Full transcript
0:44W.
1:08One more.
1:27Heat. Heat. N.
1:54Heat. Heat.
2:22Heat. Heat.
2:37N.
3:02W.
4:02There we go. Good morning, family. We're
4:05going to get started here in about 20
4:07seconds. So find your seat. I'm glad
4:11you're saying your hellos. [music]
4:12Getting your fellowship in. Amen.
4:27If we could, let's all stand
4:30and we're going to say a prayer.
4:39You guys are amazing. Thank you for
4:41being here this morning.
4:42>> Let's pray.
4:45>> Father in heaven,
4:47>> God, our lives are yours.
4:49>> They've been yours from the day we said
4:51Jesus is Lord.
4:53>> Father, although we may fall and make
4:55mistakes, God, we get back up
4:57>> because we know that eternity is worth
5:00it.
5:00>> That we won't give up, Father God. We
5:02won't give in. We won't stay down
5:04forever.
5:06>> Father, thank you so much for allowing
5:07us avenues to where we can get up and
5:10start a fresh again. God,
5:12>> it says your [clears throat]
5:15is is new every morning.
5:17>> Great is your faithfulness.
5:19>> Yes, Father.
5:20>> God, we thank you so much for that, God.
5:22As we embrace that thought, help us to
5:24thank you this morning in song and
5:26worship and in our in our fellowship,
5:28God. And let it not just be here for
5:30show, but let it be when we go home and
5:32and and throughout the week that we
5:34represent the king. It's in Jesus name
5:37we pray. Amen.
5:38>> Amen. Amen.
5:42>> Thank you Lord for loving me and thank
5:44you Lord for blessing me. Thank you Lord
5:47for making me whole and saving my soul.
5:50I want to thank [singing] you Lord for
5:53loving me. Thank [singing] you [music]
5:56Lord for saving my soul.
5:59>> I want to thank [singing] you Lord for
6:02loving [music] me. Thank you Lord for
6:06saving my [singing] soul. Let us all
6:09with one accord sing praises to Christ
6:12the Lord. Let us all in [singing] song
6:15and praise him all day long.
6:16>> I want to thank you Lord
6:19[singing and music] for loving me. Thank
6:22you Lord [singing] for saving my soul. I
6:26want to thank you Lord for loving
6:29[singing] me. Thank you [music] Lord for
6:33saving my soul. [singing]
6:35Please reveal your will for me so I can
6:38serve you for eternity. Use my life in
6:40every way. Take hold of it.
6:43>> I want to thank you for loving [singing]
6:47me. Thank you Lord for saving my soul. I
6:52want to thank you Lord for loving
6:55[singing and music] me. Thank you Lord
6:59for saving my [singing and music] soul.
7:01Thank you Lord for loving me. Thank you
7:07[music and singing] Lord for saving my
7:09soul. I want to thank you Lord for
7:13loving me. Thank you Lord for saving
7:18[singing] my soul.
7:22>> Amen.
7:25>> Come on. Go.
7:30>> Represent. You got that.
7:32>> Yeah. I got it.
7:33>> Okay.
7:36>> Now we're going to sing in Spanish.
7:39>> You're welcome to move around if you
7:41like.
7:44>> [singing]
7:50[singing]
7:52[music]
7:54>> Hallelujah. Glorio
7:57[singing and music]
8:06says [singing]
8:07[music]
8:11[singing]
8:16[music]
8:19the glory of yours. [singing]
8:21the gloros
8:27[music and singing]
8:33to [singing and music] sor
8:38[music]
8:40[singing]
8:41the glor
8:47[music]
8:49[singing]
8:50to senior.
8:53ESG [music]
9:00[singing]
9:10[music]
9:11[singing]
9:15[music]
9:18[singing]
9:19silent silent.
9:23>> [singing]
9:30>> Silent [music]
9:31silent [singing]
9:35[music]
9:40[singing]
9:44[singing]
9:45No,
9:47[music]
9:48there [singing]
9:55[singing]
9:56he
10:00[singing]
10:03[music]
10:05[singing]
10:09[music]
10:12cry.
10:14Silent [music]
10:17[singing]
10:22[music]
10:22[singing]
10:23me.
10:28[music]
10:31[singing]
10:32Hallelujah. Glory.
10:38[music]
10:43>> [singing and music]
10:47>> river [singing] and me.
10:56[singing]
10:57[music]
11:05>> Hallelujah.
11:06>> Amen. You know that song, right? Who
11:08knows that song?
11:10>> All right, we're going to sing praises
11:12loud.
11:18[music]
11:21>> Lord, sing your praises loud. Sing
11:25[music and singing] them to the
11:26stumbling ground. Sing of Jesus
11:29[singing] and his word. Sing until the
11:33earth has heard.
11:37Hallelujah.
11:39Hallelujah.
11:40Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
11:44Hallelujah. [singing]
11:46Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
11:51[music]
11:51>> Sing of crosses and [singing] his blood.
11:55Earth with darkness and the flood. Sing
11:58of judgment. Sing of grace. Sing [music]
12:02until we see his face.
12:05Hallelujah.
12:07Hallelujah. [singing] Hallelujah.
12:10Hallelujah.
12:12Hallelujah.
12:14[singing] Hallelujah.
12:16Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
12:18[singing and music]
12:21>> God is why we live and sing. We the
12:25servants. He [music and singing] the
12:27king. All his power, all his life.
12:32Living in [singing] the church is fine.
12:35Hallelujah.
12:37Hallelujah. [singing] Hallelujah.
12:41Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
12:44Hallelujah.
12:46Hallelujah. [singing]
12:47Hallelujah.
12:51God is [music] justice. God [singing] is
12:54love. God is reigning from above.
12:58[music]
12:58Thy sovereign the land. Nations bow at
13:03[singing] his
13:05hallelujah.
13:09Hallelujah. [singing and music]
13:11>> Hallelujah.
13:13Hallelujah.
13:16Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
13:19[singing]
13:20[music]
13:21>> Life is but a passing glance. Speaking
13:25[singing] while you have a chance,
13:27[music]
13:28we are made of not black clay [singing]
13:31till we're changed on that day. [music]
13:35Hallelujah.
13:37Hallelujah. [singing and music]
13:39Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
13:44Hallelujah. [singing]
13:46Hallelujah. Come on church. Hallelujah.
13:48Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
13:50Hallelujah. [music]
13:51[singing]
13:52Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
13:55Hallelujah.
13:57Hallelujah. [singing]
13:59>> Hallelujah. Hallelujah. [music]
14:05[music]
14:08[cheering]
14:10[applause]
14:23>> [laughter]
14:24>> All right.
14:26>> You know, see, everyone's taller than me
14:28here, you know. Gosh. All right. Okay.
14:33Good morning, church.
14:36>> Hey, Tiffany. How you doing? How's
14:38everyone doing?
14:40>> Thank you, Cameron. Thank you. Thank
14:42you. All right. How's everyone feeling?
14:44We're all good.
14:46You sure you're good?
14:49>> What about those that aren't good?
14:51>> You know, you're still welcome here,
14:53too. You know, you you know, we all go
14:55through something.
14:57>> And if you're good and you're here,
14:59we're glad to have you. If you're not
15:01feeling the best and you still showed
15:03up, give them a round of applause.
15:08That's the that's that's perseverance.
15:10I'm not letting my emotions stop me from
15:13doing what I need to do and what I know
15:15helps me. So, God bless you and I pray
15:18that today you get encouraged and you
15:19get built up. I want to also give a
15:22shout out. We got some people from
15:23Westside here visiting. It's good to see
15:26everyone from our sister congregation.
15:29It's nice to have you. Pray you enjoy
15:32our service. So, I want to do a little
15:33game since I don't get to do the welcome
15:35that often. All right. So, I want to
15:37play a little activity. It's called Put
15:39a Finger Up. if. All right. So, do y'all
15:42understand what that means? Right? Like,
15:44I'm gonna ask a question. You hold a
15:46finger up and we'll see who has the most
15:47up by the end of these questions. All
15:50right. So, here we go. All right.
15:52Everyone get ready. You got your hands
15:54ready. Yo, stretch them. Stretch them
15:55out. Get them ready. Doug, you got to
15:56stretch some fingers. I know you're a
15:57doctor, but you got to get them ready.
15:58You got to get [laughter]
16:00my shirt. All right. So, here we go. Put
16:04a finger up if you hit the snooze button
16:07at least once today before coming. Okay.
16:11Okay. Okay. Okay. All right. We got a
16:13few people. Be honest. All right. Be
16:16honest. You're in the house of the Lord.
16:18All right. Aren't you put a finger up if
16:20you had coffee before you had a
16:23conversation with anyone this morning?
16:26>> Oh, we had we had
16:28coffee. Coffee. You know, you want to
16:30say caffeine? We'll put some caffeine
16:32people in there. All right. Okay,
16:33whatever your caffeine choice is. Okay.
16:36[laughter] No, no, no. Don't say talking
16:38to God. No. A per a human being. Human
16:42being. All right. So, here we go. All
16:44right. Put a finger up if you said amen
16:47before you were completely sure what the
16:50preacher was going to say one time.
16:53>> Okay, we got some people say I love that
16:55Darius was the first one because he be
16:56doing that. [laughter]
17:00Amen.
17:01>> [laughter]
17:03>> All right. So, here we go. Put a finger
17:06up if you've ever started praying and
17:09forgot what you were about to pray
17:10about.
17:12>> Oh, there we go. Some people put up two
17:14fingers. All right. Look at that. Now,
17:16you got to keep a tally of how many
17:18fingers you put up that you responded
17:19for. Okay. All right. So, put a finger
17:24up if you've if you have a favorite seat
17:27at church and someone sat in it right
17:30now.
17:32>> [laughter]
17:35>> Someone's sitting in your favorite seat
17:37right now and you sitting there being
17:40spiritual, but you're like, "Man,
17:43[laughter]
17:46all right. All right. Here, here we go.
17:48Put a finger up if you ever heard a
17:52preacher say, "I'm almost done."
17:55And knew he was not almost done. Jay,
17:58put the Stop. What are y'all doing?
18:00Y'all better stop.
18:03See, I'm not even encouraged anymore.
18:04Why are y'all doing this?
18:07All right. Hey, put your leg down. Get
18:09your foot. It's a finger game. Put your
18:10feet down. Look at y'all. See, y'all
18:13embarrassing me in front of Westside.
18:15All right. Like, they just got here. We
18:17got visitors and people here. Y'all just
18:19acting up. All right. I don't need no
18:26Well, I know. I don't say that. So, I
18:27don't know what y'all talking. It must
18:30be Mark when he comes up today. That's
18:31what y'all mean.
18:34I'm Look at that. So, don't worry, guys.
18:36I'm almost done. I'm almost done. Give
18:37me one minute.
18:42All right. Put a finger up if there's
18:45someone in this room that has helped you
18:47grow close to God.
18:50>> Amen. Amen.
18:54Put a finger up if you believe God is
18:56still working on you.
18:59>> Amen. Amen.
19:01Put a finger up if you're grateful that
19:04you don't have to follow Jesus alone.
19:09And put a finger up if you're glad to be
19:12at church today.
19:14>> Amen. And we're glad to have you.
19:17Welcome to the Metro LA Church of
19:20Christ.
19:22We are excited to have you here this
19:24morning and we have a great time of
19:27worship planned out for everyone. Uh so
19:31uh with that today we're going to be
19:32hearing we're continuing our series in
19:34Acts and we're going to be hearing from
19:35our brother Mark Flowers who'll be
19:37preaching the word today
19:39uh and leading us into communion.
19:42And so with that church uh we're going
19:44to go ahead and uh pray for our service.
19:46We have a few prayer requests. So, uh,
19:49please listen attentively as we go
19:51through our prayer requests. And, you
19:53know, again, we have sisters that are
19:55are are fighting the the good battle
19:57right now and different disciples that
19:59are coming out of surgeries and in the
20:01hospital. So, we want to make sure we're
20:02praying for them. And they're actually
20:04in tune online. We got our sister Ruth
20:05who's watching us uh online as well who
20:08just had her surgery this morning. So,
20:10we all wave. Say, "Hey, Miss Ruth, love
20:12you."
20:14Um but let's go to God in prayer for
20:17just our brothers and sisters and for
20:19our service today. Let's pray. Dear God,
20:23thank you so much for today an
20:24opportunity to just dig into your word,
20:26to be encouraged by the fellowship. uh
20:28whether we came in just ready, excited,
20:31and ready to be with the fellowship, to
20:33be with you, to commune with you, and to
20:36just uh have our time together, or we
20:38came in and it was like, man, I don't
20:40know, it was a hard time, or this is
20:43your first time at church in a long
20:44time, uh and you're coming in and you're
20:47you're you're navigating feelings and
20:48emotions. Father, I pray for whatever
20:51side of the spectrum they are. If
20:52they're here today and they're hearing
20:54my voice, that you're with them, that
20:57you're encouraging them, that you're
20:58building them up, that you're using this
21:00time and this experience to continue to
21:02build their faith. God, we thank you for
21:05this time to gather together, to worship
21:07together, to really set our collective
21:09minds on the one who created us, the one
21:12who sustains us, the one that has the
21:14great vision and plans for our lives.
21:16Father, we come to you and we pray as a
21:18as a collective group of disciples, for
21:21our just the the needs within our
21:24church, Lord. We pray for uh our sister
21:27Susan's mom. Uh we pray for Katherine
21:30Hills for healing uh from a fall and a
21:33fractured vertebrae. Lord, we pray that
21:35you be with her during this time. God,
21:37we pray continue for the recovery from
21:40the surgery from our sister Ruth uh
21:42slaughter. We pray that you continue to
21:44be with our sister Olivia Adams. God, we
21:47pray for all of those uh who have been
21:50grieving and who are navigating grief
21:52right now with in our congregation.
21:54Lord, we pray for our sister uh Ruby,
21:58her mom, right now, God, that you just
22:00be with them during this time that
22:02you're supporting uh the the the their
22:06family right now, God. We pray for our
22:08sister Renee Daniels, God, that you
22:10could bring her to a a complete
22:13recovery, Lord, that you be with uh
22:15Glenn, that you continue to lift him up,
22:17Father. That you continue to bring the
22:19disciples to encourage him and bless
22:21him, Father, during this time. Lord, I
22:23pray for our sister uh Molina's son,
22:27Freddy, that you be with him, Moshia,
22:29that you continue to be with the
22:31different health challenges that she's
22:33been navigating. you be with Montel's
22:35cousin, uh, Pette Robinson, God, who's
22:38recovering from a mild stroke. Lord,
22:40that you be with them during this time.
22:42And we pray for Angela Williams, her
22:44husband, that's just navigating. Uh, uh,
22:47he had an emergency surgery. Father, I
22:49pray that you just be with him, God,
22:51during this time as well. There's so
22:53much needs that we've expressed, and
22:55there's so many needs that we haven't
22:57expressed. There's so many needs that we
22:59know about, and there's things that we
23:01don't even know have happened. God, we
23:03know that you know all things, that
23:05you're mindful of everything. And part
23:07of the reason we gather together today
23:10on a Sunday, the beginning of the week,
23:13is that we're giving conscious time in
23:15prayer for our brothers and sisters who
23:18are navigating difficult situations. And
23:20so for all the needs that we know of
23:22that weren't stated explicitly today or
23:25that we don't know about, collectively,
23:27we bring our prayers for healing, for
23:29restoration, uh, and for a complete
23:31recovery, whether it's physical,
23:33emotional, or spiritual healing. God, we
23:35thank you again for this opportunity to
23:38worship together that we don't waste
23:39this grateful time uh to lift up our
23:42brothers and sisters in prayer. We thank
23:44you and pray all this in Jesus name.
23:46Amen.
23:47church. We also want to just talk about
23:49uh how we give as a congregation. We
23:51thank you from the Metro Church for the
23:53generosity and the faithfulness of
23:54generosity from all the saints here. Uh
23:58this is how you could give. You could
24:00make a uh you could drop money directly
24:03in the baskets that we'll have set up uh
24:05during our intentional fellowship break
24:06at both ends. Uh if that's for cash, for
24:10checks, you can make it payable to the
24:11LA IC. Uh, and if you want to just give
24:14online, you can use your phone, scan the
24:15code, it'll send you directly to how to
24:17do that. Uh, and so that's is how we
24:20give. We're gonna have a time of
24:21intentional fellowship for those who
24:22want to uh give cash or check and put it
24:25in the basket. We got two users. Can
24:27y'all put your hands up just so people
24:28know where you're at? There we go. One,
24:30two, right there. Uh, and we'll have
24:32time for that. So, let's just uh pray
24:34for our contribution. Uh and then we'll
24:36enter into uh intentional fellowship and
24:39uh a fivem minute dismissal to take our
24:42children to children's ministry. Amen.
24:44Uh let's pray for contribution. Dear
24:46God, thank you so much for today uh and
24:49to be able to take a collection for the
24:52needs of our congregation, the needs of
24:54our church, uh and also just the way
24:56that we're able to help meet the needs
24:57of our members as well. Father, uh, this
25:00this contribution, this donation, Lord,
25:02just goes a long way to continue to help
25:05us to be a church where no one is in
25:08need, that we're able to support all the
25:10needs, whether they be spiritual or
25:12physical. Uh, and we thank you again for
25:14that, and then just continue to be with
25:15our hearts and help us during these
25:17times, God. We pray all this in Jesus
25:19name. Amen. Uh, for those who are
25:21visiting, what we call intentional
25:23fellowship is an intentional time to
25:25connect. So we do a time where we
25:27dismiss for our children to be taken to
25:29children's ministry, but we also want to
25:31maximize our fellowship. So we have
25:34three questions to help you to maximize
25:36your fellowship. The three questions are
25:39meet someone that you've never met
25:40before. Find someone new. We know you
25:43came in, you've been talking to your
25:44friends and stuff. Find someone new,
25:47encourage them, ask them, "How can I
25:49pray for you this week? What has God
25:51been teaching you lately?" or how are
25:54you really doing? Let's have some
25:56fellowship. Amen.
29:30Wat.
30:39Woo!
31:22Wo
31:27wo
31:29wo
31:32wo.
31:34Woah.
31:38Heat. Heat.
31:59Heat. Heat.
32:47Take a break.
32:57W.
33:40W.
33:45Wo.
33:47Woah. Heat. Heat.
34:26No. Okay, we're going to pull it back in
34:29with the song.
34:30>> I'm going to say a quick prayer to give
34:32you guys a second to end your wonderful
34:35fellowship. God, thank you again for
34:37today. Thank you for putting us in an
34:39airond conditioned building. Thank you
34:41for giving us so much intentional
34:43fellowship that is so hard to stop. I
34:46think that's such a blessing. And I just
34:48pray that your Holy Spirit is really
34:50with Mark as he preaches the word today
34:52and and that this song just prepares us
34:54to listen. In your name I pray. Amen.
34:57>> Amen.
34:58>> All right, here we go.
35:01>> I'm coming up, Lord.
35:05I'm coming up soon.
35:09>> [singing]
35:09>> I'm coming up Lord.
35:12Lord, I want to hear my name.
35:16[singing]
35:17I want to hear my name.
35:21If you read your Bible
35:25and you read it [singing] well,
35:29then you know the story
35:33[singing] that I'm about to tell. Tell
35:37that I'm about to tell [singing] tell.
35:41>> Well, God took Noah
35:45to build [singing] him an ar
35:50to build that ark. [singing]
35:53How to go forward wood. [singing] How to
35:58go forward
36:00wood. Well, Elijah was walking [singing]
36:05one day with a friend
36:09and then he was taken [singing]
36:13and never seen again.
36:17[singing]
36:18Never seen again again.
36:21>> Well, I'm coming up, Lord.
36:26I'm coming up [singing] soon.
36:30I'm coming up, Lord.
36:33I want to hear my name. [singing]
36:37I want to hear my name.
36:41>> Well, [singing] you know that power
36:45many links of chain.
36:49[singing] You know that every link
36:53was in my Jesus name. name [singing]
36:57was in my Jesus name.
37:02There was one for the father [singing]
37:06and one for the son
37:09[singing]
37:10and one for the holy
37:13ghost. You know they all [singing] made
37:15one one. You know they all made one one.
37:21[singing]
37:22I'm coming up, Lord.
37:26I'm coming up soon. [singing]
37:30I'm coming up, Lord.
37:34I want to hear [singing] my name.
37:38I want to hear my name.
37:42I want to hear my name.
37:45[singing]
37:49[applause]
37:50>> [cheering]
37:54>> All right. Thank you. Thank you.
38:06>> All right. You got to get situated. Oh,
38:08what am I doing?
38:10>> I have on this right. This is on. Okay.
38:16>> That is a force of habit.
38:19Oh, thank you. Somebody said they like
38:21my jacket. So, I was saying thank you
38:23and I hope you guys appreciate my boys
38:25the men jacket. That that's that that's
38:27what I got going on here.
38:31But, uh, hello family and happy Lord's
38:32Day. It is so good to be with you.
38:35>> I am excited to be able to preach God's
38:37word.
38:40>> And Isaiah 40:8 says, "The grass withers
38:43>> and the flowers fall,
38:45>> but the word of our God endures forever.
38:50May God bless the hearing and the
38:51understanding of his holy word.
38:55>> You know, today is my prayer that you
38:58walk away with a renewed conviction that
39:02Jesus is Lord,
39:05>> but also you walk away with a renewed
39:07vigor to preach the word to a lost and
39:11dying world. Amen.
39:14>> And so for the next 40 minutes, I want
39:16us to sit under God's teaching
39:18>> and have our minds and our hearts
39:21renewed.
39:26The passage that is before us today is
39:29Acts chapter 6 verses 1-7.
39:32And that's known as the choosing of the
39:34seven.
39:35And you might be thinking, didn't we
39:36talk about that last week?
39:39Really what Paris did was he did an
39:41overview of Acts chapter 6 and did an
39:44overview of Acts chapter 7. So did he
39:47talk about that? Absolutely.
39:50But what we're going to do for the next
39:51couple of weeks is we're going to do a
39:53deep dive into the different sections on
39:56those two chapters. And so I get to bat
39:59lead off. I get to do Acts chapter 6
40:01verses 1-7.
40:08Sorry.
40:10No, it's so funny. You hear people say
40:12something and I'm like, what did I say?
40:15But
40:18the title of today's sermon, if you're
40:20taking notes, is a good problem.
40:24>> Now, I want you to take a look at the
40:26girl in that slide because you might be
40:29thinking and you might feel like her. Is
40:31there such a thing as a good problem?
40:37Some people said yes. Some people said
40:39no.
40:40>> Right? But I want to put before you that
40:44not all problems are bad.
40:48>> Sometimes problems are evidence of
40:50things going right, not evidence of
40:52things going wrong.
40:58>> Okay. Sound a little bit more convinced.
41:05I'm going to give you a couple of
41:06examples.
41:09>> I don't know how you feel when you go to
41:12the gym after a long layover. But that's
41:15the way I feel. I'm hot.
41:19I'm sweaty.
41:21I'm tired.
41:22I'm wondering why am I here?
41:27And maybe you can relate.
41:30And sometimes I don't want to go to the
41:31gym because the next day I know I'm
41:33gonna have some sore muscles.
41:36>> And I want to put before you that sore
41:39muscles are a good problem if you
41:42haven't used them in a while.
41:45>> Perhaps
41:47there's been a new restaurant that's
41:49opened up around the neighborhood.
41:53And so
41:55from the owner's perspective, things are
41:57going really, really well. He's feeding
42:0150 people a day.
42:05Now, what's crazy about that is when he
42:08first started, he couldn't get his mama
42:09or his daddy to come,
42:12right? Nobody was supporting him. But
42:13now he's got 50, you know, well, it's
42:16more than 50, but I'm saying 50 people a
42:19day coming.
42:21Now food is good, word of mouth spreads.
42:25He's had a couple celebrities endorse
42:26the restaurant. So now instead of
42:28feeding 50 people a day, he's feeding
42:31500 people a day. You can imagine that
42:35that restaurant is not ready for that
42:38kind of stress.
42:40>> The system is not set up that way.
42:43What we're going to see today in our
42:45story is the church experiencing
42:48problems because of massive growth
42:54in Acts chapter 6 and verse one. And
42:56what we're going to be doing is we're
42:57going to be doing a verse byvere study.
42:59If you're not familiar with a verse by
43:00verse study, what that is is a line by
43:03line and word for word analysis of a
43:06biblical text.
43:07>> Amen. And the reason I like doing that
43:10is because you get to gain new insights
43:14from familiar passages.
43:17You get to make connections with
43:19scripture, you know, different parts of
43:21the Bible that perhaps you didn't get to
43:23make. And I hope you'll see that today.
43:25But in verse one, the Bible says, "In
43:27those days when the number of disciples
43:29was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews
43:31among them complained against the hoopic
43:33Jews because their widows were being
43:35overlooked in the daily distribution of
43:39food
43:45in those days when the number of
43:47disciples was increasing.
43:50Let me give you a quick history lesson.
43:53In Acts chapter 1, the Bible opens well
43:56that yeah, I mean the Bible, but you
43:58know that uh the book opens with the
44:00risen Jesus
44:04teaching
44:06his disciples for 40 days.
44:10And we know that the number of disciples
44:12he was teaching because the Bible tells
44:14us that in Acts 11:14 that there were
44:16about 120 people there, right? So 120
44:19disciples.
44:21In Acts chapter 2, we get to see the
44:22birth of the church at Pentecost. And
44:24Pentecost is a Jewish festival when the
44:27Jewish men were instructed to come back
44:30to Jerusalem.
44:32And so in Acts 2
44:3541,
44:37the Bible tells us that 3,000 people
44:39were added to the number that day. So if
44:42you're doing the math, 3,120.
44:45By the time you get to Acts 4:4, the
44:50Bible records that there are 5,000 men.
44:55Just 5,000 men. And typically, where
44:58there are men, there are more women.
45:02>> So, you can imagine the size of the
45:06church. In Acts 5:14, the Bible tells us
45:10that more men and women were being added
45:13to the believers.
45:16So by the time we get to Acts six, a
45:19conservative estimate by historians is
45:22the church was 10,000 people.
45:26>> And think about that. That is very
45:28realistic and probably underrated when
45:30you consider what I said about Acts 4:4,
45:335,000 men.
45:36I've seen a range from 10,000 to 20
45:39thou. Actually, I've seen the range from
45:4010,000 to 25,000. I'm just giving you a
45:42conservative estimate of 10,000.
45:46What you might not know is that
45:48Jerusalem, historians tell us,
45:50had about a 100,000 people.
45:54So that's easily a tenth of the people.
45:58To put that into perspective, if we did,
46:00if we're talking about not LA County,
46:01which has 8.9 people, the city, which
46:05has 3.9 million people, that would be
46:08like 390,000
46:11disciples in the city of LA. 400,000
46:14people in LA. That's the kind of growth
46:18that the church was experiencing.
46:22And it also gives us a clue as to why
46:24the religious leaders were so in uproar
46:28over this movement.
46:31>> All these people are flooding away from
46:33the temple and going to this Jewish
46:36Messiah who's not even alive. Like what
46:38what is going on?
46:43The church is made up of henistic and
46:48Hebraic Jews. The Bible says the
46:49Hellenistic Jews among them complained
46:51against the Hebraic Jews. Hellenistic
46:53Jews were Greek Jew, Greekeaking Jews.
46:56Okay? They grew up with in with a Greek
46:58culture. So they lived outside of
47:00Israel. They were part of the diaspora,
47:03the people that are outside, Jewish
47:04people that are outside of Israel. Okay?
47:07And there are the Hebraic Jews. Again,
47:09the only Hebraic Jews and Hellenistic
47:11Jews.
47:13And the Hebraic Jews were Jews who spoke
47:16Aramaic Aramaic. They lived inside of
47:20Israel. So they had traditional Jewish
47:23customs.
47:25Now you can imagine the culture
47:27conflict. They're both Jews,
47:30but one's conservative and one's
47:34progressive.
47:36Think about today.
47:41>> There's two groups of Well, there's one
47:43group of Americans, but there's two
47:44parties. We have a two-party system.
47:46There you go.
47:47>> There's a conservative Republicans and
47:50the progressive Democrats.
47:52>> These are people living in the same
47:54nation.
47:56So all of a sudden you get all these
47:57people together and again we can't keep
48:00it together.
48:01>> So the challenges there were immense.
48:06The Bible mentions, sorry, let me go
48:08back.
48:11because they're widows.
48:14Oh, I got you. Let me go to that in one
48:18second. Let me tell you since I clicked
48:20forward about the three points that I
48:22have for you today. The problem, the
48:25solution, and the result.
48:28>> The first, my first point is the
48:31problem.
48:33What is the problem? The problem is the
48:39hellenistic Jews were being overlooked
48:41in the daily distribution of food. So
48:43the outsiders,
48:45the Greekeaking people,
48:48and if you want there to be a problem at
48:50the church,
48:53let there be an issue with food.
48:57Let you fix your mouth to get some ribs.
49:02>> And the ribs are gone.
49:04>> [laughter]
49:06>> Or you say, "Hey, you know what? I'm
49:08about to get me some carneight. I
49:09already know, man. I saw it in line. I
49:11got in line. I'm eyeballing it."
49:14And as you keep moving forward, the bowl
49:17keeps getting more and more empty,
49:20>> right?
49:22And all of a sudden
49:27>> you get to the front
49:30>> and the person right before you takes
49:34the last bit of carneasada
49:38>> that's going to test your Christianity.
49:40>> We going to see if you're still a
49:41Christian.
49:43>> Not only in deed, not only in word, but
49:46in thought.
49:47>> What are you thinking?
49:49>> Right.
49:52But the problem in the first century
49:55church was much bigger than that because
49:56we're talking about widows being
49:58overlooked for food. There was no
50:00welfare system,
50:03>> right?
50:08Without the support of the church, they
50:10literally would not eat.
50:14And so this problem that's addressed in
50:16the Bible threatened the unity of the
50:19church. It's it's believed to be the
50:20church's first major test that they have
50:22little tests along the way. Oh,
50:23absolutely. But this test because if you
50:26say you are the people of God,
50:31you're the church,
50:34but people are being neglected.
50:38It becomes a problem.
50:42So the 12 gathered all the disciples
50:45together and said, "It would not be
50:46right for us to neglect the ministry of
50:48the word of God in order to wait on
50:51tables."
50:52>> Who are the 12? The 12 apostles.
50:56And at this time, oh, that's so cool. I
50:59can bend down, get my water, and not be
51:01away from the mic. I love it. Amen. AV
51:04team, come on. Let's go with this
51:05wireless stuff.
51:12But the 12 consist of
51:15um uh Judas is gone, right? So now it's
51:17Matias. Matias has replaced Judas. So
51:19the 12 apostles are there and what do
51:21they do? They gather all the disciples.
51:24They gather the entire church.
51:28Okay? And they say it would not be right
51:32for us to neglect the ministry of the
51:33word in order to wait on tables.
51:38I want you to notice what they didn't
51:40say.
51:43What they didn't say
51:46was
51:48wedding tables is beneath us.
51:51>> They didn't say that.
51:53>> What they didn't say is that it's not
51:55important.
51:57What they said was it wouldn't be right.
52:00And let me and let me explain to you
52:01what that means in the Greek. It means
52:02it's not right.
52:06It means it's wrong. It means it's no
52:08bueno.
52:10Right? It says it would not be right for
52:13us to do one thing instead of the other.
52:15It wouldn't be right for us to wait on
52:18tables instead of preaching the word.
52:24And that's important for us to get
52:28because sometimes the greatest threat to
52:31your calling isn't doing something bad.
52:34It's doing something good,
52:36but it's not doing the right thing.
52:41Right? If you are a student, your job is
52:46to study,
52:48>> to get good grades. I don't want to hear
52:51all my friends like me.
52:54>> I'm I I talk to my professors. I have a
52:58clean backpack.
53:01It doesn't matter.
53:05>> Get the grades going.
53:07>> Yes. Is that important? Absolutely. I
53:10want you to talk to your teachers. I
53:11want you to be friends with, you know,
53:12have friends,
53:14>> but let's keep the main thing the main
53:16thing.
53:22My second point is the solution.
53:29>> They continue and they say, "Brothers
53:31and sisters, choose seven men from among
53:33you who are known to be full of the
53:35spirit and wisdom. We will turn this
53:37responsibility over to them and we'll
53:39give our attention to prayer and the
53:42ministry of the word.
53:48You know, it makes me think be before I
53:50I I I I move on is that
53:55they want to find qualified people to
53:57handle this need because they believe
53:58it's a serious need.
54:01>> And it's so funny how
54:04in the modern church, we ask pastors to
54:07be miracle workers.
54:10We ask them to be marriage counselors,
54:12>> social workers,
54:14>> cut the grass if you have time,
54:16>> do weddings,
54:18>> do funerals,
54:20>> work on the building, visit every sick
54:23person in church, attend every single
54:24event,
54:27>> and again,
54:29none of those are bad,
54:32>> right?
54:34But they got to keep the main thing the
54:36main thing. Amen.
54:38>> And so they say, "Brothers and sisters,
54:39choose seven men." It's interesting that
54:42the apostles turn over and delegate
54:44their responsibility to the church.
54:48They say, "Brothers and sisters,
54:53choose seven men from among you who are
54:55known to be full of the spirit and
54:57wisdom."
55:01>> Let's look at the three qualifications
55:02that they put out there before them.
55:05from among you.
55:08from among you.
55:12You don't have to go outside.
55:14There are competent people right in this
55:17room.
55:18>> There are mature people.
55:23The assumption
55:29is that there are people here who can do
55:33the ministry.
55:35Not just the paid staff.
55:38>> They said who are known to be full of
55:40the spirit. To be full of something. We
55:42use this term. Oh, you're full of it,
55:44[laughter]
55:44>> right? We we say that, right? But to be
55:47full of something carries the idea of
55:50being controlled by that thing.
55:53>> So if you're full of anger, you already
55:56know what's controlling you. Anger.
55:59>> So guess what? If you're full of the
56:01spirit,
56:02>> the spirit of God, the third person of
56:05the trinity is controlling your thoughts
56:08and your minds and your actions.
56:10>> Now, every
56:12Christian has the spirit.
56:15>> But there's a difference between having
56:16the spirit and being full of the spirit,
56:17being controlled by the spirit.
56:20>> Sometimes people are turning down the
56:22spirit,
56:23>> right? Spirit's talking like, "Oh, h bad
56:26reception. I'll call you back." Right?
56:27It's like, "What are we doing?
56:32and wisdom.
56:35There's a difference between wisdom and
56:39knowledge.
56:40>> They don't say of knowledge
56:42of wisdom. Knowledge is having
56:46information. But wisdom is knowing what
56:48to do with that information.
56:51>> Right? That part
56:55that matters.
56:58The you know the solution involves not
57:03just finding charismatic people
57:05>> but finding people of character
57:10>> because ministries get complex.
57:14>> You know I think about Stacy
57:17>> Su
57:18>> and she leads a youth and family
57:19ministry.
57:22>> There's so many moving parts in that
57:23ministry.
57:26Teachers
57:27You got to talk to kids. You got to talk
57:28to parents about their kids.
57:32I have a kid, so I know
57:37people call out, people don't show up.
57:42And I want to remind you, it's not like
57:44we have this huge plethora of people. So
57:47if you just decide to not show up on
57:49Sunday, poof, everything's going to be
57:50fine. You've just created a massive
57:53hole.
57:56If you're gonna be sick, it's okay. Just
57:58let people know.
57:59>> At the very minimum, give them a call
58:01before, the day before. I mean, at the
58:03minimum. But you kind of know a couple
58:05days ahead of time, right? You're like,
58:07"Oh, or or let's" or better yet, you're
58:08going on vacation. You knew you were
58:11going on vacation five months ago.
58:13[laughter]
58:15All of a sudden, Stacy's like, "It's
58:169:59. Get a text." What?
58:23I want to encourage you to use wisdom.
58:26>> Yes sir. Yes sir.
58:27>> The Bible says and they say we will turn
58:30this responsibility over to them. Now
58:33that that's interesting because listen
58:35to the words we will turn this
58:37responsibility over to them. That
58:38implies that it was their responsibility
58:42before. Where do we see that in Acts
58:444:34 the Bible says that there were no
58:46needy persons among them. For from time
58:48to time those who own land or houses
58:50sold them, brought the money from the
58:52sales and put it at the apostles feet,
58:54and it was distributed to anyone who had
58:56need.
58:59This should reinforce the point that it
59:01wasn't that feeding widows wasn't
59:04important. That's what they did. But
59:06guess what? You can do that when you
59:08have a when you're a small church,
59:11>> right? You can do all kinds of things
59:12when you're the minister. But it doesn't
59:14take too long for all of a sudden you to
59:17have to outsource things.
59:19>> And it's important that you do.
59:23I'm gonna give you a sneak peek into my
59:26week. Okay?
59:28>> This is just some of the things that I
59:30did, right? Obviously, you have a child.
59:32Obviously, I mean, whatever. Da da da.
59:34Right?
59:36But I'm also the facilities deacon. And
59:38I want to say that that is an incredible
59:41honor.
59:42>> Amen.
59:43to be a deacon in God's church.
59:48>> There's only two biblical offices,
59:51right? There's elders in the New
59:53Testament church. There's elders and
59:55there's deacons. And so, it's an
59:57incredible honor. And we and I serve
59:58with a a bunch of deacons and it's a
1:00:02pleasure to serve with them because
1:00:04they're responsible people. Yeah.
1:00:07>> And I have this ministry philosophy that
1:00:10the people who are invested the most
1:00:14should lead.
1:00:16Right?
1:00:17>> Just makes sense. How do you know what's
1:00:19really going on? Yeah, I know you used
1:00:21to be in children's ministry 15 years
1:00:25ago
1:00:26>> and your kids are 30 and 40,
1:00:28>> but what does that got to do with now?
1:00:31>> Things are different.
1:00:32>> It's not to say that you can't relate,
1:00:34but you're not as invested. you're
1:00:36armchair quarterbacking,
1:00:39>> right?
1:00:40>> But but why am I even bringing up my
1:00:42week? So, some of the things that I did
1:00:43was I ordered supplies. I met with AGM,
1:00:46which is a a greater me foster youth
1:00:48program. I'm there is no back projector.
1:00:51So, normally I can look up there. There
1:00:52is no back projector because it's
1:00:53broken. But we got to deal with that.
1:00:56Negotiate contracts. Inner beauty
1:00:58pageant uh which was an incredible event
1:01:00by the way. Incredible. Thank you for
1:01:02those of you who came and supported.
1:01:05amazing event. But what that means for
1:01:07me as the facilities deacon is that I'm
1:01:10here on Thursday from 2 to 10 and I'm
1:01:13here on Friday from 2 to 10. Right? Why
1:01:16am I saying all that?
1:01:19Because it makes the point. I would
1:01:23rather do these things and to have
1:01:24Parish do them.
1:01:26>> I don't want my ministers saturated with
1:01:28doing all these things.
1:01:30>> [applause]
1:01:31>> So what's important to realize is that
1:01:33when you do your part, you are actually
1:01:36serving the church.
1:01:40>> And it allows the ministers to keep the
1:01:43main thing the main thing.
1:01:45>> And what's the main thing?
1:01:48Prayer and the ministry of the word.
1:01:51That is the pastorial priority. I didn't
1:01:53have a picture of of Paris.
1:01:55[laughter]
1:01:57If I had a picture of Paris, actually
1:01:58that's Paris with no hair. Okay. Cut it,
1:02:01you know. Right. Goatee, right?
1:02:06Everything. Right.
1:02:15But prayer and the ministry of the word,
1:02:20that's the priority,
1:02:22>> right? And so they say we have two
1:02:24responsibilities. We can't get caught up
1:02:26doing other things. It is I don't know
1:02:29what you think it's like to
1:02:33prepare for a sermon,
1:02:35>> but there's no direct download of
1:02:37Revelation when you're sitting there,
1:02:40>> right?
1:02:43>> You got to study, you know, again,
1:02:44you're looking at, you know, original
1:02:46language,
1:02:47right? You're doing word studies, you're
1:02:49looking at commentary, you're doing so
1:02:51many things. And again,
1:02:55if I am the facilities deacon and I'm
1:02:57taking those things off, what that
1:02:59allows Paris to do is to concentrate on
1:03:01the word,
1:03:03>> right?
1:03:05But notice the
1:03:08order. Prayer and the ministry of the
1:03:10word.
1:03:12Prayer is first.
1:03:14>> I want to remind you that prayer is
1:03:16powerful.
1:03:17>> That prayer changes things.
1:03:22that when prayer goes up, power comes
1:03:24down.
1:03:26>> And that when prayer goes out, blessing
1:03:28comes back.
1:03:30>> It's so important that we pray. That is
1:03:34the most important thing that we do.
1:03:37Yes. You know, again, is it great to,
1:03:38you know, serve people with your hands
1:03:40and do things? Yes. But God
1:03:44can work in an incredible way when you
1:03:46pray.
1:03:48We move God to move the ministry, not
1:03:50the other way around.
1:03:53>> This proposal pleased the whole group.
1:03:56They chose Steven,
1:04:00a man full of faith and of the Holy
1:04:01Spirit. Also, Philillip, Procurus,
1:04:04Niconor, I'll get to the rest of those
1:04:06names. We'll get there.
1:04:10This proposal pleased the whole group.
1:04:13Once again, I want you to notice
1:04:18how invested the people are,
1:04:22right? They remember the apostles turned
1:04:24over the responsibility, right? Now,
1:04:26they gave them the qualifications,
1:04:29right? So, the people just have to go in
1:04:30there, find the people, but it pleases
1:04:34the whole group.
1:04:39Let me go back and, you know, attack
1:04:41some of these names. It says they chose
1:04:43Steven, a man full of faith and of the
1:04:44Holy Spirit. Also, Philip, Procurus,
1:04:46Nickur, Timone,
1:04:51Simba, Nala, Scar,
1:04:55Zazu.
1:04:58Oh, my fault. I got cut up on Timone,
1:05:00y'all. That that's that's bad preaching.
1:05:01My bad. Let me focus.
1:05:05Parminus and Nicholas from Antioch, a
1:05:08convert to Judaism.
1:05:10I couldn't resist.
1:05:19I want you to notice that all these
1:05:21names are Greek names. What's the
1:05:24significance of that? It was Greek
1:05:26speakaking widows that were being
1:05:28overlooked.
1:05:30Now, if they lived in the politically
1:05:31correct world that we live in, what they
1:05:33would have done is they would have said,
1:05:34"Well, we got to have four Israeli
1:05:37deacons and we got to have, you know,
1:05:39you know, uh, three, you know, Greek
1:05:41speaking people. We got to balance it
1:05:42out and all that."
1:05:45>> None of that was even a concern because
1:05:48they found qualified spiritual people.
1:05:52>> That's why again, character is more
1:05:55important than charisma.
1:05:58You just got to find the right people.
1:06:00And there are the right people in the
1:06:03fellowship.
1:06:06>> They presented these men to the apostles
1:06:08who prayed and laid their hands on them.
1:06:13>> Again, these people, they are doing it,
1:06:18right? We're doing it. You know, I I and
1:06:22I want to be clear, okay?
1:06:25You're going to see some people come on
1:06:26up here in the next couple of weeks. And
1:06:28guess what? We're not in a full-time
1:06:29ministry.
1:06:31>> But guess what? What's cool about that
1:06:33is you shouldn't be able to tell. If
1:06:36this is your first time here, you're
1:06:37like, "Oh, okay. Great. This is the
1:06:38normal preacher. I preach once or twice
1:06:40a year,
1:06:43>> right?
1:06:44>> But it doesn't matter.
1:06:46>> My point is, you can be that qualified
1:06:50person.
1:06:52If I can do it,
1:06:54>> you can do it.
1:06:56>> But they presented the these men to the
1:06:58apostles who prayed and laid their hands
1:07:00on them. And the significance of praying
1:07:03and laying their hands on them
1:07:06is that the apostles are just conferring
1:07:10unity, saying, "Hey, these are the
1:07:12guys." And then and they're making it
1:07:14official, right? Right? So you'll see
1:07:15that you know when we have um let's say
1:07:17missionaries come out or when we had our
1:07:19deacons appointed when we have elders
1:07:21you'll see you know the elders and you
1:07:23know laying their hands on that. It's
1:07:24just conferring that blessing. Hey we're
1:07:27one in heart.
1:07:30The last point number three the result.
1:07:34So the word of God spread, the number of
1:07:37disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly
1:07:42and a large number of priests became
1:07:44obedient to the faith.
1:07:48When everybody plays their part, the
1:07:50word of God spreads.
1:07:56>> But that requires us all doing our part.
1:07:59And in here right in the first century
1:08:01the disciples are increasing rapidly
1:08:07and they have this crazy thing happen.
1:08:12They have a large number of priests
1:08:14become obedient to the faith.
1:08:18A couple of chapters before this the
1:08:20priests were involved in the persecution
1:08:22of Peter and John.
1:08:26And what it's showing
1:08:30is that the word of God is not just
1:08:34reaching the normal people. It's
1:08:37reaching the religious establishment.
1:08:40What Luke is pointing out to us is that
1:08:42nothing can stop the word of God.
1:08:46>> That no one is above its reaches. It
1:08:49doesn't matter that that boss who you
1:08:50know is just crazy.
1:08:55Share your faith with them. Share your
1:08:57faith with her.
1:09:00>> You don't know.
1:09:03We're going to see in a couple weeks.
1:09:08We're going to see Stephen, a guy who
1:09:10persecuted I said Stephen. Stephen is
1:09:12next week. Paul who persecuted the
1:09:15church. Saul who persecuted the church
1:09:17becomes a Christian.
1:09:20>> Nobody is outside of the reach of God.
1:09:27Let me give you a life hack
1:09:29>> as we start wrapping up here.
1:09:36The title of today's sermon was a good
1:09:38problem. And I want to encourage you to
1:09:40start looking at problems
1:09:43as opportunities.
1:09:47>> What current problem in your life that
1:09:50you see as a problem is really an
1:09:52opportunity?
1:09:54It's an opportunity for God to get
1:09:56glory.
1:09:59>> Maybe your kids out of control,
1:10:02>> right? You're like, I see nothing but
1:10:04problem there.
1:10:08>> But it's an opportunity. Don't stop
1:10:10preaching the word.
1:10:14>> It makes a difference.
1:10:17>> If you don't have older kids, they'll
1:10:19tell you it makes a difference.
1:10:25Today I had three points for you. The
1:10:28problem,
1:10:30the solution, and the result. The
1:10:34problem was the Hellenistic widows were
1:10:36being overlooked in the daily
1:10:38distribution of food.
1:10:40The solution
1:10:42was to keep the main thing the main
1:10:46thing and to find qualified people to
1:10:50handle
1:10:52the important needs that arise in a
1:10:54ministry.
1:10:56>> Today's story is not really about
1:11:02pastors.
1:11:04It's not really about deacons. And let
1:11:07me point this out. the
1:11:11these are proto deacons, prototype
1:11:14deacons. Okay, it doesn't actually use
1:11:17the noun. It used the verb. So, they're
1:11:20serving, but they're not. So, these
1:11:22aren't even official deacons.
1:11:25It's kind of like the apostles in this
1:11:26ser in this story serving as prototype
1:11:30leaders, right? We don't have apostles
1:11:32anymore, right? But we do have elders,
1:11:34you know, we do have pastors, right? And
1:11:37so in the same way both of these groups
1:11:39are serving as proto, you know, again
1:11:42before. And so we can we're just
1:11:44learning lesson from these leaders who
1:11:45were overseeing the church and we can
1:11:48apply that to today. We can see these
1:11:49people that just normal everyday people
1:11:50that were in the fellowship that are
1:11:53seeing a need. We can see them
1:11:54addressing a need.
1:11:56>> And again in 1 Timothy 3, you're going
1:11:58to see the actual title deacon and all
1:12:00those things and qualifications are laid
1:12:02out. But it's just important for us to
1:12:05understand that we need to keep the main
1:12:06thing and we need to keep our phones
1:12:08off. No, I'm just kidding. I'm just
1:12:10kidding.
1:12:16Bad preaching.
1:12:19The result was explosive growth.
1:12:23>> And I want to encourage you to know that
1:12:25gospel growth follows gospel work.
1:12:29>> Amen.
1:12:31When you preach the gospel, the result
1:12:34is or will be people being saved.
1:12:37>> Maybe not right away
1:12:39>> as the seeds are maturing and being
1:12:41watered and things like that,
1:12:43>> but it's going to reap a harvest
1:12:49>> as we transition to communion. And let
1:12:51me see what slide I have. Oh, okay. I
1:12:53ended with that. That's fine.
1:12:58But as we transition to communion,
1:13:05I want to remind you that humanity had a
1:13:08huge problem.
1:13:10And that problem was that
1:13:12God is holy and we are not.
1:13:16>> We're sinful.
1:13:17>> And there's no way that we can be good
1:13:20enough to get with God.
1:13:24And so Jesus had to make a way when
1:13:27there was no way.
1:13:29>> When there is nothing that you and I
1:13:32could do but flounder in our sin. And so
1:13:35he turned a
1:13:38bad problem
1:13:40to his good problem.
1:13:45He went to the cross.
1:13:47He died for the sins of humanity so that
1:13:50we could have a saving relationship
1:13:54with God.
1:13:56And I want you to remember that as
1:13:58you're taking the bread and the wine and
1:14:01the juice. We don't serve wine here.
1:14:08The bread, of course, represents Jesus's
1:14:10broken body.
1:14:13And the
1:14:15cup represents his blood that was
1:14:17spilled.
1:14:19With that, let's bow our heads for a
1:14:20word of prayer.
1:14:23Father in heaven, thank you so much
1:14:26for your mercies that are new each and
1:14:29every day.
1:14:30We are so grateful that you have given
1:14:35us a design for the church
1:14:40so that your church can flourish.
1:14:45When the word
1:14:48and prayer aren't preserved,
1:14:51the church becomes ineffective.
1:14:54It flounders.
1:14:56We become a social club.
1:14:59Is it important to meet needs?
1:15:01Absolutely.
1:15:04But we got to keep the main thing the
1:15:06main thing.
1:15:08>> Help us to remember that in our
1:15:09individual lives. And help us to serve
1:15:13you and to serve the church in a way
1:15:16where we could bring you glory by
1:15:19through prayer and through
1:15:22the preaching of the word. We love you
1:15:26and we thank you for your sacrifice.
1:15:27It's in the name of Jesus that we pray.
1:15:29Amen.
1:18:25Heat. Heat.
1:20:29Blessed assurance
1:20:34Jesus is mine.
1:20:39He's been the forman in the fire time
1:20:44[music] after time.
1:20:49Born of his feet,
1:20:54washed in his blood.
1:20:59And what he did for me on Calvary is
1:21:04more than enough.
1:21:08I trust in God, [music]
1:21:11my savior.
1:21:13[singing]
1:21:14The one
1:21:16who will never [music]
1:21:19fail. [singing]
1:21:23He will never fail.
1:21:28I trust in [music] God.
1:21:31Myior [singing]
1:21:34one
1:21:36who will never [singing]
1:21:38fail.
1:21:42[music and singing]
1:21:43>> He will never fail,
1:21:47>> perfect,
1:21:50>> perfect. [singing]
1:21:55>> All is at rest. [singing] Is at rest. Is
1:21:58at rest. I know the author of [singing]
1:22:03tomorrow
1:22:05my step. [music]
1:22:09>> This is my story. [singing]
1:22:14>> This is my song.
1:22:17>> Praising [music]
1:22:18praising
1:22:19>> praising [singing]
1:22:20my ris king and savior all [music] the
1:22:25day long.
1:22:28Oh, I trust in God, [music and singing]
1:22:32my savior.
1:22:34The one
1:22:36>> who will [singing and music] never
1:22:39fail.
1:22:43>> He will never fail. [singing]
1:22:48>> I trust in [music] God,
1:22:51my savior, [singing]
1:22:56who will never
1:22:57>> [singing and music]
1:22:58>> He will never fail.
1:23:00>> He will never fail.
1:23:03>> He will never fail. [singing]
1:23:14[music and singing]
1:23:14>> Hallelujah.
1:23:22>> I sought the Lord. I sought the Lord.
1:23:28I sought the Lord and he hurt and he
1:23:32answer [music and singing]
1:23:33I sought the Lord any
1:23:37answer [music] I sought the Lord any
1:23:42[singing]
1:23:43that's why I trust him that's why
1:23:46[music] I trust him I sought the Lord
1:23:49[singing]
1:23:49any
1:23:51answer I sought the Lord sought the Lord
1:23:55and he
1:23:55>> [singing and music]
1:23:56>> And he answered I sought the Lord and
1:24:00heard and he answered.
1:24:03That's why I [music] trust him. That's
1:24:05why I trust him. I sought the Lord and
1:24:09he heard and he [music and singing]
1:24:11answered.
1:24:12>> I sought the Lord and he heard and he
1:24:16answered my sought
1:24:19and heard and he answered. That's why I
1:24:22>> That's why I trust [singing]
1:24:23>> That's why I
1:24:25>> That's why I [music] trust you. I saw
1:24:27the Lord
1:24:29hurt [singing]
1:24:30in the answer. I saw the Lord
1:24:35in the answer. I saw the [singing]
1:24:39hurt. [music] Yeah.
1:24:40>> That's why I
1:24:42>> That's why I trust my heart.
1:24:44>> That's why I trust in [music] God.
1:24:47[singing]
1:24:48>> My savior
1:24:53who will [music] never [singing]
1:24:56f
1:25:02[singing]
1:25:03Oh, I trust [music] in God
1:25:07my savior [singing]
1:25:12who will [music] never
1:25:15fail. [singing] He will never fail. He
1:25:17will never fail.
1:25:19He will never fail. [music and singing]
1:25:23>> Oh, I sought the Lord.
1:25:25>> I sought the Lord.
1:25:29>> I sought the Lord. I saw the Lord.
1:25:31>> I saw the Lord.
1:25:35I sought the Lord. And he
1:25:39>> That's why I
1:25:40>> That's why I [music]
1:25:41That's why I
1:25:42>> That's why I trust him. I saw the Lord
1:25:46and heard [music]
1:25:49I saw the Lord.
1:25:53>> I saw
1:25:56heard.
1:25:58That's why I That's why I That's why I
1:26:03trust in [music] God.
1:26:06I say [singing] you're the one
1:26:10who will [music] never He will never
1:26:14never ever he will never Oh, he will
1:26:17never. [music]
1:26:20[singing]
1:26:21Oh, I trust in God,
1:26:25my savior, [singing]
1:26:28the one
1:26:30who [music] will never
1:26:33fail.
1:26:36[singing]
1:26:37>> He will never fail.
1:26:41I trust in God,
1:26:45my savior. You're the one
1:26:49who will never
1:26:51the
1:26:56>> He [snorts] will never fail.
1:27:01My trust in God.
1:27:04My savior, you're [music] the one
1:27:09who will never
1:27:12fail.
1:27:16You will never fail.
1:27:23I trust in God.
1:27:42Amen.
1:27:45Amen. Let's give it up to the worship
1:27:47team. Thank you so much.
1:27:49>> [applause]
1:27:54>> Oh. Oh, you got it.
1:27:55>> Thank you.
1:27:57>> And thank you, Mark, for the message
1:27:59today.
1:28:01>> Thank you. [applause] Thank you.
1:28:06We have a few announcements, but I need
1:28:09to gather myself like after that song.
1:28:11I'm like,
1:28:17>> you know what? Let's just take some time
1:28:19to just pray quick before I go into the
1:28:21announcements.
1:28:23>> Dear heavenly father, thank you so much
1:28:25God for today. Thank you for your word.
1:28:30Thank you that we can trust you.
1:28:34>> Thank you for just having this time that
1:28:36we get to just connect with you and each
1:28:38other. God, I pray so much, dear God,
1:28:42that we can seek you with all of our
1:28:44hearts, God, knowing that you will never
1:28:48fail. Help us to remember your promises.
1:28:52Remember the ways that you have worked
1:28:55in our lives, God. And I pray just at
1:28:59this moment, dear God, with whatever is
1:29:01going on in each person's minds and
1:29:04hearts, dear God, that you will settle
1:29:06it.
1:29:07I pray that you will help us to not
1:29:09leave here the way we came in.
1:29:12>> Yeah.
1:29:13>> I pray that we will have it on our
1:29:15hearts to grab someone, to talk, to
1:29:17pray, whatever it is, so we could have a
1:29:21clean heart and mind as we leave today.
1:29:25Just knowing that each day is
1:29:29such a gift
1:29:31>> and tomorrow is not a promise
1:29:34but you are the promise. So I pray in
1:29:38all things we can seek you but I thank
1:29:41you so much and I pray all this in your
1:29:44son Jesus name. Amen.
1:29:46>> Amen.
1:29:47>> Amen. And just for one correction in our
1:29:50prayer announcement,
1:29:52um it was Suz is Susan's mom, Katherine
1:29:56Hill, who we were praying for. Paris
1:29:58mistake and said Susan,
1:30:00>> but it's Suzanne.
1:30:03>> Amen. So, let us get the announcements
1:30:06going.
1:30:11>> Okay. I should go first actually.
1:30:12>> No, no, no. Where's
1:30:15>> Yeah.
1:30:21>> Hi. Front and center. Hi. So, really
1:30:25quick. Um, so thank you for everyone
1:30:27who's been sending in announcements and
1:30:29different things like that. And it's
1:30:31definitely been um great just trying to
1:30:33keep you guys connected. Um, I just
1:30:35wanted to just share a reminder just to
1:30:38help organize things and make sure that
1:30:39if you're sending information, it's
1:30:41going to the right place. Um, so if you
1:30:44have any flyers for any kind of events,
1:30:46whether they're ministry events or maybe
1:30:47you have something that you're doing for
1:30:49the ministry, if you can send it to the
1:30:53worship service email, it just helps to
1:30:56have everything in one place because if
1:30:58you email it to my personal email that's
1:31:00going to get in there with Hobby Lobby
1:31:01and all the other stuff that's going to
1:31:03be in there, it's not going to get seen.
1:31:05Okay? Um, if you text it to me, if I'm
1:31:08at work, I just don't want things to get
1:31:10missed. So, if we can go back to sending
1:31:13it here. Um, and then you can just write
1:31:16whatever blurb or if you feel like you
1:31:18need to personally announce it, just
1:31:19write it in that email. We'll see it
1:31:21because it'll all be in one place. Okay.
1:31:23Um, also with the text, if you text
1:31:27back, I can see it. But if you're
1:31:29texting like a prayer request or
1:31:31something important, you actually want
1:31:33to send those prayer requests to Zibu.
1:31:35So, if you have any prayer requests,
1:31:37send it directly to her so that it goes
1:31:39to the right place. I'll get it there.
1:31:41But I just want you to know that she's
1:31:43the person to to do that for. If you
1:31:46have an announcement, let's say for the
1:31:48flyers, I need them by Friday because
1:31:50once they get there on Friday, I put
1:31:52them together so Art and I can work
1:31:53together and he puts it in the
1:31:55newsletter for Saturday. So, we work as
1:31:57a team, all of us. Um, so for the
1:32:02flyers, if it's something that's going
1:32:03to be maybe before Sunday or or
1:32:06something like that, then you can send
1:32:08me a personal text and say, "Hey, could
1:32:10you send out an announcement about, you
1:32:12know, X, Y, and Z if it needs to be
1:32:14announced on a Wednesday or Friday?" And
1:32:16those of you, you know who you are if
1:32:18you need that. Um, so I just wanted to
1:32:19say that quick reminder. Thank you so
1:32:21much. Um, and then we'll go on with our
1:32:23announcements. Thanks.
1:32:24>> Thank you. Thank you. Amen. Thank you,
1:32:27Leslie.
1:32:30All right. If you are a member and you
1:32:32have not done this, please you could
1:32:35scan the QR code or text member. So, you
1:32:38can be on CCB and be able to get the
1:32:40information. If you are a visitor and
1:32:43you've been coming out, you could text
1:32:45welcome to this number or scan the QR
1:32:48code so you can be updated as well.
1:32:51Amen.
1:32:54>> All right. You could also text connect
1:32:56in order to receive the Metro LA updates
1:32:59or text newsletter to sign up for the
1:33:02Metro LA newsletter and it's all to that
1:33:05same number.
1:33:08All right, we entered a new month
1:33:12>> already,
1:33:14September.
1:33:16Take a picture if you like of this new
1:33:19schedule, but also keep in mind Paris is
1:33:22going to make an announcement in terms
1:33:25of our midweek schedule as well, but
1:33:27just take a picture.
1:33:29>> Yep. Yep. Yep. So, most everything on
1:33:32there is
1:33:33>> Next slide.
1:33:33>> Yeah, most everything on there is pretty
1:33:35much correct, but I want to talk a
1:33:37little bit about our mission groups and
1:33:40where we're going as a church coming
1:33:42this fall. And so, it has been an
1:33:44awesome time. First off, Mark did an
1:33:46incredible lesson today on just really
1:33:50teaching about the importance of deacons
1:33:53and and as a church, we've experienced
1:33:55this. We we appointed over 18 deacons
1:33:57within our congregation. They are doing
1:34:00an incredible job serving and building
1:34:02up the church. And now we're in the
1:34:04middle of really training our small
1:34:06group leaders or our mission group
1:34:08leaders that we're going to be
1:34:09prayerfully being able to launch this
1:34:11fall, which now we're getting to that
1:34:13time where all of us are coming
1:34:15together. We have stopped small groups
1:34:18for a period of time to do retraining
1:34:20and redefining. What are we trying to
1:34:22accomplish with our small groups? And
1:34:25now we're about to build them back up,
1:34:27church. So, you ready? Because like the
1:34:29brothers shared, like Mark shared today,
1:34:32the church is built on all of us and
1:34:35we're about to go and do some real
1:34:37missional work. And so, the plan right
1:34:39now, we have a mission group training
1:34:42meeting is set for September 3rd and the
1:34:4617th. Um, those are the Wednesdays for
1:34:51the leaders.
1:34:53>> Yeah. Is it the 16th or is it the
1:34:55>> September 2nd? Oh,
1:34:57>> yeah. That's one. September. You said
1:35:00>> is it? Okay. Yeah, you're right.
1:35:03>> You're right. It's on the middle. So,
1:35:05September 2nd and the uh the 16th, those
1:35:09are going to be for the mission group
1:35:12leaders.
1:35:14>> So, there's no Yeah. Yeah. That's
1:35:20>> No, no, no, no. We just got No, the
1:35:22second is correct.
1:35:26Look at
1:35:27>> Yeah. Yeah. I know. We spoke about the
1:35:30two change ups that we need to tie in
1:35:32those two meetings that are really
1:35:33important. So, we had to do our
1:35:35trainings on those days. Um, for those
1:35:38who weren't here at the last mission
1:35:40group leaders meeting, they weren't able
1:35:42to probably get this announcement. So,
1:35:44if you missed that meeting, we announced
1:35:47that out. But we want to make sure all
1:35:49the leaders that are aware that we're
1:35:51going to be doing two big trainings that
1:35:53that day to kind of wrap up the
1:35:55training. And then at the end of the
1:35:57month, we're actually going to be trying
1:35:58to pull together the whole uh church.
1:36:01And that's going to be the 23rd.
1:36:05that meeting. We want to have a whole
1:36:07church meeting for this mission group
1:36:09formation meeting where we can actually
1:36:11start putting everyone into our new
1:36:13mission groups and getting the new
1:36:15getting to know all of the members and
1:36:17people are going to be a part of the
1:36:18groups that we're building. So the 23rd
1:36:20is an all church meeting for mission
1:36:23group formation and then we got the two
1:36:25trainings at the the front end. Okay. So
1:36:29do we all get that everyone?
1:36:31>> You don't get it. You don't get it. I'm
1:36:32gonna say it. I'm gonna say it one more
1:36:34again. All right, here we go. It's real
1:36:36simple. The 2nd and the 16th are for
1:36:39leaders for training. The 23rd is all
1:36:42church coming together for that midweek
1:36:44session to join into your groups.
1:36:48>> How's that?
1:36:51>> Don't worry about the third. Yeah, don't
1:36:53worry about the 30th. That's not going
1:36:54to be a training. Yeah, don't worry
1:36:56about the 30th because once we put
1:36:58everyone in the groups that next week
1:37:00and moving down, we're going to be able
1:37:01to launch people to go into their groups
1:37:03and start planning things out. But
1:37:04you'll get all that information by the
1:37:0623rd. We we'll get into all that. Amen.
1:37:11>> Yeah, I got you. Don't worry. Moving
1:37:13forward, we going to be on it. That's
1:37:14why as long as y'all hear the voice,
1:37:16y'all hear what I'm saying, the slides
1:37:19going to get updated. It's not the
1:37:20slides problem. That that was more I
1:37:22want to make sure that we're clear. Were
1:37:24you with me? All right. So, 2nd, 16th,
1:37:28small group leaders training. The 23rd,
1:37:31all church meeting. Don't get confused
1:37:34by this. All right. It'll be updated.
1:37:36When you read in your email, you'll see
1:37:37an updated version. Okay. Okay. Tiff,
1:37:40you got that? There we go. And I'll talk
1:37:42after. All right. We'll talk more after.
1:37:44I'll make sure we all in it. Uh the
1:37:47other the other part church October 30th
1:37:52the weekend for our men tree I want to
1:37:54make sure we all know that the memory
1:37:56has happened. It's called you the man.
1:37:58And the mindset behind behind you the
1:38:00man is twofold.
1:38:03Exactly what Mark talked about. You are
1:38:06the man. God chose you. God called you.
1:38:08God has appointed you. God has a plan
1:38:10and a vision for your life.
1:38:12>> We got to rise up to that and own what
1:38:14God has called us to. But the other half
1:38:16of it is sometimes we need space to deal
1:38:18with I'm the man.
1:38:21>> And it goes both ways. The positive
1:38:23uplifting and then the accountability
1:38:25space. It's a time for us to support and
1:38:27build each other up. Please guys, let's
1:38:29get registered for this. If you have
1:38:31not, I know a lot of us are already
1:38:32registered. Things been moving, which is
1:38:34great and I'm excited. But if you
1:38:35haven't been registered yet, this is a
1:38:37great time. Get registered uh for this
1:38:40retreat and be able to join us and serve
1:38:42in that time. Amen.
1:38:44>> All right. I think that's my two
1:38:45announcements. Okay.
1:38:50>> All right.
1:38:52>> It's after church. I know you guys are
1:38:54hungry.
1:38:55>> Everybody got excited for tacos.
1:38:58>> Right after service in the fellowship
1:39:00hall. We will be selling tacos. I think
1:39:03it's chicken and maybe carnea. I'm not
1:39:07too sure. But it's right after service
1:39:10in the um fellowship hall. And there's
1:39:14Aua Fresca. And this is a fundraiser
1:39:17going to our pre-teen and teen
1:39:20fundraiser for camp next year. Amen.
1:39:24>> All right.
1:39:27>> All right. And this is a marriage
1:39:28retreat that we've been in invited to
1:39:32and it's being put on by the Greater um
1:39:35Long Beach Church, I believe. Just scan
1:39:37the QR code if you're interested in
1:39:40joining.
1:39:41and it's in San Diego. Today is on to
1:39:44maturity from 12:30 to 2. And this is
1:39:48just a reminder for those who who have
1:39:51already registered to be a part of the
1:39:53on to maturity class. Registrations are
1:39:56closed for it, but if you are a part of
1:39:58it, it's a reminder today after service.
1:40:04And September, as we're closing
1:40:06September, we want to say a happy
1:40:08birthday, a happy spiritual birthday,
1:40:10and anniversary to all who have
1:40:13celebrated this month.
1:40:15>> So, do we have any? You can stand up. We
1:40:17got a birthday September.
1:40:18>> Anniversary.
1:40:20>> Anniversary.
1:40:21Now, go ahead. Go. Let's give a shout
1:40:23out represent to all our September.
1:40:28[applause]
1:40:30>> Okay.
1:40:30>> Yes. Congratulations.
1:40:34>> Celebrating you all. Hope you had a good
1:40:36month.
1:40:41>> Oh, I'm It's It's September. I'm sorry.
1:40:44September.
1:40:44>> September. We did August already.
1:40:46>> September.
1:40:48>> It was my bad.
1:40:49>> Y'all missed church. That's not
1:40:52>> September. September. September.
1:40:54>> You want to bring up You want to bring
1:40:55up Wakia for
1:40:56>> Yes. And lastly, we're gonna bring up
1:40:58Wakia to have to make an announcement.
1:41:01>> Update update.
1:41:04>> Good morning, family.
1:41:09>> I'm Wia Sakari.
1:41:12Good morning. I'm actually giving you
1:41:14guys an update on what happened at the
1:41:17Brothers Legacy Classic.
1:41:20Okay. So, I'mma read it because if I try
1:41:23to do it by head, we gonna miss a lot of
1:41:25stuff. Okay. So, good morning family.
1:41:30>> First, I just want to take a moment to
1:41:32say thank you to everyone who came out
1:41:34last Sunday and helped make the Brothers
1:41:37Legacy Classic such a beautiful day.
1:41:41Whether you volunteered, played
1:41:44basketball, served food, worked with the
1:41:48children, provided provided healthc care
1:41:51resources, helped with activities, took
1:41:55pictures, decorated, donated, invited
1:41:59someone, prayed, or simply showed up and
1:42:02supported. Thank you.
1:42:06But more than anything, I want to say
1:42:08thank you for using your gifts, your
1:42:10talents, your skills, your time, and
1:42:13your resources to give God the glory.
1:42:18The Brother's Legacy Classic was created
1:42:21in memory of my brother McKinley Gibson
1:42:24and our brother Denzel Jenkins.
1:42:27But the purpose was never simply to
1:42:30remember two men that we loved. The
1:42:33purpose was to use their lives and their
1:42:37stories to help the men who are still
1:42:40here.
1:42:42We wanted to think we wanted to think
1:42:46about we wanted men to think about their
1:42:48mental health, their physical health,
1:42:51and their spiritual health and the
1:42:53importance of taking care of themselves.
1:42:57Cuz we love y'all, man. We need you.
1:43:00Because of everyone who participated,
1:43:03men were able to receive blood pressure
1:43:06screenings and information about mental
1:43:09health and wellness and overall care.
1:43:12I'm so grateful for the nursing students
1:43:15who came out and served our community in
1:43:18that way.
1:43:20But I believe the one I believe one of
1:43:23the most important things that happened
1:43:25that day was that our brothers had an
1:43:28opportunity to connect with other men
1:43:31spiritually.
1:43:33Because ultimately,
1:43:35as important as our physical and mental
1:43:38health are, the greatest thing we can
1:43:40offer anyone is an opportunity to know
1:43:43God and develop a relationship with him.
1:43:48And that is what made the day so
1:43:50meaningful to me. We had so much fun,
1:43:53y'all.
1:43:55Basketball brought us together.
1:43:57Community brought us together.
1:43:59Remembering McKinley and Denzel brought
1:44:01us together. But God gave the day its
1:44:05purpose.
1:44:06When I looked around the gym and saw
1:44:08people serving in so many ways, I was
1:44:12reminded that ministry does not always
1:44:15look like standing behind a podium.
1:44:18Sometimes ministry looks like checking
1:44:20someone's blood pressure. Sometime it
1:44:23looks like coaching a child,
1:44:26um, handing someone a snack, painting
1:44:29with them, offering a haircut,
1:44:33playing basketball, setting up a table,
1:44:35taking pictures, or simply making
1:44:38someone feel welcomed.
1:44:41Every person bought something and God
1:44:44used all of it. So to the LA Metro
1:44:47Church,
1:44:49the girls uh Mayfair girls flag football
1:44:54team, [laughter]
1:44:56um our nursing students, our players,
1:44:59our families, and friends. And to
1:45:03everyone who participated, thank you for
1:45:05helping us create a legacy of service,
1:45:09awareness, brotherhood, and faith. My
1:45:12prayer is that the Legacy Classic
1:45:16reminded every man who attended, "Your
1:45:19life matters, sir.
1:45:22Your health matters, sir."
1:45:23>> Amen.
1:45:24>> Your mental health matters, sir.
1:45:29Your relationship with God matters the
1:45:32most.
1:45:33And you do not have to walk it through
1:45:36life alone. And to God be the glory.
1:45:38Thank you, family.
1:45:41>> [applause]
1:45:46>> Thank you Wia for your vision and just
1:45:49bringing that to life because it was a
1:45:51great event. Are we done with
1:45:53announcements?
1:45:54You're dismissed. Everybody enjoy
1:45:56fellowship.