1 Corinthians - Paul's Relationship to the Church (5/3/26)

and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and

and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and Let's praise the name of Jesus this morning, church. He is worth it. He is worth it. There's nothing he can't do. He is today, our promise keeper, our way maker, our shepherd, our savior. And another, maybe some in here this morning, you're struggling singing that. You've got a mountain that is looming over you today, a relationship that you're longing for the Lord to restore, a sickness that you just know that the Lord has promised to heal, but

you haven't seen that yet. And you need to preach that truth to your heart this morning. You need the person next to you to remind you who your God is today. So let's sing that one more time and really sing this over your heart and your mind and your spirit. There's nothing our God can't do. Let's sing this together. There's nothing that our God can't do. Declare this morning. There's not a mountain that he can't move. Oh, praise the name that makes a way. There's nothing that our God can't do. Oh, we sing it again. There's nothing that our God can't do. No prison wall. There's not a prison wall he can't break through. Oh, praise the name that makes a way. There's nothing that our God can't do. We praise you, Lord. That is who you are. We praise you this morning, Jesus. How great the chasm that lay between us. How high the mountain I could not climb. In desperation I turned to heaven and spoke your name into the night. And then through the darkness your loving kindness tore through the shadows of my soul. The work is finished, the end is risen. Jesus Christ, my living hope. Who could imagine so great a mercy what heart could fathom such boundless grace. The God of ages stepped down from glory to wear my sin and bear my shame. The cross has spoken, I am forgiven. The King of kings calls me his own. Beautiful Savior, I'm yours forever. Jesus Christ, my living hope. Hallelujah, praise the one who set me free. Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me. You have broken every chain. There's salvation in your name. Jesus Christ, my living hope. Then came the morning that sealed the promise. Your buried body began to breathe. And out of the silence the roaring lion declared the grave has no claim on me. Then came the morning that sealed the promise. ♪ Your very body begin to breathe ♪ ♪ And out of the silence the roaring lion ♪ ♪ Declared the great has no claim on me ♪ ♪ Jesus, the earth is a victory, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, praise the one who set me free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, death has all its grip on me ♪ ♪ You have broken every chain, there's salvation in your name ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, my living hope, hallelujah, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Praise the one who set me free, hallelujah ♪

♪ Death has lost its grip on me, you have broken every chain ♪ ♪ There's salvation in your name, Jesus Christ, my living hope ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, my living hope, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Come on, let's give him praise. Now give him praise. Now give him praise. Hallelujah. Let me tell you what I know in my spirit. The Lord has decided to meet with his people today. Been a great anticipation, so one I just want to say to you if you're a guest here, I know we got a lot of guests here because I don't know exact numbers. We're somewhere around 30 something people that are going to be biblically baptized today. Come on. So we know that there's family, friends, those that mean a lot to those that are being baptized that are here. So welcome. Honored to have these moments in the presence of a living Jesus Christ with you this morning. Now I wanna ask for your help real quick. A lot of people don't do this when I ask, but I know you. You're gonna do this. If you can, can you move toward the middle a little bit? So we got people that are still trying to find a seat. You're like, dude, I moved and there ain't none. That's all right.

Hey, we got overflow and things that's working out for that. We're good, we're good. I just wanna make it a little bit easier for those that are still trying to find some space. Hey, if you are a guest here today, the only thing I ask of you is at some point in this service, would you do us a favor? And honestly, yourself one. Will you fill out that connect card and a seat back in front of you? Just as much info as you're comfortable with. When you walk out, you can drop it in the red buckets. We're not gonna show up at your house, not gonna hassle you. None of those things. We just wanna help you in your spiritual story. By the way, we get like near 50 of these every week that somebody puts a prayer request down. And let me tell you what I know. Our God is a prayer hearing, prayer answering God. So if you'll put it down. I like where y'all are at this morning. I'll be honest with you. When you're clapping for the prayer card, I like that. We're in the right mental space. But you should, I wanna tell you why we're sensing that. Our God is on the move. Like, we're gonna see that today. God's, listen to me, God's on the move in many of your lives right there

where you're sitting this morning. So let me tell you just a few things that happened even this last week. Man, this last week, we had in the middle of just a normal morning as the doors were opening, she's actually here today. And I'm just sharing a little part of her story. We'll capture it more. A young mom that showed up and that just had some questions and wanted to meet with somebody about what does it mean to put saving faith in Jesus Christ. Some of our staff met her at the front door on Wednesday morning and through connections to one of our church members, she came here. She came to this altar, put faith in Jesus Christ. They walked her from here. Listen to me now. Walked her from here. She said, what's next? They said, well, baptism's next. She goes, cool, let's go. Walked her right up there and she was biblically baptized Wednesday morning. Wednesday night, I had the privilege to go to First Baptist Church, Kosciuszko, where they'd been praying and believing God for an encounter or not. Everybody comes from Kosciuszko somehow, by the way. I don't know.

It's the strangest things, all the connections to Kosciuszko but man, a church and leaders had prayed and fasted and believed God for a move of God and service that started at six, it completed about 8.40 after we had baptized. The whole bunch of people the people that put faith and cross that night people that need to take that next right step Repentance real move of God came into this room Friday morning at one of the hardest points in a family's life in the loss of a son but one of their Demands of me which I was glad to do was to make sure we preach Jesus Christ Right preach the gospel in the midst of our of our pain and at the conclusion of that Service Friday in this room nine people walked out of this room to the Next Step Center and put faith put faith in Jesus Christ I Just say all that to say before we hear these testimonies he's after you After you Don't resist him today if you're here, and you don't know him yet no better day to be saved than today No better day to be saved than today if you got questions about that even in the course of these baptisms Or if you're here, and you're like dude. I've been born again. I've been saved, but I've not got my baptism right I need to be Baptized even today here Don't you hear me now if you know that you need to be baptized a day even while people are being baptized Right over in that corner been a raise your hand over there Brady and at some point in this service You're like dude me, too I need to all you got to do is get up walk to that back corner over there And they'll have a conversation with you today about what it means to be biblically baptized Maybe you got questions about saving faith still you could do that as well What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna pray for us We're gonna start baptizing people if you're a family or friend of someone that's being baptized when they come out they introduce them you can Stand in that moment. Let's just welcome him for a moment Would you be bold enough to say Lord speak to me today? Not a question if he's here he's here

So Lord speak to your people glorify your name through every testimony we pray these things in Jesus name Amen, you can be seated as we start baptism again if you need to talk to somebody about it right over there We would love to do that at any point Good morning church family. How are y'all? Whoo-hoo, I'm great because I feel the Lord is here today and I'm so excited because so many people are getting baptized today and just like Kyle said if you have a family member or a Friend or somebody you met this morning that you want to celebrate you can stand up and today we have Cora hold it here Cora hold it is one of our second graders here at Crossgates and I've had the absolute pleasure of getting to teach her life group for the past two years and The girl that walked in the classroom the first day of Sunday morning Life group in first grade does not even look like the woman that is standing here today the Holy Spirit has flooded her heart and is making her so confident and so loving and so Generous and kind and we were just so excited for all the Lord is doing in her but back in February The Lord was drawing here near and on a Tuesday night. Their family was reading the pilgrims progress And it got to the point in the story where Christian the main character fills this burden on his back and he asks the Lord to take it from him and Then it was time to go to bed and all the other all of her other siblings went to bed and Cora stayed back and with Tears in her eyes. She asked her parents. I think it's time for me to trust in the Lord I have the same burden and I have sin and I need a Savior and that night She put her faith in the Lord and since then Holy Spirit is doing so much in her life. She is So confident she is answering all the questions and she's so excited to tell people about Jesus Cora we are so proud of you and so excited to watch you on your journey with the Lord and to see where he takes you because He is doing big things in your life So it is the Bible tells us that there's no greater joy than to know that your children walk in truth and Today it has to do with my granddaughter. So Cora's my granddaughter Didn't think I'd do that And I love her so much And I was sharing with the group this morning that Paul said in Romans Said I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God under salvation

and we didn't know what Cora had done and and We were at church and she comes running up and she could not wait to tell us what she had done In surrendering her life to Christ So she was basically that that scripture just came to mind where I'm not ashamed to tell somebody Jesus is my Lord So Cora the Bible tells us in Romans 10 and 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Believe in your heart that God raised from the dead that you would be saved. So what is your confession? Jesus is Lord indeed Upon your public confession that Jesus Christ is Lord, I baptize you, my daughter, in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, buried in the likeness of his death, raised to walk in newness of life. I thank you, God, for that. CrossKids family, this is Kelly Duke. So, Kelly and I have gotten to know each other really well the last couple of months, and I've loved it. And she knows, without a doubt, that years ago, she had a moment where the Lord gave her a choice, and she chose wisely. And she surrendered her life to him, and she's walked with him, but she wasn't baptized at the time. And she said, for the last couple of years, she's been thinking about that a lot, and she's been praying about baptism, but she was waiting on this moment to feel this emotional response, that it was her time. And so she'd been praying and asking the Lord about it, and then the Lord, in his kindness, had her sweet husband send her a text one day,

and she said, in that moment, she knew that obedience, that baptism was an act of obedience. It wasn't an act of emotion. And she said, she knew that the right time to obey is now. And so, Kelly comes this morning to be baptized out of an act of obedience, taking the next right step. Amen. Well, Kelly, we've had a chance just to talk together just a few minutes, and I just want you to know how proud I am of you, and what God's doing in your life, and what I believe he's gonna be doing. You know, the Bible says that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we'll be saved. What's your confession, Kelly? Jesus is my Lord. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Upon your confession, I baptize you, my sister in Christ, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Buried with Christ in baptism, raised to walk, and I burn in your love. Amen. Church family, this is David Jackson, and I've known David now for a few years. I've met he and most of his family at a very difficult time in their life. But when I found out that David wanted to get baptized,

I called him and he said, you calling to vet me? And I said, yeah, I need to make sure that we're all on the same page, but he talked about how he was baptized as a very young child. He says, I didn't know what was going on. I didn't understand that. And then he came to faith and in that, he knew that he was supposed to take this next step, but he kept making excuses, he told me. He says, I'm really good at making excuses sometimes. And he said, finally, the Lord just kept dealing with me and said, it's time, I've got to stop doing this. I need to just step in and do what I know the Lord's calling me to do. So out of obedience, he is here to get baptized. So David, the Bible tells us in Romans 10, nine, that if you confess with your mouth, Lord Jesus, believe in your heart that God raised from the dead, you would be saved. So what is your confession today? Jesus is my Lord. Jesus is Lord indeed. On your confession that Jesus Christ is Lord, I baptize you, my brother, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, buried in the likeness of the dead, raised to walk in newness of life. All right. All right.

All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. Church family, I have Ava Duke with us today. And if you have not seen her smile, you got to get ahold of it because she is filled with joy from the Holy Spirit. Ava's the third grader here. And back in March, she came to talk to me about trusting in the Lord. She came to Mackenzie Copeland to asking questions and she had talked to her King Singers leaders and she just felt that the Lord was drawing her heart in and she didn't know what the right next step was. And after talking, it was very clear. She was ready to trust in the Lord. And after a lot of conversations, she answered all the right questions and she was so faithful to talk about how good God was to her and how much she wanted to know him. And so she trusted in the Lord in Michaela's office and she is just so filled with joy. She loves the Lord. She even brings her Bible to school and reads to her friends the word of God at recess. She is doing all the things to show people how much she loves God. And Ava, we are so proud of you

and so happy for your family. I mean, this is Kelly's daughter too. And so the Lord is doing things in their home and we're just thankful to be a part of it. And so Ava, we're so proud of you. You've made the best decision of your life today. And we're just so excited to see where the Lord takes you. Well, amen. Well, Ava, listen. I know that God's gonna use you in powerful ways. The Bible says that if we confess with our mouth, that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved. And what's your confession, Ava? Jesus is my Lord. Amen. Amen. Amen. I want your confession to say, I baptize you, my sister in Christ, in the name of the Father and the Son. in the Holy Spirit, buried with Jesus in death, raised to walk in a brand new life. Hi, everybody, this is Madeline Rogers and Corey Rogers, her father. Madeline came to know the Lord about two years ago at home in the living room with her parents. And it is so sweet to see the result of parents that love and disciple their children.

And so we are so proud of Madeline and her decision to follow Jesus. Madeline, mommy and I are so proud of you, sweetheart. You're the oldest of our five kids and you are such an inspiration and a role model to all of your little siblings. We love you so much. It's Romans 10, nine says, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and you believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. What is your confession today? Jesus is my Lord. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Well, baby girl, with that, I baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, buried with Christ in death, raised to walk in his love. Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!

Woo! Woo! Friends or family of Alan Barker, feel free to stand up. So Alan grew up in church. He had a good mama who took him to church every week. And at seven years old, Alan made a profession of faith and was baptized. After the last raised to life service, Alan approached me broken up and he said, Russ, I gotta be rebaptized. I said, well, Alan, tell me about that. He said, well, the first one, Jesus wasn't my Lord. He said, I went to church, did what I wanted to do. I said, well, did the Lord convict you of how you were living? He said, not at all. I said, did you have any fruit? He said, I had no fruit. I said, well, what's changed? He said, 2024 changed. I said, tell me about that. He said, his wife, Gina, who had been battling cancer for a long time was now battling cancer and sepsis. And things weren't looking too good. And Alan spiraled, made a bunch of bad decisions and really didn't know what to do. And he was really battling anxiety and depression and all the things. And one night during that season,

Alan was laying in his bed and he said, Lord, I can't do this anymore. And so he said, the Lord reached out and said, I got you, Alan. And Alan would say in that moment, he trusted for the first time in Jesus as his savior. He said, he no longer just looked at that chair and said, yeah, that Jesus chair will probably hold me up. He went ahead and sat down in that seat. So Alan, the Bible says in Romans 10, if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart, God raised him from the dead, you'll be saved. So what's your confession? Jesus is my Lord. So on behalf of that confession, I'm honored to baptize you, my brother, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. Altogether Lord. Heroes is. Somehow even just mature. Alright. This is Ella Rogers. Her sister just got baptized and Ella came to know the Lord a couple of months ago in her living room with her parents and her sister in the same spot that her sister gave her life to Christ. Giving her life to Jesus.

And so we are so proud of you Ella and your decision that you made to follow Jesus. Well, how lucky am I that I get to baptize two of my daughters today? It's very blessed. I'm feeling very thankful for that. Ella, mommy and I are extremely proud of you. You are a light in our world, our family. You bring so much joy and we cannot wait to see what you do as you get older. So Romans 10, nine says, 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. So what is your confession today? God, Jesus is my Lord. And with that baby, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Well, church family, I'm super excited to be here because this right here is actually my nephew. This is Sawyer Shoemaker. And Sawyer's kind of been on a journey with the Lord over the last year or so, been asking the right questions, having the right conversations at home. And so we knew God was drawing his heart to him. And so a few weeks ago at actually Palm Sunday, I got the chance to be in kids worship when this happened,

which is really sweet for me, but our students were leading worship and response came. And he said that he felt his heart pounding loudly and he knew he needed to respond. And so he went and prayed with a volunteer and then in classic little boy fashion, he just left really excited and didn't say anything. And so then the next morning, Brenna Grace was telling us that they're rushing, trying to get out the door, going to school. They're filling up water bottles. And he's like, I'm getting baptized. And she's like, what do you mean? figured out, but they also have to go to school. And so they left and he came home again, got in the car and said, mom, I'm gonna get baptized. And so they had a chance to walk through what it means to be baptized, to put faith in Jesus, to the full picture of the gospel. And we asked the Lord just for affirmation, to know that this is real. And it was such a clear picture of just that childlike faith to say, I know that God has been pursuing me. And he said, mom, God has been chasing me and he finally got me with a heart shaped sticker over me. And I know that I've been filled with his love. And so we're super excited for him this morning. We're praying that he would walk confidently in that love of being a child of God

for the rest of his life. So Sawyer, we love you, we're proud of you. And I'm honored to not only be your aunt now, but your sister in Christ. Amen, come on. Sawyer, you see these moments all across scripture where God marks a young man. And I believe today, look at me big guy. I believe that today is one of those moments. Your church family is super proud of you. I told you, I got one question for you. What's your confession? Amen, bro, come on. We're on your confession of faith, my brother. I baptize you now in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Way to go. Amen. The church family, this is Randall Johnson. Of course, he has a friend, Chris Blanton, who has an opportunity to baptize him. And of course, his wife, Anna, you get an opportunity to hear more about her in just a moment. But Randall was in a Better Man group with Chris last fall. And that's the first time that Randall expressed that he was just unsure of his salvation, began to wrestle with that. And he was a part of a men's alliance somewhere else. And of course, when we started this on Thursday nights,

a men's alliance in our parking lot, there was a moment last February when Chris shared a devotion that was essentially just about being secure of your salvation, not having to doubt your salvation. And Randall approached him afterwards and just still started having those conversations, still being on that journey. And man, Randall, there's a moment in your story where I just noticed that you don't wanna miss out the godly men that kept walking with you, pursuing you, and even your wife that was saying, hey, she knew that something was off with your relationship with God. But it was in that moment where another time when him and Trey Latham just kept pursuing him and knew that tonight was the night, but it was actually Randall who approached him after the men's alliance was over with and says, hey, I do not wanna wait any longer, that he's ready to surrender his life to Christ. So Randall, that is why you're here, man. We're just so proud of you for making that decision, that boldness, and we're so grateful for those people alongside of you who have helped you on this journey. Proud of you, Randall. Romans 10, nine tells us that if we believe in our heart, that God raised Jesus from the dead, and we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord,

we will be saved. So Randall Patch Johnson, what's your confession? Jesus is my Lord. Amen. Upon that confession, I baptize you, my brother, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Buried in the likeness of Christ, I raise the wall for the newness of life. All right, this is Aurora Woodward, and she's been coming to Kids Worship and King Singers for a while now, and has been asking a lot of questions. Well, a couple of months ago, she was sitting down with her grandmother, and she gave her life to Christ. And then she came and talked to me, I asked her all the questions, and she answered them, and she's been so good to me. And she's been so excited to do this. So we are so proud of you. Aurora, I love your story, and how Jesus' passionate pursuit through your family, awesome grandmother that you have. I got one question for you today. The Bible makes it explicitly clear. If you'll believe on the finished work of Christ, and confess Him as your Lord and Savior, you'll be saved. So what's your confession? Jesus is my Lord and Savior. Amen, come on. For on your confession, on your confession, my sister,

I baptize you now in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Buried in the likeness of His death, raised to walk in the newness of life. Cross Kids family, this is Anna Johnson. We just saw her husband, Randall, baptized. Can you imagine what's going on at their house tonight? We are so excited. I had the opportunity to hear Anna's story, and she says she knows for a fact that she was saved and baptized at the age of 15 or 16 at a youth retreat. But she says after that, that hard things happened in her life. And those hard things came in between her and the Lord. And she says there was a season that she wondered if God was real and if He was real. And she says, and if he really loved her. But like he does, our king continued to pursue her. And he continued to chase after her. And she said, looking back now, she can see that he was there at every step. And that even in those hard things, that he was working for her good, to bring her to this moment. And so she says at 15 or 16, she surrendered as much as she could. But in the last year, she has learned what true, full surrender means.

And so Anna comes this morning to say that she has fully, completely trusted in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. And she has surrendered to him wholeheartedly. Romans 10, nine tells us that if we believe in our heart that Jesus was raised from the dead and confessed with our mouth, that he is Lord, we will be saved. So Anna Lioness Johnson, what is your confession? Jesus is my Lord. Upon that confession, I baptize you, my sister, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Buried in the likeness of Christ and raised to walk in the newness of life. Hey, church family, this is Halen Hefner. She is one of our sixth grade girls. And ever since August, the Lord has just really been pursuing Halen. After our race to life service on the porch, she came to me and to Jennifer just asking some really deep questions about Christianity, about theology, really deep thinker. And then about two weeks ago, she started texting me with some similar questions. And so we just got to talking and ended up on a phone call. And sweetly, the Lord just walked us through the gospel together. And she ended up giving her life to the Lord on that phone call. She just prayed right where she was.

And it was the sweetest thing ever because she realized that even trying to do Bible studies, trying to do as much as she could in her own strength, that she needed Jesus, that He was the answer. And I asked her right after she prayed how she was feeling, and she just said she felt lighter. And that's the truth of the gospel. The Lord takes our burdens, He takes our hurt, He takes our pain, and He makes us lighter. So today we're just here to celebrate with her as she follows in obedience and gets baptized. That's awesome. Well, scripture tells us that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God rose from the dead, you will be saved. What is your confession today? Jesus is my Lord. Awesome. Well, upon that confession, it's my pleasure to baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Let me introduce you to Clint Baker. Clint, him and his family moved to Mississippi when he was 13. And they were involved in church. He said that he knew a lot of facts. As a matter of fact, even from that, he just thought it was an expectation to follow through with baptism, so he did.

He said, but he knew that something was off. He knew that there wasn't really any true surrender. There was not any picking up a cross and following Christ daily. And so that's just how he lived for quite a while. He even got out of church for a long time. He knew something was off. I love it that Clint, when we talked, he even said, talking about it, you said it scared you because you knew for the last 20 years, if someone would have asked you that if you were a Christian, you'd say yes. But you knew something was off. And so you fast forward that he got married and had children, wanted to come back to church, wanted to get more involved in church, but that there was a shame, there was just a doubt because he had been out for so long, he thought people would judge him. And that's a lie, Clint. People are not gonna judge you. And that you knew that God was tugging at his heart. Matter of fact, just an important timeline, there was that last November, he said that there was just a deeper tug that he knew God was calling him, the Holy Spirit was drawing him in. Then someone, a friend of his wife, Lauren, invited them to church. And so she came last December.

He wasn't able to come that time, but eventually he knew that he needed to surrender. So he surrendered to Christ. They go through foundations. They joined the church and they were just fired up. And Clint, man, we're so glad for what Christ is doing in your heart. And you truly surrendered. He's ready to follow him and now he is following through with baptism. Romans 10, nine tells us that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, that we'll be saved. So Clint, what's your confession? Jesus is my Lord. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. And brother, it's upon that confession that I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, buried with Christ in the likeness of his death, raised to walk in the newness of life. All right, y'all, I'm here with my boy Kane right here. And Kane has been coming to 56th service on Wednesday night for a few months.

months now, and after service a couple Wednesdays ago, he just walked up to me, we had a little response time, but people were just sitting down in their seats listening to the song, and he got up and made a beeline straight for me in the back, and I said, what's up? And I thought he had to go to the bathroom or something, and he said, I'm ready to give my life to Jesus. And I said, right now? And he said, right now. And what I wanna say about that is, he came to me and said, I don't know the words to say, I don't know exactly how to do it, but I'm ready to give my life to the Lord. And so if that's you today, and you're going, hey, I don't know the words, I don't know how it works, I don't know what to do, but your heart is there where you're going, I would want to be saved, then today can be the day of salvation. And so Cain, scripture tells us that if you believe in your heart that Jesus rose from the dead and confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, then you will be saved. So what is your confession today? Jesus is my Lord. Awesome. Well, upon that profession, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. This is Lauren Baker, this is the wife of Clint who just was baptized, and Lauren did not grow up necessarily in church, and she said when she was 13

that she genuinely gave her life to Christ at an event that she went to, and since she wasn't necessarily involved, that she came home from that event and just never followed through with baptism. So she knew that she needed to take that step, but just had not been able to do that, or just was looking for the right moment, is what she said. And you fast forward, her and Clint were married, they had children, and she just knew that there was another step, that they needed to get more involved, and even made the statement, she says they know they need to raise their children in church, which is always interesting, because how many times God uses that to get someone in the house of God, but yet God is absolutely working on them. And so she had a friend, I mentioned earlier about a timeline where you have the Holy Spirit working on Clint's heart, last November, just that tug that he talked about, and then a friend invited you, last December, you come. But truly, God was just leading y'all to make that decision, and hey, now's the right time, you found the water, right? You found this moment to be baptized, and to identify with Christ, with what he's doing. And so, as a church, as a family, we're proud, and just excited that God has led you here, and so we decided none of this is a coincidence. All of those moments, all those steps, all those friends in your life, none of it's a coincidence,

and so we're just proud of our God for what he's doing. Romans 10 nine says, if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our heart that God raised us from the dead, that we'll be saved. Lauren, what is your confession? I confess Jesus is my Lord. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. It's upon that confession, I baptize you, my sister in Christ, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, buried in the likeness of his death, raised to walk in the newness of life. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. All right, everybody, we got Avery Collins here. Anybody that's here for him.

Sure. That's what I'm talking about. All right, everybody, this is Avery Collins. This is a good friend of mine. I met him about a year ago at Men's Alliance. And, you know, we established a friendship from the first time we met. And he's kind of a standoffish guy. He's not the talker of the room, by no means. But, you know, the Lord brought us together for a reason. And we started Men's Alliance here on Thursday nights. And he came up to me and he said, I want to be a leader of the group. So I was like, heck yeah. And then, you know, we made him a wingman chief and he's responsible for looking after guys and getting them together. And he was sitting in the living room one night with his brother, Randall. He just got baptized up there also, we call him Patch. Well, he heard the Lord speak to him and he said that, you know, it's time for you to surrender. And in that moment, he realized that and he immediately got on his phone and signed up for this baptism. So now that puts us here today. And brother, I'm proud to be here with you today, man. And this is Brisket, by the way. That's his call sign at our Men's Alliance. And he got that because he's the pit boss

at the Sonny's Barbecue. So I tell him I got his barbecue recipe down, but he don't believe me. But let's get this going, dude. Avery, the Bible says, Romans 10, nine, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you'll be saved. What is your confession today? Jesus. My lord Is upon that confession I baptize you my brother in the name of his father's son and Holy Spirit buried with Christ's death raised to walk in newness Amen Good morning church family we have Wesley Skinner From An early age Wesley grew up in church checked all the boxes Knew what it meant, but then church hurt entered entered the story and he abandoned what once was hope And started living a life Full of what this world would say. Hey this fills you, you know from promotions to notoriety To money to success to women Wesley chased it all and it all just left him emptier than ever About a year ago to date. I get a call from my brother Skinner laying in a UMN and see hospital bed Marriage was collapsing. He was broken beyond despair and he didn't have anywhere else to go And I said Skinner sometimes God will lay us down to let us look up to see who's really in control At that moment started a journey in Skinner's life Went to re-engage here at Christ at Crossgates Baptist Church where God and the Spirit started stitching what was torn Went to better man two sessions ago sitting by a campfire a bunch of grown men giving their testimonies and a

Skinner and a quiet voice said God still writing mine Said okay It is here today that Skinner stands here a changed man So three weeks ago or four weeks ago brother Ben Boyd brought a message to Genesis 32 And that really resonated with my brother Skinner in that Jacob wrestled with God God even touched Jacob's hit hit About three weeks ago Skinner is getting ready for the shower and looking down at the scars on his leg and that story just resonated with him and He was telling himself. Hey the more I learn about Jesus Then I'll I'll give my life to Christ and in that moment the Spirit spoke and said hey surrender now and We'll learn in the process. So that's what he done three weeks ago to get today sitting at his house So Skinner scripture tells us that if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus our God raised Jesus from the dead You will be saved. So what is your confession? Jesus is my Lord It is my honor to Baptize you my brother in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit raised, but blessed to walk again new life I Well, I'm gonna pray for us and then we'll head into a time of worship dear God, we are so grateful That you're a God who saves God that all these people in the waters today Are individuals that you love and pursue and that you're loving and pursuing everybody in this room right now And so God, I just pray that the waters being stirred would stir our hearts God if there are people in here that do not know you God that you would continue to pursue them continue to let them know that you love them And that today can be the day of salvation God if there are believers in here that maybe you've just had a stale walk with you lately But I pray seeing this would reignite a flame and a passion in their hearts God that we would grow closer to you and become more like you God as we continue to worship You deserve all the glory and we want to give it to you in Jesus name. We pray. Amen

There in the ground His body lay Light of the world by darkness Lane Then bursting for From the grave And as He stands in victory, since curse has lost its grip on me, for I am His, and He is mine, born with the precious blood of Christ. No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me. From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of men can ever block me from His hand till He returns. Here in the power of Christ, I'll stand. Here in the power of Christ, I'll stand. Here in the power of Christ, I'll stand. So Jesus, we thank You that You are all-powerful and that Your Word is true and Your work has been proven trustworthy even in the lives of so many now. So I ask for just a few minutes, Lord, would You take Your Word and apply it to our hearts? And I pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Hey, listen, have a seat. I know you thought, man, I'm gonna get out of here without having to hear Reno's bad accent. Well, give me about 10 minutes, and I just want to layer some truth in here. Hey, one more time, can we give Jesus praise for all the testimonies? Come on. Hey, and I got good news. There's some people that came today that were not planning on being baptized that are getting ready to be baptized now in the 1030 service, so come on. So if you got that internal conflict in your heart going on and the Spirit of God is telling you today's the right day to take the next right step, you've not missed it yet. I preached a few weeks ago in Arkansas, and we were leaving about 1 o'clock after the Lord had just moved mildly and many people were being baptized. And we were walking out the room, and somebody come busting through the back door, a young couple, husband and wife, that their words literally were, have we missed our moment? And they, no, you've not missed your moment. So I'm gonna say to you, you haven't missed your moment. If you got a Bible, 1 Corinthians chapter 4, we always want to center ourselves on God's Word. We've been in a journey through 1 Corinthians. I tell you this, if God speaks to you today, it's because God sovereignly had it set up where we would be in the text of Scripture. He's done that through testimony. He's already spoke to us as you've heard others' story and how God has interacted with them. Let me give you a few verses of Scripture real quick. Verse 1, it says, so look at Apollos and me as mere servants. Here's Paul to the church in Corinth. As mere servants who have been put in charge of explaining God's mysteries. Now a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful. As for me, I love this, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don't even trust my own judgment on this point. My conscience is clear, but that doesn't prove that I'm right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. So here's Paul in this moment to the church in Corinth addressing his ministry and Apollos' ministry among them and in many ways clarifying a bigger truth in the kingdom of God.

What Paul knew and had come to conclusion was true for him, was true in his ministry and the message that he shared, but it was also true in his manner of life. Paul knew something, I have been entrusted with the message of Jesus Christ, the perfect life, the sacrificial death and the powerful resurrection. Paul knew he had been entrusted with the ministry of Jesus, not merely just words, but God's power coming through him in such a way that other lives might be touched and transformed. Paul knew that that message and that ministry had also changed the manner of life, the way in which he now lived, not merely what he declared, but what he did. And what Paul knew is this, while we all care what people think about us to a certain extent, that's not the ultimate judge. What Paul knew is this, my own judgment of myself is not what really matters. Matters what Paul did in this moment says listen to me. I realized the ultimate reality that one One day i'm gonna stand before the one whose eyes are like fire I'm gonna stand before the one who sees all things now. Here's good news. You ready? For every follower of jesus christ when we stand before him one day We have nothing to be afraid of can I get an amen right? Come on, you gotta tell you let's just have a little praise party for a second, right? like one that was that was very weak of us, but But one day i'm gonna stand before jesus in his righteousness alone Because I put faith in what he accomplished on my behalf that I could never do for myself. So my salvation is secure The question is what about my stewardship? What about what I have done with what i've received What about the way in which i've responded to the life transforming work of? Jesus christ and what paul was saying is I don't even just I don't even trust my own judgment on that I only trust his I don't trust your evaluation Fully per se I don't trust my evaluation There's only one evaluation that I trust. It's his evaluation Now I want to say something to you the enemy condemns The holy spirit convicts Big difference God has never once showed up with a shame sandwich. Anybody ever ate a shame sandwich, right? It's terrible, right? It's bit it's bitter And it brings about no change

Let me tell you what the spirit of god does he shows up with conviction clarity He shows up and he shows us ourself. Not that we would run and hide but that we would run to him That we might be transformed and changed god brings his light so that he can bring his life So that he can bring his change to us i'm gonna ask you two questions Two questions in light of this text of scripture. Are you being faithful with what god has entrusted to you? Are you being faithful? And god's entrusted you breath. Are you grateful for that? Come on, right if you're not he can take it Right He's entrusted to his breath. He's entrusted to his life. He's entrusted to his opportunities. Listen to me to work He's entrusted to us the ability to have a family He's entrusted to us the ability man to make a difference in the life of somebody else God has entrusted it to us. What are we doing with it all imperfect? But I wonder if in right pursuit Second question is this are you living like you will one day give an account for your ministry? Because if you're a follower of jesus christ, listen to me you don't have to fulfill paul's role paul's role has already been fulfilled You just have to fulfill yours Nobody else listen to me Nobody has the message or the ministry or the manner of life that you bring to wherever god has sovereignly sent you get that Nobody lives in your home. Nobody looks works at your work. Nobody's a part of your family I don't care if your family puts the fun and dysfunction. Welcome to the party Welcome to the party God placed you there to be fully alive in him for the sake of the message in the ministry of jesus And you can do it wildly imperfect just do it Just cooperate in it because one day Will be before him and look at me and that's not something that a believer should be afraid of but aware of He goes on to say verse five So don't make judgments about anyone ahead of time meaning like you don't know You don't see fully you don't understand

Before the lord returns now, this is where it gets real We laid out these passages of scripture months ago, by the way For he will bring our darkest secrets to lie And we'll reveal our private motives Then god will give to each one. Whatever praise is due Everything hidden everything suppressed Everything pushed under the rug listen to me will one day come into the lot And we tell you what I love about the lord Because of his great love for us. He says why don't we bring it into the lot now? Bring it into the lot now so that we'll be ready for later Why not bring it into the lot now So that you might be transformed by the one who is life so that listen to me You might stand before him one day and know by the power of the spirit according to the word and the grace of god I live towards the light Now let me tell you what I know about every one of us in here Everybody every one of us have that last 2% You know I'm talking about don't look at me. Holy ain't impressed right That last part we withhold Those deep suppress me it's not just actions its motives It's not just things we do is things we desire It's not just ways that might be manifest it might be the motive behind and we tell what I love about the Lord the closer I come the more he allows me to see not that I might be shamed, but that I might be sanctified Don't you love that Jesus loves us enough to not leave us as we are To welcome us into life welcome us into transformation Welcome us into his presence that every motive every agenda everything will one day be made public in the presence of God So he's saying why don't we go to work now? Why don't you embrace the lot won't you embrace the transformation once you embrace the spiritual surgery that he wants to bring about David no knew this Psalm 139 verses 23 and 24 and he said and this would be a great thing to say to God and mean Today as much as you can

Search me. Oh God and know my heart what I'm feeling Because he knows that Try me and know my thoughts what I'm thinking See if there's any grievous way in me what I'm doing and Lead me in the everlasting life in the way of everlasting life So I wonder today and this is just a few words and I'm gonna be done Would we choose to live in the lot today Choose to live in a lot today not tomorrow not next season. Don't push it off one day. I'll deal with that Today Just walk into the lot And say hey Lord, whatever's going on in here. Whatever's going on in here. Whatever's going on out there I'm bringing it all into the lot today Because I got a statement we actually have it on a little sign that's in our laundry room And you say why you put in a laundry room? Well when there's seven people you in the laundry room all time, right? On my wife's like and she we pray over our washing machine and dryer more than we do our kids, right? It's not true It's equal But we have a sign that somebody gave us when we left Arkansas Somebody gave us when we left Arkansas live with the end in mind I'm gonna tell you I'm in a really cool season of life Where I I'm by God's grace and I got stuff God's doing but I'm just I'm thinking about the end a lot a Lot of that's I'm studying about heaven. I'm thinking about it a lot When I hope he comes today. I Don't think he is I'm not making prediction But I want to live now with the end in mind Obviously me. I just say this. I'm not afraid to stand before him one day I know my salvation, but I'm even in light of what God's allowing us to be a part of I Look forward to being in his presence When all things are revealed let the light come now because I long for it later

Then he reminds us of this What do you have that God has not given you and if everything you have is from God? Why boast as though it were not a gift? Paul says hey, but in light of that Because everything I could steward came from him anyway Everything guys everything we got God God No such thing as a self-made man or woman never have been never will be Gratitude should become the baseline attitude of every believer Gratitude should be the baseline attitude of every believer. I watched my wife do this I would say if not every morning almost every morning. She started a long time ago three things that she's grateful for If you do that, by the way, just three things you're grateful for every day over the course of the year that's 1095 things you're grateful for unique things unique Grateful for our sunrise great for a cup of coffee grateful for this child Grateful for this thing grateful for God's nearness grateful for this friend grateful for that Let me tell you what gratitude does it puts the death greed? Puts the death can I ask you one thing today? What one thing are you grateful for? you're grateful for. What couple things could you spend some time just thanking him for? Last passage of scripture and I'm done. We're gonna pray over those that were baptized. If you skip to the end of verse 20, I know I'm shortchanging 1 Corinthians 4, forgive me. We'll make it up on the next passages, okay? Then Paul says, you know what I'm tired of? All the talk. Let me tell you what religion will do. It just keeps adding words.

So for the kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk. It's not just I'm grateful for good theology, doctrine does matter, but our faith is, listen to me, is not merely about what we communicate. Our faith is in the fact that God changes us. Our faith is the reality of the transforming work of truth. For the kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk. It's living by God's power. Which do you choose? Meaning this, it ain't just what you think. It's what you're allowing him to do. It's not, listen to me, it's not merely what you believe. Belief matters. It's also how you live. It's also how you live. The kingdom of God's not just a mantra. It's people that are being made new. It's not just a declaration. It's those that are being transformed by the work of God, the renewal of God, season after season. That's why, listen, that's why a lot of people can say they know, but I would ask, beckon you to wonder for a second, has it changed you? Because if you've not met Christ as king in such a way that it's brought about the kingdom, I got a question you need to answer. Do you know the king? Have you seen the impression of God's powerful spirit work? So just bow your heads for a moment. If you're here today and you've never put faith

in the finished work of Jesus Christ, today's the best day ever to get saved. Would you even now cry out to him? If in your heart you know you've never been made alive on the inside forever, why not today? Right now, right there where you're sitting, just say, Jesus, I need you to save me. I confess my brokenness. I put trust in your sufficiency. Save me, I wanna follow you. I wanna follow you. If you're here today and you need that work, listen to me, and you, if you're believing that right now, I'm gonna ask you to be bold for a second. Just bold for a second. Because the kingdom of God's not merely talk, it's power. If you're here today and you just did or you know you still need to, need Jesus to make you new, if you just asked him to save you or if you need to, I want you to just look at me for a second. Just look at me, be bold. Just be bold. If you need Jesus to save you, maybe raise your hand so I don't miss you. Say, hey, dude, it's me, I need that. I need that saving, powerful work of God. Awesome. Got it. Got it. Anybody else?

Others? Don't let me miss you. Because looking at me ain't gonna save you either way. Right? Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Glory be his name. Glory be his name. So here we are again at another moment where people are realizing they need to be made new. I wonder, would you be bold enough now to take the steps that nine took on Friday at a funeral? That when this service is over, would you walk out of these doors to that next step center? All you gotta say, if you just put faith in Christ, all you gotta say to somebody at that next step center is, hey, I need a box. We got these new believer boxes that we would love to hand you and have a conversation. Let me tell you what the war is. God's working in you right now, and the enemy's gonna try to pluck this up in the next few minutes. Your cooperation with what God's doing in you is gonna make all the difference. So in Jesus' name, walk out of this room and go talk to somebody at that next step center when this service is over, okay? Just say, I need a box.

We'll take it there. If you're with somebody, I promise you they'll wait. Promise you. Father, thank you for your word. Now, if you're here today, and God's speaking to you through the word, say, Lord, I embrace the light. I'm not gonna run and hide no more. I'm going to run to you. Father, complete the work you started today in Jesus' name. Amen. Hey, eyes up. Those that were baptized, would you come join me right here at the front? If you have family that want to stand with you, they're sure welcome to stand with you. We're going to pray a blessing over those that were baptized, and we're going to be done. Okay? If you're here today as they're coming, and you know you need to take that step still, those doors right over there, Ben and Brady are right over there. If you've got questions about even being baptized today, they would love to talk to you. We've got a 10-30 service in gear and water warm ready for you. Everybody else, this is how we're going to close today. Let's stand. Let's stretch our hands out toward these that were just baptized. Let's pray a blessing. So, Father, we come in the authority of Jesus, and I thank you for everyone that followed you, that have put faith in your finished work on their behalf and took the next right step. God, we ask that you would mark this moment as you always do with the work of your Spirit, the kind of work that will remain, that will stand the test of time.

I pray an anointing over their lives that you would mark this season with just steadfastness, Father God, the work of your Spirit. Seal it up to the day of redemption. We bless you that you're a Savior and a King, and we pray all these things in Jesus' name. All God's people said, Amen. Let them know how proud of them we are again. Awesome. Good deal. Hey, listen, we love you. We'll see you again soon, but you've got to get out of this room.