in here that we need to deal with.And don't think to yourself, "You know what, Pastor Taylor, you're right.There's a lot of prideful people in this room, and I'll do my part in calling them out. Don't worry."Hold on a minute. Self-promotion isn't just a problem out there.And in here, vaguely and generally, self-promotion is a problem within you that you need to deal with.Self-promotion is a problem within me that I need to deal with.This is the third week in a year-long study of 1 Corinthians, church unified and purified.Last week, Pastor Jeff challenged you to protect the unity of the church by nixing the clicksand refusing to divide over pointless preferences and particular personalities.This morning, you will be challenged to protect the unity of the churchby resisting the temptation to pridefully promote yourself and elevate your importance.Because obsessing over me hurts the we. It hurts everyone around you.And self-promotion isn't just a new problem that started with the Internet.It is an ancient problem that the Corinthians had to deal with as well.And this ancient problem can only be solved with the timeless truths of God's Word.And you cannot deal with the prideful promotion within your own heartuntil you realize how destructive and foolish it really is.So I want us to ask and answer one question this morning, just one.Why is self-promotion so foolish?Why is self-promotion so foolish?Before we seek to answer that question, let's go to the Lord and ask for His help.Please pray for me that I will faithfully proclaim God's Wordas I pray for you that you will faithfully receive it.Father, we come to you and we admit our temptation to self-glorify, to self-promote.Lord, I admit to you that I have been dealing with that this morning already.Father, I pray that we wouldn't push aside the conviction that your spirit brings,that we wouldn't think, "Oh, this sermon is for somebody else.Lord, help every single person in this room to think, 'No, this is for me.'"This is God's Word for me.And may we walk out of here different people with a different attitude and a different focus.We ask all this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.So why is self-promotion so foolish?Reason number one, because it misses the power of the cross.Because it misses the power of the cross.Last week's text ended with the cross, and this morning's passage begins with the cross.Let's read 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 18 together.The apostle Paul writes, "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing,but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God."According to Paul, there are only two ways to view the cross.There are only two ways to view the news of Jesus Christ, God himself who came to suffer and die,to save anyone and everyone who believes in Him.There are only two ways to view the gospel.Foolish or powerful?Those are the only two options. There is no riding the fence.There is no middle ground.You either hear the gospel and think, "That is so dumb."Or you think, "That is so awesome."Which is your view of the cross?Foolish or powerful?Dumb or awesome?Your view of the cross isn't a minor footnote in the story of your life.Your view of the cross isn't a small aspect of your worldview.Note is the defining characteristic of who you are.Your view of the cross reveals where you stand right nowand where you will end up in eternity.If you reject the cross of Christ in this life,you will be rejected by Christ when you exit this life.But if you have embraced the cross of Christ, Paul says you are being saved.Does that sound kind of weird to you? Being saved?We usually just talk about salvation in the past tense, right?But Scripture talks about salvation in three tenses.The past, the present, and the future.If you have trusted in Christ, you have experienced salvation.You are experiencing salvation and you will experience salvation.You have been justified.You are being sanctified and you will be glorified.You were made right by the blood of Christ before the presence of God.You are being made more and more into the image of Christ.And one day you'll be fully perfect in the presence of Christ.The cross has the transformative power to change your past, your present, and your future.But you can only experience the power of the cross if you humble yourself before it.You will not experience the power of the cross if you live to promote yourself.You will not experience the power of the cross if you think you're wiser than God.You will not experience the power of the cross if you think you can save yourselfand figure out the meaning of life on your own.Paul talks about the foolishness of trusting in your own wisdom in verses 19 through 20."For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.'"Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe?Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?So Paul quotes Isaiah 29 and 14 and then throws down the gauntlet to challenge all the great thinkers of his day.The philosophers, the teachers of the Old Testament law, and the polished public speakers.If Paul was speaking directly at 2025, he'd be talking about the most celebrated politicians.Enlightened spiritual gurus.And the most influential influencers on social media who get way more than six likes on their posts.Paul is saying, "You think you're so clever? Fine. Try to step up and impress God. Try to beat him in a debate."Let's see how that goes.Spoiler alert, he's going to wipe the floor with you. So who's up next to challenge him?As I read this verse this past week, I thought back to playing board games with my dad growing up.You know how some parents let you win or make a concession to, you know, go easy on you?That wasn't my dad's strategy right then.Every time you played a game, he would just demolish me in sorry, monopoly, clue.I have a different opinion, but for some reason, no loss hurt quite as bad as risk.When I was six, seven, some of you get that, some of you don't.When I was six, seven, I kept thinking that my day of victory had finally come.The day had finally arrived when I thought I was wiser than my dad. I was smarter than my dad.I would beat him at a game of risk. And time and time again, I would make a foolish move towards the end of the game.And my dad would ask the question that I could still hear in my mind right now."Son, you sure you want to do that?"And sure enough, I did. And then my dad would totally destroy my wisdom and thwart my discernment.Every single time we got out the risk board.And God does the same exact thing to everyone who opposes Him on the risk board of life.Every single time we put forth a new religion, a new philosophy, a new ideology,I just imagine God asking, "Are you sure you want to do that?"And sure enough, we do. And then sure enough, God totally destroys our wisdom and thwarts our discernment.And Paul goes into even greater detail about why and how God does this in verses 21 through 25."For since in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom,it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified,a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called,both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God,for the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men."It gives God great joy, great pleasure to expose the so-called wisdom of the worldby saving sinners in a seemingly foolish way, the brutal death of His Son.We lose sight of how foolish the cross would have seemed to Jews and Gentiles alike2,000 years ago because we see crosses everywhere, don't we,T-shirts, bumper stickers on church steeples.Let me ask you, when was the last time you saw someone wearing a T-shirt with the graphic of a gas chamber on it?When was the last time you saw someone wearing a lethal injection or electric chair necklace?These are serious symbols of death and capital punishment.Wearing something like that in public would be so off-putting and reprehensible, right?Well, now you understand why so many Jews and Gentiles were totally put off by the cross 2,000 years ago.Back in Jesus' day, criminals weren't put to death by a firing squad, an electric chair, lethal injection.No, the Romans would nail them to a wooden cross and leave them to ex-fixiate to death.For the unbelieving Jews, the cross was a stumbling block because a crucified Messiah was an oxymoron.It was like saying that someone is a brilliant idiot, a murderous humanitarian, or a lying truth teller.Those words don't naturally belong together in describing the same person.Under the Old Testament law, being hung on a tree was a sign of divine curse.It was a sign that you were being punished by God Himself.So to the Jews, how could the Messiah that chosen one be punished and cursed by God?That seemed insane. It was beyond belief.For the Gentiles, the philosophical Greeks, the cross was folly, from which we get our word "moronic."To them, the cross was stupid.Why would the Creator of everything lower Himself enough to die a death that was reserved for the worst criminals?But for the believing Jew, for the believing Gentile, Christ crucified isn't a stumbling block or moronic.To those who accept the divine call Christ crucified is the power of God and the wisdom of God,for the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men.Your own way of thinking may seem wise to you, but I can assure you it is foolish.God's method of salvation may seem foolish, but it is infinitely wise than anything you could possibly brainstorm.Your "I got this on my own" attitude may seem strong to you, but it is nothing but worldly weakness.Christ dying on the cross may make Him seem weak, but that was the strongest act of love we could possibly imagine,totally stronger than anything you could ever hope to accomplish.The wisest one who created all things chose to hang on that cross all those years ago.The strongest one who will uphold this universe by the word of His power chose to take the full wrath of His Father.The source of life chose to lay down his own life so that you could live forever and ever.So if you have not yet trusted in Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior, I want you to look at me and act like your life depends on what I'm about to say because it does.You do not have the power in and of yourself to please God. You don't.You do not have the power to rid yourself of the guilt and shame that you feel deep down.And you know exactly what I'm talking about, those feelings of regret and conviction that you feel.Those oppressive thoughts about your past mistakes that you can't seem to let go of.You do not have the power to erase the stain of sin off of your soul.You don't have the power to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and save yourself.You do not have any wisdom or power of your own.For the very first time, look to the only source of heavenly wisdom and power, the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.If you submit to Him, He will save you. He will forgive you if you ask Him to. Christ will have you if you will have Him.Why is self-promotion so foolish?Because it misses the power of the cross.Second reason, because it misses the strength of a weak church.Because it misses the strength of a weak church.Does the wording of that point seem somewhat strange to you? Does that seem disrespectful?Taylor, do you really think the church is weak?Yeah, I do. And that's its greatest strength.If you don't believe me, believe Paul because he says the same exact thing in verses 26 to 28.For consider your calling, brothers. Not many of you are wise according to worldly standards.Not many were powerful. Not many were of noble birth.But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise.God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not to bring to nothing things that are.We just saw that God shows Himself wise to the foolishness of the cross.Now we see that God shows Himself strong through the weakness of His people.Travel back in time with me to recess whenever those teams were picked for dodgeball, kickball, basketball, pick your sport.Was that nerve-wracking for any of you?And some of you are like, "No, actually it was a lot of fun. It wasn't nerve-wracking at all."That's because you were the ringers who were chosen first. Must have been nice to be you.The rest of us were in the middle of the pack or chosen dead last.Why and how are kids chosen in a pickup game of recess?There are two qualifiers, skill and popularity.The best of the best and the coolest of the cool are snatched up first.Is that how it works in the family of God?Does God jump at recruiting the best of the best and the coolest of the cool?No, it's actually the exact opposite.Paul calls the Corinthians to consider who they were and where they came from.Not many of them were Brainiac philosophers, influential leaders and rich aristocrats.No, in the eyes of the world they were stupid, worthless, obscure and poor.But none of that matters.They have been chosen last in a game of kickball, but they were chosen by God himself.And if God chooses you, you are no longer defined by who rejects you.And the pages of the Old Testament and the New Testament are filled with examples of God choosing the weak and the most unexpected.God chose Abraham to father a son and jumpstart the people of Israel when he was as good as dead as the author of Hebrews lovingly describes him.God chose Jacob over Esau, even though Jacob was a slimy liar.God chose Moses to deliver the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt even though Moses was a stuttering murderer.God chose Gideon to defeat the invading Midianites even though Gideon was hiding from the Midianites when he was called by the angel.God chose 12 ordinary men to be the followers of Christ.These men had ordinary and even hateful jobs.The apostle Paul started as a religious Pharisees who held the coats of the men who stoned Stephen.Why does God do this? Why is this God's recruiting strategy?Well, Paul tells us why in verses 27 to 28. Let's read those verses again."But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not to bring to nothing things that are."That is so counterintuitive, isn't it? That's so different than what we would do if we were God."Worldly reasoning dictates that the church should recruit the most famous athletes, the most polished politicians."Have you ever heard someone say, "Man, that person would make a great Christian?"Wouldn't everybody make a great Christian? Or, "Man, so many people would get saved if that person got saved."That view promotes human wisdom, not God's wisdom. That view promotes human strength, not God's strength.That view acts like God's up in heaven looking over his draft picks like, "Man, I made a lot of mistakes in the first few rounds.""I need some more stars to round out my roster and boost my stats."Now, God is not like you and me. God does not think like you and me.If God needed the biggest "somebodies" of this world, then He would not be somebody worthy of your devotion and worship.God wants to use "nobodies" to show that He needs nobody.God wants to use the most unexpected to bring Himself the most glory.God wants to use the weak to expose those who think they are strong apart from Christ.And I personally believe that's why the Lord called me to be a preacher of His Word and to be a pastor, because I was the most unexpected choice.As a kid, I was terrified to talk in front of people. I had a stuttering problem which I still had to deal with at some level to this day.No one looked at the teenage tailor and thought, "Man, get that guy behind a pulpit ASAP. He is so charismatic. He is so magnetic. He is a shoe-in for ministry."God chose me to be a messenger of the Word to show that all the glory belongs to Him and not to me.If God can use me for His kingdom, then He can use anybody.If God can use someone like me, I guarantee He can use someone like you.Do you feel inadequate to follow Jesus?Do you feel insufficient for the task that He has given to you?Do you feel unqualified for ministry?If you feel that way, then you are the perfect man or woman for the job. Congratulations, you are hired.Thinking that you are unqualified for ministry makes you qualified for ministry.On the other hand, believing that you are qualified for ministry makes you unqualified for ministry.If you think you are strong, you are going to depend on no one else besides yourself.If you think you are strong, I have to warn you, you are not going to like the mission and priorities of this church.We are not interested in teaching self-help nonsense. We are not interested in puffing up your ego.We are not interested in making you a self-reliant person, but we are in the business of training you to be a weak servant of Christ who recognizes your weakness.Are you willing to get on board with that mission? Are you willing to have those priorities?Stop promoting your strength. Stop trying to impress people. Begin to find comfort in your weakness.Stop putting others down so you can feel better about yourself.Stop thinking, "Well, this church can never survive without me. This church can survive without any of us."Stop thinking, "I'm the MVP on God's team." Stop thinking that your opinions and preferences are the most important.Begin to focus on the "we" instead of "me."Why is self-promotion so foolish? Because it misses the power of the cross.Because it misses the strength of a weak church. And finally, because it misses the glory of boasting in Christ.Because it misses the glory of boasting in Christ.In verses 29 through 30, Paul continues to offer another explanation for why God fills his church with weak people.Paul writes that no human being might boast in the presence of God.And because of him, because of God, you are in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.Self-promotion doesn't just hurt other people. Most importantly, self-promotion offends God.When you boast before other people, you are actually boasting before God.It's a very bad plan to brag about yourself in the presence of the most important person in all of existence.You know, boasting in yourself is kind of lame, right?Do you know what makes boasting in yourself even lame-er?Boasting about something that you didn't even earn in the first place.Imagine with me that next week I drive up in a brand new Lamborghini.I don't really know what the cool cars are now, so I said Lamborghini, alright?So just fill in the blank, whatever car you want it to be, I guess.I park the car, the door slides open, and I step out with cool sunglasses, driving gloves, a cool leather jacket.And I'm like swinging my keys around, hoping that you'll say something about my car.And as soon as you say, "Pats are Taylor, that's a nice ride."I jump on the opportunity to bask in your glory.Yep, I've won a car like this for 35 years, and it's finally mine.I mean, sure, it costs a fortune, but why not treat yourself?Why not enjoy the fruits of your labor?And then I proudly saunter away, and you come across my dad in the lobby, and you say, "Man, Taylor has such a nice new car."He must have worked so hard to be able to afford that.And my dad looks at you with shock in his eyes, and he says, "What are you talking about?I bought him that car."Doesn't that piece of information kind of change what I presented to you?Doesn't it make my ridiculous outfit and my prideful speech seem even worse to you?But why? Because you can't really boast about something that you received free of charge.And that's what Paul is saying in these verses.If you were a born-again believer, you were in Christ because of the undeserved grace of God.Period, no other reason.You did nothing to earn it.You have received all that Christ has, and you have received all of who Christ is.You have been given everything.You have received so much from Him.Listen to what Paul has to say about this in a few chapters from now in chapter 4 verse 7.What do you have that you did not receive?If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?You have received grace. You have received salvation.Why would you boast like you didn't receive it and like you earned it?Look again at chapter 1 verse 30."And because of Him, because of God, you were in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption."This first presents so many important truths that you cannot forget if you're a true Christian.You are not wise all by your lonesome.You were not born with a sense of righteousness.You cannot be sanctified, set apart, and made holy by your own efforts.You cannot redeem yourself.You could not purchase yourself from slavery to Satan, sin, and death.But according to Paul, someone came to this earth to be your source of wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.Who is that one person?Jesus Christ.In Christ, your foolish thinking has been replaced with the very wisdom of God.In Christ, your gross unrighteousness has been exchanged for Christ's perfect righteousness.In Christ, your slavery to sin has been ended so that you can belong to the kindest master imaginable.In Christ, your godly immaturity has been put aside so that you can finally pursue after godly maturity.All of these things are a gift from God, so do not take an ounce of credit for a single gift that He has given to you.So what should you do instead of taking the credit and boasting in yourself?Well, Paul makes it very simple by referencing the prophet Jeremiah in verse 31.He says, "So that as it is written, let the one who boasts, boasts in the Lord."You are to replace self-promotion with Christ's promotion.What is Christ's promotion?Christ's promotion is being on the lookout for opportunities to point every single person in your life to the person and work of the Lord Jesus.Because everyone in your life needs what Jesus has to offer Christians and non-Christians alike.Even those people you don't like very much.Christ's promotion is redirecting all the praise that you receive to Him because He alone deserves it.Christ's promotion looks like being freed from the horrible hobby of trying to fish for other people's compliments.Your meaning no longer hinges on how your boss and your coworkers evaluate your performance.Your identity no longer hangs on what your neighbor thinks about your house, your car, or your lawn.Guys in the room, nobody really cares besides you.Moms, your meaning no longer depends on what other moms think about your kids.You no longer exist to impress people.Life is no longer about you and your boasting is no longer about you.Because here's the hidden secret according to Paul and Jeremiah.You're going to boast.It's going to happen.It's not a question of will you boast.It's a question of who will you boast in.I have a nine-year-old goal retriever named Murdoch and he's still a puppy at heart.One minute he'll be sleeping on the couch and then he'll be running zoomies around the house.Do you all know what zoomies are when you explain that?When dogs run like they're in Kentucky Derby, right? Running in circles around the house.In those moments, I don't try to make Murdoch stop running zoomies because he's going to give energy out in some way.Instead, I open the front door and say, "If you're going to run zoomies, at least run them outside."That's what Paul is saying in these verses.He's saying, "If you're going to boast, boast in the Lord."My dog's crazy playing belongs in the right setting outside.Your bragging, your boasting belongs in the right setting as well.The person and work of Jesus Christ.So what's the big takeaway from this passage?What's the big takeaway from this sermon?I want you to brag as much as you possibly can.I want you to boast until you're blue in the face.I want you to promote from sun up to sun down.You've probably never heard a pastor tell you that before.But never forget this really important detail.You cannot be the focus of your promotion.You cannot be the focus of your bragging and your boasting.If you're the focus of your promotion, you'll miss the power of the cross of Christ.You'll miss the strength of being weak in Christ.You'll miss the glory of boasting in Christ.If you promote Christ and not yourself, you'll find yourself becoming more like Him.If you promote Christ and not yourself, the church will be strengthened.If you promote Christ and not yourself, you'll begin to feel that burden of being the center of existenceand stop your shoulders because you were never meant to bear that.If you promote in Christ, you'll feel stupider,but you'll be wisest in the most important way.If you promote Christ, you'll feel weaker, but you'll actually be stronger.The worship team can make their way forward.You know, boasting in the Lord all by yourself is great.You can boast in the Lord during your personal quiet time,but you know what's even better?When others join in and boast in the Lord with you.Singing as a body of believers is a biblically commanded way to boast in the Lord.As we sing, our unity is on full display in a physical and tangible way.When we sing, our voices come together to form a corporate praise.Our voices come together to promote the one who has given us all that we have.When God's people lay aside all distractions and fear of embarrassment to sing,it's made clear that we boast in Christ and not ourselves.I know what some of you are thinking, "Pastor Taylor, I don't like to sing."Well, too bad because God wants you to sing.So we're going to do that.So let's stand and sing to the one who deserves our praises.Please stand and give all of your passion to promoting God's strength,His wisdom, and His power.

Pastor Taylor kicks off a new series titled "A TEST WORTH TAKING" - this week, he challenges us as believers with the idea of tearing down one of the biggest idols of our culture today, and taking the first essential step to becoming a mature believer.follow us on instagram @reallifechurchwa 26201 180th Ave. SE Covington, WA 98042 Sundays @ 8:30 | 10 | 11:30

Introduction: Philippians 2:3-7 – Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 3 Reasons I Want to Fight for Unity (1 Corinthians 1:10-17) Because I Am RESPONSIBLE for the Church's REPUTATION. (1 Cor 1:11) John 13:35 – By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 17:20–21 – I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Because FIGHTING is FOOLISH. (1 Cor 1:12–13) Because DISUNITY DISTRACTS from the Mission. (1 Cor 1:14–17) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead 1 Corinthians 1:10-17What was your big take-away from this passage / message?What are some specific doctrines church members must agree on (1 Cor 1:10)? What are some doctrines that are okay to not all agree on? What makes the difference?What are some ways people overly attach themselves to certain preachers today (1 Cor 1:12)? Why do you think many Christians do this?Why was Paul thankful that he didn't baptize the Corinthians (1 Cor 1:14)? Is Paul saying baptism isn't important? Why or why not?How exactly do “words of eloquent wisdom” end up “emptying the cross of its power” (1 Cor 1:17)? What does this say about how we should evaluate a sermon?BreakoutPray for one another. Pray for unity at HBC among elders, staff, ministry leaders, and members. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Open up those Bibles.The first Corinthians in chapter 1.But as we turn to God's Word, I'm going to ask,we just pause for a second and please pray for meto faithfully communicate what God has said in His Word,and I will pray for you to have a heart open to receivewhat it is that the Lord wants to teach us from His Word today.Alright, let's pray.Father, just now we're turning to Your Word,and I pray that our minds and hearts would be just so focusedon what You said,and that we are eager to obey what it is You've laid out for usin Your Word.We pray in Jesus' name.And all of God's people said,"Amen."The first Corinthians, chapter 1.You know, every so often at harvest Bible chapel,we do a Q&A day where we take questions from the congregationand answer them,and I think it was the last Q&A day.We had a very - a question that kind of threw me for a loop.I was wondering who asked it and why.But the question was, do the leaders of the church like each other?Well, you know, we're working on seeking the Lordon building a church building on a piece of propertyup in New Sewickley.And there is wind of opposition to building,which probably means building is of the Lord,because that's what happens, right?Read the book of Nehemiah.But in our staff meeting,in my office around the conference tables,we were in a staff meeting,and our children's director, Missy Howes,I got permission to tell this story, by the way.But our children's director was telling us aboutone of the individuals who is sort of against us buildinga building on that property.And then Missy capped off her updateby turning to Pastor Rich,and she said, "Yeah, she's really going after you people."And I said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.You people."I said, "Well, at what point, Melissa,did you go from staff memberof the biggest demographic of our churchto now it's you people?"And we have been laughing about that ever since.And if you know Missy, it's even funnier.But how quickly some people actually seriouslydetached themselves from the church?How quickly people detach themselves,and they don't see themselves as part of the body,don't see themselves as wanting what's actually bestfor the body as a whole.How many people show of handshave ever been involved in a churchwhere there's been fighting?Raise your hand.All right?How many people have ever been involved in a churchwhere there was a split?Raise your hand.Way too many of you.All right? Way too many.But listen, it's nothing new.It's been happening from the very beginning of the church.And it just seems common nowbecause there's more churchesand there's easier ways to communicate in our day.But it happens.Fighting and divisions in the churchis unfortunately one of the sinsthat the church has been dealing with since day one.Last week as we started 1 Corinthians,the Apostle Paul told the Corinthian church,look, the foundation for unityhas to be in knowing your salvation.That has to be the foundation.You have to know the grace of Godby which you're saved.You have to know that He has gifted you to serve.You have to know that you are guiltlessin the day of Christ Jesus.He will sustain you.That's how Paul starts the letter.In Jesus Christ.Now, act like it.And that's the theme of the whole book of 1 Corinthians.You know, the Corinthian church,they had a lot of problems.Have you read this book?They had a lot of problems.They had a lot of problems concerning sexualityand marriage and libertyand worship and spiritual giftsand the resurrection of Jesusand money.And Paul wrote this book.He wrote them this letter to correcttheir sinful problems.But you know,Paul must have thoughtthat their biggest problemwas disunity.The fighting.Because this is what he addresses firstin the letter.Look at verse 10.And really, verse 10 could have beenthe only thing he wrote in the whole book.And this is like the point.He says, "I appeal to you brothersby the name of our Lord Jesus Christthat all of you agreeand that there be no divisions among youbut that you be united in the same mindand the same judgment."Now, verse 10 obviously flows from verse 9.And verse 9, he tells the church that they,by extension, we are called into the fellowshipof His Son.And that's a foundation herefor the Corinthian church and for Harvest Bible Chapel.This is not my church.This is not Pastor Taylor's church.Corinth was not Paul's churchor Apollos' church.Harvest Bible Chapel,it's not your church.Whose church is it?It's God's church.And you're like, "Man Pastor Jeff,if only there was a way that you could remind us of thaton the regular."What do you think this is?Do you know what this is?It's an arrow.That's all it is.It's a fancy arrow.But that's, people ask me,"What's this symbol mean?"It's just an arrow.And this is to remind us why we're here.We're here for God.We're here to exalt His Son.We're here to proclaim His Word.That's all that is.It's a constant reminder.It's not about me.It's about Him.So Paul says he's appealing that what?He says that all of you agree.Like, "All right, agree."Agree on what?Agree on politics.Agree on who is the best football team.Agree on who makes the best pizza.What are we agreeing on?Well, there's two things, church,that we have to absolutely agree on.And number one is doctrine.We should all agree on what we believe.Now listen, we might have different viewson things like an eschatological timelineor the doctrine of election or whatever, whatever.But on the major points of doctrine, we must agree.If you're like, "I'm not sure if I should agree on thisor if I should fight about this."Well, there's things that there are hills to die on.Things like the authority of God's Word.That's something we should all agree on.Things like the person and work of Jesus Christ.We should all agree on that.He is God who became man, who died to take away sin,who rose from the dead to give eternal life,who is coming again.We should all agree on that.Speaking of, we should all agree on salvation.How does somebody get saved?It's through faith in Jesus Christ.It's receiving the gift of eternal lifethat God has given through Jesus.We should all agree on that.All the stuff we talked about last week,we should all agree that is how a person gets saved.We should all agree on the mission of the church.We're not here to scratch itchy ears.We're not here to make a nice social club.We are here to make disciples.Those are things we should agree on.And that's what Paul goes on to say,that there will be no divisions among you.Literally, divisions in the Greekcan be translated no difference of opinion.Paul says, you should not have a difference of opinion.We should all have the same opinion.And you're like, what? Jeff, yours?No.We should all have God's opinion.See, that should be the mindset of this church.It's like, well, what do you think about abortion?What does God think about abortion?What do you think about marriage?What does God think about marriage?That should be our opinion too.What do you think about work?What does God say about work?What should share His opinion?What do you think about parenting?You got any opinions about parenting?Yeah, I do got opinions about parenting.It's God's opinion about parenting.What does the Bible say?We should all be agreeing on doctrine.And another thing we should all be agreeing on is submission.Look at verse 10.He says that you be united in the same mindand the same judgments.You see, doctrine speaks to what we believe.Submission speaks to how we act.In other words, unity - listen, unity will occur naturallywhen we agree on doctrine and live in submission to one another.Now, I hesitated to even bark up this treebut I felt like we had tobecause this could be a whole other sermon series.But look at what Paul told the Philippian church.What is the attitude that we're supposed to have,this attitude of submissionthat's going to result in unity?He tells the Philippians,he says, "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.Each of you look not only to his own interestsbut also to the interests of others.Have this mind among yourselveswhich is yours in Christ Jesus.Though he was in the form of God,did not count equality with God, a thing to be grasped.He got emptied himself by taking the form of a servantbeing born in the likeness of man."That's saying a lot.There's a couple of things I want to highlight from that.Regarding submission that unifies us,unity is destroyed when we start thinking,"It's all about me.My ideas are the best.My ideas are the smartest.Everyone should do what I want in the churchand the church will be good."He says, "Each of us, we have to humble ourselvesthat we consider others more important than you.That you walk in the doors and you're like,"Everybody here is more important than me."Unity comes when we all share that mindset.How do we do that?Well, he tells us in Philippians,"We have to have the mind of Christ."He says a lot like I said.We've preached on this a couple of times in past time.Look at that next to last statement.That's the one that really jumps out to me.Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, took the form of a servant.This is where the attitude of submission comes.When you walk in the doors, not to say,"Okay, things need to happen my way.I'm going to set everything straight.You need to walk in the doors and say,"I'm here to serve.I'm a servant."If God was willing to make Himself a servant,as an example, I should have the same mindset, right?So are you?Are you a servant?Well, we'll know when somebody treats you like one,whether you are or not.We'll know when you don't get your own wayif you really see yourself as a servant.Really, Paul could have stopped it.Verse 10 says so much here in 1 Corinthians 1.He could have stopped there.But he goes on to lay out three reasons whywe should each do our part for unity.So on your outline, I want you to jot some things down.Three reasons I want to fight for unity.Like, you want to fight about something?You want to fight? Okay.Let's fight for unity.Let's fight for that.You're like, "Well, why do I want to do that?"Well, Paul tells us, number one,because I am responsible for the church's reputation.Because I am responsible for the church's reputation.Look at verse 11.He says, "For it has been reported to me by Chloe's peoplethat there is quarreling among you, my brothers."There are Chloe's people.Do you know what we call them today?Whistleblowers. Right?Do you know what we called them when I was a kid?Do you know what we called whistleblowers when I was a kid?A "nark."How many people remember "nark"?Okay, somebody tattles to the teacher on you."You nark."They weren't getting. They weren't being narks.They weren't being narks. No.I don't know who Chloe's people are.The Bible doesn't really tell us.But here's what we do know.They were so concerned over the fighting that was happening in the churchthat they had to get a message to Paul.And it would have been a lot harder in that day.They couldn't have just posted something on Instaor sent Paul a text. Right?So Chloe's people were concerned.And Paul's like, "This is the reputation that's getting back to me."Chloe's people says, "All you do is fight."Not good.I heard a commercial just the other dayfor a product that I didn't even know existed.It's called the Reputation Defender.How many people have heard of the Reputation Defender?Okay, Randy. Okay, me and Randy.Okay, so only a few of us heard that commercial.All right? The Reputation Defender.Do you know what this is? I had to look it up online.I was so intrigued by the commercial, Randy.I had to look it up online.Since 2006, a leader in online reputation management.What they do is they - and again, this is from their website -they fix online search results and remove personal information.Meaning, if there's bad stuff about you on the Internet, they erase it.If somebody, you know, whether you're applying for a jobor you just want to sort of clean up your reputation,it's just, whoop, it's erased from the Internet.It's gone. Like, that part of you no longer exists.It's just, whoop, gone.And I heard that commercial.And I'm like, man, I wish we had this for other things.You know what I mean?You know what I mean? Like, I do something stupid at homeand I upset Aaron.I wish that I could just be like, whoop, gone.Or, have you ever been like at a partyand you meet somebody and you say something really awkwardand stupid and you're like, why did I say that?Wouldn't it be nice to just be like, whoop, now nobody remembers that?Right?Or you got ejected from the church softball gamebecause you lost your temper.Whoop.Well, you know, there is no such service for the church.I think with the church more than probably just about any organization on the planet,the reputation sticks.For better or for worse, the reputation sticks.And if you're like, well, I really don't care what people think about me.Okay, do you care what people think about Jesus?Because this unity doesn't just affect the church's reputation.It reflects on Jesus himself.Look at John 13.35 here. We're going to have it on the screen.Jesus said, by this all people will know that you are my disciplesif you have love for one another.Now, you know what I want to think Jesus said here?My mind wants to make it say that Jesus was like,the world is going to know that you love the worldby the way that you love the world.That's not what he said.He said the world is going to know that we are disciples of Jesus,not by how we love them,but by how we love each other.Our reputation for unity, according to our Lord,confirms our discipleship to the world,and it also directly affects our witness.Jesus, again, you jump over to John 17.Jesus praying specifically for us, for Harvest Bible Chapel.You see it right here. Jesus is praying.I do not ask for these only,but also for those who will believe in me through their Word.That's us.We believe through the Word.He says that they may all be one,just as you, Father, are in me and I and you,that they also may be in us.Why does Jesus want us to be one?Here's a reason.He says so that the world may believe that you have sent me.Our witness church is directly affected by our oneness.I mean, that just makes sense, doesn't it?I mean, it just follows.I mean, if you're talking to your neighbor about churchand you say things like,"Well, you know what at Harvest Bible Chapel,our worship leader can't stand our children's director."I mean, our children's director is constantly throwing fire at staff meetings,and the worship leader just has had enough.And then you tell your neighbor,"Oh, he is way too aggressive with people."And you're like, "Well, how's the youth group?"And they say, "How's the youth group?"You're like, "Well, youth group is nice, but you know what those youth group moms,all they do is fight."That's all they do.They're just constantly fighting and arguing and bickering about everything.And then you turn to your neighbor and say,"Hey, would you like to come to our church sometime?"And they're like,"Not a chance.Why would I want to walk into that circus?"Our witness is affected by our reputation.Jesus prayed that we would be one.He died so that we would be one.So our reputation that we should have is that we are one.So, nix the clicks.Alright?Nix the clicks.Why?Because you're responsible for our reputation.You're responsible for our reputation.Number two, why I want to fight for unity?Why I want to nix the clicks?Number two, because fighting is foolish.Fighting is foolish.Look at verses 12 and 13.Paul is calling them out on their foolish immaturity.He says, "What I mean is that each one of you says,'I follow Paul,' or 'I follow Apollos,' or 'I follow Cephas,'that's Peter, or 'I follow Christ.'"Is Christ divided?Was Paul crucified for you?Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?See what he's doing?He's pointing out how stupid this is.Why are you fighting about this stuff?Verse 12, he says, "Each one of you,each one of you, you should have that underlined."Why?Because when there's this unity, who do we blame?Everybody else, right?Paul's like, "This is not an everybody else problem.This is a you problem."Stop blaming everybody else.What are you doing for unity at the church?And you see, they were boasting about which ministerthey identified with.Some people were like, "I follow Paul."I mean, Paul was pretty great, huh?Like, what an awesome missionary, right?Apostle to the Gentiles and endured so much hardshipand was so faithful in his ministry.And it's easy to see why there were people that loved Paul.But some maybe overly attached to him, right?But then you have the people that were like, "Paul, okay."Paul's okay.But you know who really is the best minister is Apollos.Apollos was known for his eloquence.Apollos was a fantastic speaker.We learned about that in the book of Acts.And I'm sure that there were people here that were like,"You know what? Paul might have good theology,but there ain't nobody that preaches a sermonas beautifully as Apollos.He is the best preacher I've ever heard."And then you had people that are like,"You both are whack."Paul?Apollos?No, no, no, no, no, no.Cephas.That's Peter, right?Like, how can we even be arguing about this?Peter!OG!Peter!Right?Like, he wasn't just like one of the disciples.He was like one of Jesus' besties.And he was there for all of it.And he had some ups and downs.And look at what, look at like Pentecost.And Peter is the man.And then you had people that just had the Jesus Duke, everybody,that are like, "Oh, you like human ministers?"Well, I follow Christ.Doesn't that just sound so pious?I follow Christ.You see what the Corinthian church was doing?It was the adult version, the church version,of, "My dad can beat up your dad."Right?It's, "My pastor cannot preach your pastor."Aren't all four of these men preaching the same gospel?Oh, by the way, the last group there, I follow Christ.You're like, "Wait, wait, wait.Isn't that who we want to follow?"Yes.Jesus.Obviously.But somehow they turned even thatinto an occasion for fighting.And you're like, "Well, how in the world could somebody pull that off?"Well, people still do it today.People still do that today.Like, what do you mean?You heard these people that are like,"Oh, I don't need to go to churchbecause I have a relationship with Jesus.So I don't need church."You can't defend that biblically.There is no such thing as a Christian detached from a church body.There is no such thing.Several years ago, there was the whole short-lived15 minutes of fame of the whole,"I love Jesus but hate the church."You remember that?"I love Jesus but I hate the church."Doesn't that just sound so pious?It sounds so obnoxious."I love Jesus but I hate the church."Bad idea.You know what the church is?The church is the bride of Christ.And if you came to me and you said,"I love you, Pastor Jeff, but I hate your wife,"we're going to have some problems.I think that's what was going on here.That there were people that were like,"Oh, I don't need churches and preachersbecause I have Jesus."And look, there are some things,as we said earlier, that are worth fighting for.There are some things I will fight to the death for.Things like preaching the Word of God.Things like biblical music.Things like confronting unrepentant sin.Those are the things that the church should be fighting for.But sadly, when there's fighting in the church,those aren't usually the kinds of thingsthat people are fighting over.Honestly, church, we find weird things to divide over,just like the Corinthians.We just come up with all kinds of stupid things to fight about.You want to hear some examples of some of the stupidest things?I don't have time to give all of them.But over the years, I've heard so many stupid thingsthat people fight about.Here's one.I had a friend that attended a church.And I'm like, "Hey, how things are going at your church?"And he goes, "Oh, Jeff, we're really in a bad spot right now.Everybody's fighting."Like, what's the problem?People are really upset with each otherand people are not talking to each other.And it's gotten really ugly.I'm like, "What are we fighting about at this church?"He says, "Well, when you walk in the entryway,there's a bulletin board.And they're fighting about how to divide it up among the ministries.Because the Sunday school thought they were getting all of it,and they were told they can get half,and they wanted to divide it this way.But no, no, no, the mission department wanted to divide it this way, blah, blah, blah."And he goes, "It is nasty."I'm like, "Are you serious?"He's like, "Yeah."He goes, "What do you think we should do?"I said, "I think you should rip that bulletin board off the walland throw it in the garbage.That's what I think you should do."He's like, "Well, that's evangelism."I said, "No, it's not.The only people are seeing itare the people who are walking in the door."I said, "If it's causing that much division, trash it."Isn't that dumb?Here's another one.My old church, there was a familythat had four daughters at the timethey were early adolescents to teenage years.And there were people at the churchthat were upset with this family.They said, "Those girls are a clique.Those girls are a clique.Those girls are sisters."And now we're demonizing thembecause they like each other?There were people angry at thembecause they got along.Isn't that stupid?This might be the stupidestthat I have a pastor friend.He was a pastor for a church up in Canada.Every Christmas they had a tradition.Like, for years,at the end of the Christmas service,this is true, and I can't say without laughing,but this is true,at the end of the Christmas service every year,they sang "Feliz Navidad."You know that horrible song?You know the one I'm talking about?"Feliz Navidad.""Feliz Navidad."Oh, that's so cringe.Well, this new pastor cameand he's like, "You know what?There's not really spiritual contentin that song,and let's really focus our attentionof worship towards, I don't know, Jesus."So let's not sing that song this year.It caused a church split.And my pastor friend said,"I've never seen people so angry."Over one of the worst songs ever written.Isn't that dumb?We find such weird things to divide over.That was the Corinthians.They had their dumb thing too.He was the best preacher.That's why in verse 13,Paul gives some questions that we can unify here, right?Because these questions require us allto give the same answer.Right? Let's try it.Let's see if we get the same answer.Question number one.I'm going to ask the question,you shout out the answer.Is Christ divided?No. Obviously not, right?Christ is not divided.Alright, question two.And now they get harder.Was Paul crucified for you?No.Alright, final question.Were you baptized in the name of Paul?No.Meatballs.Alright, look.I want you to hear me very closely here.There is nothing wrong with having a favorite preacher.I do.There's a preacher who's podcast I listen to all the time.There is nothing wrong with that.Okay? We clear on that.There's nothing wrong with that.I encourage you to do that.But can we at the same time admitthat some people get strangely attachedto preachers and messengers?Like go back a generation to the Bill Gawthard people.Look, I used to go to Bill Gawthard conferences all the time.And you know what I saw there?There were people that were very strangely attached to him.They were like the "I follow Apollo's" people.Alright?And there were people that are like that with John Piper.There were people that are like that with Jack Hibbs.That we attach to these people so much so that we saythe gospel isn't the gospel unless you gospel their way.And when we do that,we're just as foolish as the Corinthians.So these men that you're attached to on what basis are you attached?Right? Paul would say,"Was Jack Hibbs crucified for you?"Were you baptized in the name of John Piper?No.Our union is in Jesus and with Jesus.So Nick's the Clicks.Paul shows us fighting is foolish.Fighting is foolish.And finally, number three.Why do I want to fight for unity?Because this unity distracts from the mission.This unity distracts from the mission.Look at verse 14.Paul says,"I thank God that I baptize none of you,except Christmas and Gaius,so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name."I did baptize also the household of Staphanos.Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.Listen, Paul is not diminishing baptism.Paul's not saying baptism isn't important.This is all Paul is saying.Corinthians, if you're going to fight about this stuff,I am so glad I didn't baptize more of you.If you're going to act like childrenbecause of who baptized you,I'll thank you God that I didn't baptize more of you.In verse 17, he says,"For Christ did not send me to baptizeto preach the gospel and not with words of eloquent wisdom,lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."Paul is saying, "I was sent to preach to make men one in Christ,not baptize to make teams."When you praise the messenger,you miss the message.When you praise the missionary,you miss the mission.And harvest Satan would want anything,anything to distract us from the mission of making disciples.Nothing's changed.Read the book of Acts.In the book of Acts, the church is born.Satan tried to destroy the church from the outsidethrough Acts chapter 4.From the outside attacks.What happened to the churchwhen Satan tried to attack from the outside?What happened?It got bigger and stronger.Kind of like the Charlie Kirk thing that happened recently.The outside attack resulted in getting bigger and stronger.But do you know Acts chapter 5, Acts chapter 6,Satan changes his strategy.Instead of attacking the church from the outside,he attacks the church from the inside,and he found out to be so much more effectiveto distract the church from the mission.And Satan will do that to us.You see, if Satan can get us dividedand fighting with each other,then we're distracted from doing what we're supposed to be doing.The gospel of Jesus Christhas to be the core of everything that we do here.It has to be the cause of everything that we do here.It has to be the motivation of everything that this church does.A pure focus on a pure gospel.Not with words of eloquent wisdom.In other words, we're not sugarcoating it.We're not dressing it up.We're not making it a performance.The power is in the pure gospel of Jesus Christ.So next the clicks.Why?Because disunity distracts from the mission.Our worship team will make their way forward.I'd like you to just buy your heads for a moment.Excuse me.I'd like you to just buy your heads.As we said at the onset,when there's any kind of disunity,when there's any kind of fighting,it's so easy to blame the other guy.God's Word tells us that we need to look at ourselves first.I just want you to buy your heads.I just want you to do a little self-examination.I want you to consider your role in this church,your interactions with people in this church.And I want you to ask yourself,am I an agent of unity or disunity in this church?Am I trying to bring people together?Or am I dividing people?Oh, another question that goes with that.Ask yourself this.If everyone in the church acted like I do,what kind of church would this be?And then finally ask yourself this.Am I committed to the pure doctrine of the gospeland submission to our Lord and to one another?Or have I really made lesser things my focus?Father in heaven,you have called us to unity.Father, it's real easy for us to sit in this roomand sort of laugh at the foolishnessthat was happening in the Corinthian church,bragging about which preacher is the best.It just seems so silly to us,but Father, we fight about thingsthat are much more silly than that.Father, I just pray for the unity in this church.We believe, Father, that Christ died to make us one.And I pray, Father, that we would do everything we canon our part to strive for unity in the body of Christ.Father, if there's any complaining,negative, divisive attitude within any of us,Father, I pray that you would grant repentanceand bring us to the place that we care moreabout your reputation and the ministryto reach the lost and to build up the saved.I pray that we would be so focusedon what you've called us to,that we're not distracted with personal preferences.So thank you, God.Thank you, God, for what you've clearly laid outfor us in your Word.Have us faithful to do it, Father.We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Get ready for a heart-filled and practical conversation! In today's episode, Jana Magruder sits down with Taylor Johnson, who wears two hats as a Next Generation and Children's Minister, to unpack what truly makes a kids ministry thrive.Taylor shares his journey of calling, how God led him into ministry, and the mentors who shaped his path. Then, we dive into the nuts and bolts of effective children's ministry:Safety – Why it's non-negotiable and how it builds trust with families.Communication – How consistent, clear communication keeps parents and volunteers aligned.Connection – Fostering meaningful relationships that help kids feel seen and known.Welcoming Atmosphere – Creating a space where every child feels at home.Gospel Foundation – Keeping Jesus at the center of every game, lesson, and moment.Whether you're leading a small group, coordinating volunteers, or dreaming up your next Sunday morning activity, Taylor's insights will help you build a ministry that not only reaches kids - but retains families and grows disciples.This episode will inspire you to see kids ministry not just as a program, but as a calling, a sacred opportunity to shape the next generation of disciples through love, care, and gospel truth.Listen now and get ready to be both equipped and encouraged!SHOW LINKS:VBS Preview EventThe Gospel ProjectJoin us for ETCH 2025. Sign up and get the details HERE. ETCH Conference Connect with Lifeway Kids Leave us a voice message here with any questions or feedback!

The wicked of the world believe that God will never deal with their wickedness. They believe that their sinful acts will go unopposed, but the Bible tells us that God not only opposes the wicked and proud, but He does so actively. This week, Pastor Taylor talks about the intervention of God in our world in 2 Peter 3:1-7. Get Connected! https://linktr.ee/reachtulsa

Pastor Taylor delves into the story of Abraham and his faith during uncertain and challenging seasons, referred to as the “tent season", a time of waiting, testing, and preparation. follow us on instagram @reallifechurchwa 26201 180th Ave. SE Covington, WA 98042Sundays @ 8:30 | 10 | 11:30

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Introduction: Have I Built My House on the Rock? (Matthew 7:24-29) Is My House BUILT on OBEDIENCE. (Matt 7:24, 26) John 14:15 – If you love me, you will keep my commandments. John 14:15 – If you

Do you ever feel overwhelmed? What are you overwhelmed by? This world can be stressful and filled with worry. The truth is that the Gospel should overwhelm us. It should drive us into the arms of Christ as we flee from the world. This week, Pastor Taylor talks about the false promises of a fallen world in 2 Peter 2:10-22.Get Connected! https://linktr.ee/reachtulsa

Pastor Taylor speaks on the importance of having a fear or reverence of God in your faith, not to be afraid of Him, but to remember how great He is. follow us on instagram @reallifechurchwa 26201 180th Ave. SE Covington, WA 98042

This week, Pastor Taylor encourages us and speaks on the armor of God, but specifically the importance of not only the Sword of the Spirit, but with it, the Shield of Faith.follow us on instagram @reallifechurchwa 8:30 | 10 | 11:30

We live in a world of self help and self care. The truth is that none of us can help ourselves. We need a God big enough to save us. We need to face the truth that we are not okay on our own. In this episode, Pastor Taylor talks about false Gospels and putting your hope in Jesus from 2 Peter 2:1-10a.Get Connected! https://linktr.ee/reachtulsa

Pastor Taylor kicks off our new series on a People of Faith with a message on how our faith needs substance and how faith is confidence, assurance, and faith spreads. follow us on instagram @reallifechurchwa 26201 180th Ave. SE Covington, WA 98042

Luke 22:31-34,31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. 32 But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.” 33 Peter said, “Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you, and even to die with you.” 34 But Jesus said, “Peter, let me tell you something. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.” Luke 22:39-4639 Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. 40 There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.” 41 He walked away, about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. 44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. 45 At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.”

Tucked between the assurance of Romans 8 and the practical guidance of Romans 12-16 lies what Pastor Taylor calls "the monster in the middle" – the challenging theological territory of Romans 9-11. But far from something to fear, these chapters contain profound truths about God's mercy and our mission.The sermon begins with a powerful contrast: how can Paul transition from the triumphant declarations of Romans 8 to expressing "great sorrow and unceasing anguish" in Romans 9? The answer reveals the heart of true salvation – when we genuinely experience God's grace, we become burdened for those who haven't.Through a recent baptism story, Pastor Taylor illustrates the difference between inherited religion and personal faith. Skip didn't receive salvation merely by being born into a Christian family; he reached a point where faith became truly his own. This perfectly parallels Paul's message that being physically descended from Abraham isn't enough – one must be spiritually connected through faith.The most compelling moment comes through a thought-provoking analogy: Imagine having a coupon that could instantly pay off someone's mortgage but being too afraid to share it because you might explain it poorly, face difficult questions, or offend them. How absurd! Yet we often withhold the infinitely more valuable gospel for these very reasons."I love the gospel articulated poorly more than anything else articulated well," Pastor Taylor declares, challenging us to overcome our hesitation in sharing Christ. The sermon concludes with a practical challenge: identify one specific person in your life who needs Jesus, pray for an opportunity to share, and when that opportunity comes, set aside your fears and trust the Holy Spirit.Changed lives desire to see changed lives. Changed lives understand that only God's mercy changes lives. And changed lives boldly proclaim the truth that changes lives. Who is that person God has positioned you to reach?

Introduction: John 3:36 - whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. Ephesians 2:3 – were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Enter By the Narrow Gate (Matthew 7:13-14) It's Hard to FIND. (Matt 7:14) John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Luke 14:33 – So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. It's Hard to WALK. (Matt 7:14) It's Hard to DISMISS. (Matt 7:14) Matthew 11:12 – From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead Matthew 7:13-14What was your big take-away from this passage / message?How would (specifically) you answer this question: How do I know which gate I entered?We are saved by grace. But are things like repentance, counting the cost, and entering the kingdom violently considered “works”? Why or why not?BreakoutPray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT I'd like you to just bow your heads for a moment,and I'm going to ask that you would please pray for meto be faithful to communicate God's word accurately as I should.And I will pray for you to be ready to receivewhatever it is the Lord wants to teach you today.Alright? Let's pray.Father in heaven, you are greatly glorifiedas transformed people by the power of your Holy Spirit.Our obedient to what you've revealed in your Word.That's all I'm asking for today, Father,for your glory to be on display as we respondto what you've told us in your Word.Manifest your grace and your goodness here today, Father.We ask in Jesus' name, amen.If you haven't already opened up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 7,we're just going to be looking at two verses today.For some of you, these could be the mosttwo important verses you ever hear.When I was a kid growing up in Shakura,we attended the Little Methodist Church.And when you're - I don't know if it's still the case in the Methodist Church,but at that time, when you're 12,you go through confirmation classes.You go to the Methodist Church, and then they teach youabout doctrine and John Wesley and the books of the Bible.But one part of this confirmation class,it took place over several days,but one part was the pastor would take you into the auditorium,just you and him.And I'm assuming that his conversation with the others went as it did with me.I remember the pastor took me to the auditorium and he said,"Jeff, you don't want to go to hell, do you?"And I'm like, "You mean today?Because mom's expecting me home for dinner."He's like, "You don't want to go to hell, do you?"And I was just like, "No."He goes, "Well, then you want to accept Jesus Christas your Lord and Savior, right?"And I'm like, "Okay.""Great."And he sent me back with the other kids.And then every time this pastor saw me after that,he would say, "I remember the day you gave your life to Jesus.""Oh, Jeff, I remember the day you gave your life to Jesus."And I was like, "Yeah, that was awesome."Is that what it means to follow Jesus?You see, since February we've been going through the Sermon on the Mount,the greatest sermon ever preached.And over the next four weeks, we're looking at how Jesus closesthe greatest sermon ever preached.All of the content leads to this.Over the past several months, we've looked at the heart of the discipleand the beatitudes.This is what a Jesus follower looks like.We talked about the heart of the law.Jesus didn't come to get rid of the Old Testament.He said, "I came to fulfill it."We talked about the heart of religion.Look, it's not about doing things for showto get a pat on the back from people.We talked about the heart towards the world.How should we interact in this world with money and stuff and people?And now we get to the close of Jesus' sermon, and here he's saying,"Now what are you going to do about it?"Now that you know what I call you to,is your heart ready for judgment?Look at verses 13 and 14.Jesus says, "Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide,and the way is easy, that leads to destruction,and those who enter by it are many.For the gate is narrow, and the way is hard,that leads to life, and those who find it are few."Everybody's heading to eternity.I don't need to sell anyone on that, do I?Everyone's heading for eternity,and Jesus said there are two gates.There's exactly two options,and here Jesus is calling for an urgent choice.He commands, that's the first sentence in verse 13,"Enter by the narrow gate."That's a choice literally between heaven and hell.Jesus says, "Make your choice."Who would choose hell?I mean, really.Who would choose hell?I mean, yeah, I've shared the Gospel with a lot of people over the years,and I've met the guy, probably you have to.It's like, "Well, I'm going to hell,and I know I'm going to hell, and I don't really care,because all my buddies will be there."But I'm like, "You are clueless."You meet that joker.But who would really, honestly, seriously choose hell?Why wouldn't you choose heaven?I mean, really.See, my friends, that's the thing.That's why this message is so urgent,because no one thinks they are choosing hell.Everyone thinks that they are going to end up in heaven.Somehow, some way, I'm going to end up in heaven.Everyone thinks that.Everyone is, according to Jesus.In fact, it's even worse than we think it is.As we saw in the video, we have this mindset that most of us are good,and we're going to heaven, and there's a few really bad people that are going to hell.Jesus didn't say that.Notice Jesus said the exact opposite.He said many are going to hell, to destruction,and he said few are going to heaven.Few find life.So do you know what you have to do to go to hell?Do you know?Nothing.You don't have to do a thing.And that's where you'll end up.John 3.36 says,"Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life."Look at this."But the wrath of God remains on him."How do you get the wrath of God?He's already on you.Paul says the same thing in Ephesians 2-3.He says, "We were by nature children of wrath,like the rest of mankind."That was our default mode.And I want you to notice in these two verses,Jesus didn't say, "Choose which gate."He didn't say that.You already did choose a gate.There's no language here that says,"Well, tell me, how do I go through the wide gate?"You already did.Notice with the narrow gate, look at the very last phrase in verse 14.Jesus said, "Those who find it are few."The wide gate is something that has to be found.The wide gate, Jesus never said you had to find the wide gate.It's wide.It's easy.And you're already on it.Heading to destruction.So what we have here in these verses is a command.It's a command to enter the narrow gate.Look at verse 13 again.Enter by the narrow gate.It's a command. It's a call to action.Meaning it doesn't happen by accident.It's worth noting that Jesus,we're going to see this in these upcoming messages as well,there are people that are going to be shockedthat they're going to hell.But you know, the Bible never says that there are peoplethat are shocked that they end up in heaven.That guy doesn't exist.That guy doesn't exist where Jesus says,"Come on in to glory."Like, wow, I didn't know I was coming here.Wow.That guy doesn't exist.The gospel is a command.Listen, it's a command.It's not just an invitation.It's not just a suggestion.You really ought to think about maybe turning to Jesus.It is a command.Look at the words that are used to describe coming to Christ.They're all commands.Words like "repent."You're commanded to repent.Believe.Receive.Believe.Here, the command is "enter."This is the big takeaway from the Sermon on the Mountaccording to Jesus.Because of everything that He said,going back to the Beatitudes,leading to this point,Jesus commands us to choose narrow.It's not enough to listen to sermons about the narrow gate.It's not enough to study the narrow gate.It's not enough to even kind of like the narrow gate.Jesus said, "You have to make the choice to enter the narrow gate."Have you made that choice?I want you to jot some things downon your outline.This is the command, "Enter by the narrow gate."What does our Lord say about it?First of all, number one, write this down.It's hard to find.It's hard to find.Again, in verse 14, Jesus says,"For the gate is narrow, and the way is hard that leads to life.And those who find it are few."It's hard to find.It's narrow.What exactly do you mean it's narrow?Well, one thing that it means, that it's being narrow,is that it's the only way to be saved.Jesus made that claim.The Bible makes that claim over and over and over.In John 14.6, Jesus said,"I am the way and the truth and the life.No one comes to the Father except through me."The gate is narrow because it's the only way to be saved.Not every road leads to heaven.That doesn't even work in the physical world, does it?If you came to me after service and you're like,"Pastor Jeff, I really want to go to Cleveland.How do I get there?"First of all, I'm not sure you really do want to go there.But if you have to listen, you know how to get to Cleveland?Just pick a road. It doesn't matter.Get in your car and just pick a road.As long as you believe in your heart's that that road will take you to Cleveland,then you will get to Cleveland.Would that work?People are like, "I think I'll ask Pastor Taylor."Right?I mean, that's foolishness.So why do we think that any road is going to get us to heaven?Not every road will take you there.Because your problem is sin before a holy God,and the only way that that sin can be forgivenis through Jesus Christ, because He's the only onewho paid the penalty to take away your sin.It's narrow because it's the only way to be saved.It's narrow also because you're called to leave some things behind.You get a picture of this narrow gate almost like a turnstile,like walking into Kennywood.If you're going through that turnstile, you've got to leave some stuff behind.Like leave what behind?Your sin?Your self-centeredness?Your rights?Your pride?You've got to leave your old self behind,because listen, you're both not going to fit through the turnstile.You both won't fit through the narrow gate.Jesus said it costs to enter this gate.We don't have time today, but just write down Matthew 10, Luke 14.Jesus said there's a cost to entering the gate.Leave stuff behind.Like, well, what's the cost?Jesus said you have to love Him more than you love your own family.Jesus said you have to deny yourself.Jesus said you have to consider yourself a slave to Him.Oh, and you have to consider yourself a slave to everyone else.Jesus said things like you have to take up your cross.You have to be willing to lay down your life for Him.Listen, if you're unwilling to do any of that,then you're not going to get through the gate at all.To sum it up, Luke 14.33, look what Jesus says.Not the most secret, sensitive way to address a crowd.Jesus said, "So therefore any one of you who does not renounce all that He hascannot be my disciple."You willing to do that?You're like, "I don't know."Okay, then you're not going through the narrow gate.Back when I was in college, I had several jobs.Here's where two of them overlapped.I was pastoring a little country church,and I was also a magazine vendor for two Walmarts and two K-Marts.Is K-Marts still a thing?It was back then.But I would go in third shift to these stores,and I would stock the magazines.And at the one K-Mart, I got to be friends with some of the employees there.There were a couple cashiers that I invited to church.I'll never forget this.The one cashier, her name was Gina.And she came to church for probably three or four weeks,and then stopped.Well, the next time I saw her at K-Mart,I said, "Hey, I haven't seen you in church."I'll never forget what she said.She said, "I can't go to churchand live the kind of life that I want to live."It's sad.She got it.She got the fact that the gate is narrow.She got the fact that she can't come into the kingdom of heavenwhile carrying all her sin in with her.I don't want to talk about Gina though. I want to talk about you.What have you left behind to follow Jesus?Would you say that there's been a tremendous cost to youin deciding to follow Jesus?And if your answer is, "Well, you know,I haven't really given up that much to follow Jesus,really now that I think about it,I really haven't given up very much."Well, then you haven't found the narrow gate.It's hard to find.Secondly, write this down.Not only is it hard to find,it's hard to walk.It's hard to walk.The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life.The way is hard that leads to life.You see what Jesus is saying?If you find it, and even when it's truly found,it's hard to enter.And when you enter it, it's hard to walk.And right now somebody's like, "Hard? Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,hang on, hang on, hang on."I thought coming to Jesus was just belief.Just believe in Jesus.What are you talking about? Hard.It's just believe, right?Well, I would ask you,what do you mean by believe?Do you know how Jesus described what it means to believe?The Sermon on the Mount.This is how Jesus described what it means to believe.He described it with the beatitudes.When you're broken over your sin and you're meekand you desire righteousness and purity more than anything,you're a peacemaker.And then, if you're really living it, people hate you.That's what it means to believe.Jesus said believing is being salt and light.That means you're different than the world.You stand out because of what you believe.Is that what you mean by believe?Jesus said believing is turning from anger, turning from lust.Jesus said believing is a person who always keeps their word.Jesus said believing is never retaliating.Jesus said believing is when you love your enemies.Jesus said believing is when you choose to giveand to pray and to fast privately.So only God knows.Jesus says believing is giving to Godso that you lay up treasure in heaven.Jesus said believing is never worrying.Not being anxious for anything.Jesus said believing is not being critical of othersbut doing to others what you wish they would do to you.Now, you tell me what's easy about any of that.It's hard to walk.If you've been with us in any part of this journeythrough the Sermon on the Mount,has there been any of these sections that you've pointed atand went, "Oh, that's easy. I got that nailed down."Or have you been more like me every weektaken to the woodshed?Tour up?Or have you been more like meevery week taken to the woodshed?Or have you been more like me?Difficult is the standard.We're told on the front end,when you live different than the world,you're going to have people after you.You're going to suffer.It's hard to walk.That's why a lot of people bail, by the way.They weren't expecting it to be hard.They were believing in gospel that Jesus never taught.Because believing in the gospel,despite the lame way we want to package itin American churches,believing in the gospel is more than just acknowledging facts.And it's even way more than just agreeing with the facts.Believing in the gospel is having a faith in Jesus Christthat makes your decisions for you.Your life should be marked by this.Constantly saying, "You know what?I do this because of what Jesus said.This is why I do that."Your life should be marked by things you say,"You know what? I never do thisbecause God said I should never do that.My life makes my decisions for me."That's what it means to believe.In churches, dishonor the gospeland do a disservice to peoplewhen we make it easy to follow Jesus.Shame on us.We make it so easy for the peoplethat walk in the door and say,"Look, I just want to attend.I just want to come in on Sunday,in late, out early.I just want to attend.I don't want to get involved.I don't want to help out with the kids ministry.I don't want to be on the worship team.I don't want to give to the church.I don't want to do any of that.Look, just make it easy."Where did Jesus say the easy way leads?I want to talk about you again.You find it easy to follow Jesus?Maybe at 9 a.m. on Sunday.I want to ask about your Monday through Saturday.Is it easy for you to follow Jesus?And if your answer is, you know what?I don't know what he's talking about,but I haven't really found it to be that hardbeing a Christian.Then you haven't found the narrow gate.Because Jesus said it's hard.Enter by the narrow gate.It's hard to find.It's hard to walk.Number three, it's hard to dismiss.It's hard to dismiss.The gate is narrow.And the way is hard that leads to life.Man, this sounds like being a Christian is hard.Yeah, it is.So why would I enter the narrow gate at all then?Because of where it leads.And whoever doesn't think aboutwhere the path they are on is taking them is a fool.Throughout this section, throughout these verses,we looked at today Jesus said there's only two.There's two gates.There's two ways. There's two crowds.And there's two destinations.You're going to want to...Destruction and it's life.What's destruction?We've talked about that. That's hell.Yes, destruction here and now in this life,I've yet to meet the guy that has really benefited from their sin.But instead has experienced destruction in this life,ultimately it's destruction in hell.Why is hell referred to as destruction?Because it's eternally being destroyed,but never actually being destroyed.It's burning without being consumed.That's what hell is.And that's where the easy way leads.So if following Jesus sounds too hard for you,you have the option of having it a little easierin this life for 15 minutes,and spending eternity suffering.Not my opinion, Jesus' words.The other destination is life.Life, eternal, glorious life in heaven.Yes, of course, but also life here and now.Eternal life for the Christian isn't something that you get someday.It's something you experience now,and you take with you into eternity.This hard way is the way that Jesus took.And if we choose to follow in His footsteps,we will not only get heaven,but we will experience lifeas it was meant to be lived here and now.And that's hard to dismiss,just because it's difficult.It's over and over in the Gospels.Jesus challenged potential followers to count the cost.You have to count the cost of entering the narrow gatebecause there is a cost.But you also have to count the cost of not entering the narrow gate.You could leave here today and say,"I choose to stay on the wide gateway."What have you gained?What have you gained by staying on the wide gateway?An easier life here for however long that lasts.But what have you lost?You've lost eternity.So right now you need to ask yourself,"What way am I on?"Listen, you can't answer thatbased on something that happened in the past.That's what I mean for some people.It's like, are you a follower of Jesus?Well, I got baptized 30 years ago.That's not the test.The test is, how are we living right now?Are you seeking Jesus now?Are you turning from sin now?Are you denying yourself now?Your life right now proves what way you are on.I'd like to invite the worship team to come back up.We're going to have some folks join us up here.I'd like to invite them up too.We're going to have some people up here to pray,some elders, some members from our prayer team.I'd like you folks to make your way up here as well.In just a moment, the worship team is going to sing a song over you.But before we do that, I want us to consider one more verse.It's Matthew 11 and verse 12.Another staggering statement from our Lord.Jesus said, "From the days of John the Baptist until now,the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence."Look at his last phrase.He says, "And the violence, take it by force."Listen, because the gate is narrow,and because the way is hard,salvation is something that you have to go after violently.It's not, well, just put a check mark on this card and you're saved.Just bow your head and raise your hand and you're saved.Just repeat this prayer after me and you're saved.That's not it.It's something that you have to go after violently.Like why violently?Because the gospel calls you to forsake yourself.You have to go after that violently.Jesus calls you to give up your sin.It's not for weaklings.I'm going to give you a chance.I'm going to give you a chance to prove that you're not a weakling.I'm going to give you a chance today to do something violent.I'd like you to bow your heads, please,because what we're going to dois have a good old-fashioned, much-needed altar call.Bow your heads.Today needs to enter the narrow gate.Maybe there's somebody that walked in here todaythat said, "I know I'm not following Jesus,and I've been meaning to get around to it.Today's the day that you're going to go after this violently."Or maybe there's somebody here that's like,"Well, I don't really know if I follow Jesus."Then that means you don't.Because you can't have a relationship with the God of the universeand not know it.Because it's something you have to go after violently.Or maybe there's somebody here that says,"You know, I made a decision once upon a time,but whether I'm backslidden,or whether I was deceived or confused,I'm not really sure where I stand right nowbecause I'm so stuck in sin."You need to go after this violently.As an act of faith, as the worship team sings over you,we want to invite you to come up and pray.There is still someone here, someone else here,that wants to do business with God.I strongly encourage you not to leave until you do.You shrink back now.It's going to be way easier to shrink back the next timethat you feel called to follow Jesus.Father in heaven,we're not here to put on a show for anybody but you.We want to be sincere.We don't want to settle for some watered-down,sugar-coated version of the Gospelthat so many in our culture have made it.Father, let us go after you violentlywith the urgency that your Son has called us to.We do need to count the costs.I'm asking Father that you would give us the faith that we need.All glory and honor and praise and power be unto your name.We pray in Jesus' name.Amen.

Pastor Taylor encourages us with a word from Joshua 3 on big rocks or Jordan rivers in our lives and how we can, through the power of the Holy Spirit & His faithfulness, cross over, lean into His presence, and get ready for our next season. follow us on instagram @reallifechurchwa 26201 180th Ave. SE Covington, WA 98042

Pastor Taylor unpacks 2 Corinthians 5 and the essence of reconciliation.

Pastor Taylor speaks on 2 Peter 3:11 & encourages us that we are here for such a time as this, and to live holy, look forward, stay faithful, and grow in grace.follow us on instagram @reallifechurchwa 26201 180th Ave. SE Covington, WA 98042