A Morning of Worship

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Good morning, everyone. So good to see all of you, and we're just gonna enter right in. So as always, there's lots of space up here. So if you wanna get out of your spot and come forward and come before the altar, like, please do that. You know, I've been contemplating a lot since Easter just about what Jesus did on the cross for us, and a lot of our songs this morning kind of, you know, carry on through that message throughout the set, but we're gonna sing, Oh, the Cross, and it's just meditating on Matthew

and how it talks about how Jesus went before Pilate and, you know, they condemned him and how he willingly took that cross on his back and they flogged him and they pushed a crown of thorns on his head. And I saw this, like, demonstration of what a crown of thorns would have looked like. And I think, you know, I used to think it was just this, like, simple thing around his head, but, you know, I think it's much more severe than we could ever imagine. And so I've just been meditating on that and worshiping and thinking about the song that I, you know, wanted to bring forth. And sometimes I don't always know, like, what song I want to, like, bring before the Lord. And he really put this one on my heart because it does, it just talks about what he did on the cross for us. And so, you know, as we enter into worship, I just wanna encourage all of you to posture your hearts before him and the greatest sacrifice that truly changed history, that changed our humanity, changed our salvation, and now he deserves all the glory and all the praise this morning. So do not hold back. Don't let anything hinder you from entering in to praise the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the one who was flogged, who was whipped,

who carried a cross on his back, who hung from it with nails in his hands. When it should have been us, we should have been hanging on that cross. So Yahweh, thank you. Thank you for the sacrifice that changed our humanity, that changed history, Lord. Thank you for dying on a cross so that we could live freely, that death was defeated, that we do not have to fear for the future, Lord, because you already have it in your hand. So God, I ask that you would just fill this room right now, Lord, that your Holy Spirit would fill this room. God, that we would understand the gravity of what you did on that cross. Make it clear to us, God, that you did it with a love so deep that we could never comprehend. Jesus, let every heart in this room understand the love that you have for them. Thank you, Lord. Well, that we would lift up this room and say to every heart, thank you that you have done it because you have poured out your blood and blown it out for us to be able to live in peace and heal some blessed souls folks because you have the grace to carry this cross of christ. God, we thank you for your blood

and leading these bodies to you. Someone now still wanted to see this, and to receive an opportunity to serve God and hear the prayer. God, thank you for you blood and having us in the presence of Jesus. Thank you so much. Let's sing it. Oh, oh, oh. You carried the cross upon your back. I'm weeding out till your final breath. Tears of blood, a crown of thorns. You gave it all, my sins you bore. Oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh, oh. There is no greater love. Oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh, oh. There is no greater love. Hold the cross, what you've done. It was more than enough, more than enough. Hold the cross, what you've done. The power of your blood was more than enough. The sacrifice, the change history. The nails of your hands, the hands that saved me. The grave was full, death lost its sting. As the lion roared. Come on, let's sing that out. The sacrifice, the change history. The nails of your hands, the hands that saved me.

The grave was sealed, death lost its sting. As the lion roared. And then to reign. Hold the cross, what you've done. It was more than enough, more than enough. Hold the cross, what you've done. The power of your blood was more than enough. Hold the cross, what you've done. More than enough, hold the cross, what you've done. The power of your blood was more than enough. Thank you for breaking the bread of your body. For spilling the wine of your blood. Thank you, oh my heart will sing forever. We'll sing forever. Thank you for breaking the bread of your body. For spilling the wine of your blood. Thank you, oh my heart will sing forever. Thank you for breaking the bread of your body. Oh, for spilling the wine of your blood. Thank you, oh my heart will sing forever. Thank you for breaking the bread of your body. For spilling the wine of your blood. Thank you, oh my heart will sing forever. Hold the cross, what you've done. Come on, sing it out. It was more than enough, more than enough. Hold the cross, what you've done. The power of your blood was more than enough. Hold the cross, what you've done. It was more than enough.

Yes, it was, Lord. Hold the cross, what you've done. The power of your blood was more than enough. Hey. Oh. Come on, you guys just lift your praise right now. Sing your own song to him. Songs of gratitude. A longing and a yearning for his presence. Imagine that you're there at the foot of that cross, watching it happen. What would you say? What would you cry out? How would you respond? ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Come on, how would you respond? Oh, hey! Oh, thank you, Jesus! Oh, hey! You are worthy, God! You are worthy, Lord! High and lifted up! Oh! Oh, come on, lift your praise to him right now! Oh, hey! Oh, hey! Oh, thank you for your blood that was spilled for me, Lord! Hey!

Oh, I love you, Jesus! Hey! Oh, hey! Oh, death has been defeated! Oh, yeah, he did, he defeated death! Oh! And thank you for breaking the barrier! Come on, you guys, sing it! You've been alive, dear Lord! Thank you for my heart will sing! Oh, my heart will sing, Lord! And thank you for breaking the barrier of your body! For spilling the wine of your blood! Thank you, oh, my heart will sing! And thank you for breaking the barrier of your body! For spilling the wine of your blood! Thank you, oh, my heart will sing forever! And thank you, Lord! Oh, you did it for me! Oh, the cup of suffering, yeah! Oh, my heart will sing forever! Thank you for breaking the barrier of your body! For spilling the wine of your blood! Thank you, oh, my heart will sing forever! Thank you for breaking the barrier of your body! For spilling the wine of your blood! Thank you, oh, my heart will sing forever! One more time, you guys sing it! Thank you for breaking the barrier of your body! For spilling the wine of your blood!

Thank you, oh, my heart will sing forever! Come on, one more time, let's fill the room! And thank you for breaking the barrier of your body! For spilling the wine of your blood! Thank you, oh, my heart will sing forever! Mmm, mmm! Jesus, we love you! Oh, how we love you! You are the one, our true love! ♪ Hearts adored ♪ ♪ Jesus we love you ♪ ♪ Oh how we love you ♪ ♪ You are the one our hearts adore ♪ ♪ Jesus we love you ♪ ♪ Oh how we love you ♪ ♪ You are the one our hearts adore ♪ ♪ Jesus we love you ♪ ♪ Oh how we love you ♪ ♪ You are the one our hearts adore ♪ ♪ Jesus we love you ♪ ♪ This heart of mine was so far gone ♪ ♪ But you came crashing in with a love so strong ♪ ♪ I never thought I could ever feel it ♪ ♪ But your love gave me all that I needed ♪ ♪ Now I'm in love, I cannot remember what I was doing ♪ ♪ Before I met you, been captivated by your love that saved me ♪ ♪ By your love that saved me, I'm in love ♪ ♪ What I was doing before I met you, I've been captivated ♪ ♪ By your love you gave me ♪

♪ Oh, so freely given, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, so freely given, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, so freely given, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ This heart of mine was so far gone ♪ ♪ But your love gave me all that I needed ♪ ♪ Now I'm in love, I cannot remember what I was doing before I met you ♪ ♪ I've been captivated by a love that saved me ♪ ♪ I'm in love, I cannot remember what I was doing before I met you ♪ ♪ I've been captivated by a love that saved me ♪ ♪ I'm in love with what I was doing before I met you ♪ ♪ I've been captivated by a love that saved me ♪ ♪ I'm in love, I cannot remember what I was doing before I met you ♪ ♪ I've been captivated by a love that saved me, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ I've been cultivated by your love, by your love ♪ ♪ So unconditional, so everlasting, oh your love, your love ♪ ♪ Your love, your love ♪ ♪ You saved me, you saved me, no I will never leave your love ♪ ♪ You saved me, you saved me, no I will never leave your love ♪ ♪ You saved me, you saved me, no I will never leave your love ♪ ♪ Oh oh oh oh, You saved me, You saved me, You saved me ♪ ♪ Oh, now I will never leave your love ♪ ♪ You saved me, you saved me, no I will never leave your love ♪ ♪ You saved me, you saved me, no I will never leave your love ♪ ♪ You saved me, you saved me, no I will never leave your love ♪ ♪ Oh oh oh oh, You saved me, You saved me, no I will never leave your love ♪ ♪ You saved me, you saved me, no I will never leave your love ♪ ♪ You saved me, you saved me, no I will never leave your love ♪ ♪ See I can't say how many, I cannot remember what I was doing before I met you, I've been captivated by your love this anger, love in love ♪ ♪ I can't remember what I was doing, I've been captivated by your love this anger, love in love ♪ ♪ I cannot remember what I was doing before I met you, I've been captivated by the love you gave me, love in love ♪

♪ I cannot remember what, oh I can't remember my old self, I've been captivated by the love I'm in love, what I was doing before I met you, I've been captivated by your love this anger, love in love ♪ ♪ I cannot remember what, oh I can't remember my old self, I've been captivated by the love I'm in love, what I was doing before I met you, I've been captivated by your love this anger, love in love ♪ Can you put the lyrics for that chorus up please? I'm sitting back here singing this and I see these words, I'm in love, I cannot remember what I was doing before I met you, I've been captivated by the love that saved me And I'm just going to challenge you guys to something, I'm sitting up here, I see this every week, I get this beautiful view of this place of people that have been captivated by the Lord's name But I just want to challenge you, it doesn't really look like it right now Do you actually believe the words that are coming out of your mouth? Because if you say something but you live it completely another way, that's practically atheism So if these words actually ring true to you, and I say if, it's a big word, if they actually mean something to you I'm not saying you've got to go crazy, I'm not saying you've got to do anything outlandish But it just felt like I heard the Lord say, I really would love Him to give me a little bit more To actually feel like, for example, man, I know everybody in here is not married Do you remember what it was like when you saw your wife for that very first time? I remember, it messed me up, I couldn't believe it It's 20 years later, and every time that I look at her, that's more and more and more and more. How much more for the lover of our heart, the lover of our soul. Just a little challenge. I love you all. I'm in love. I'm in love. I cannot remember what I was doing before I met you. I've been captivated by a love that saves me. I'm in love. I cannot remember what I was doing before I met you. I've been captivated by a love that saves me. I'm in love. I cannot remember what I was doing before I met you. I've been captivated by a love that saves me.

I'm in love. I cannot remember what I was doing before I met you. I've been captivated. Oh, my heart is yours. I'm in love. I cannot remember what I was doing before I met you. I've been captivated by a love that saves me. You saved me. You saved me. No, I will never leave you alone. No. You saved me. You saved me. You saved me. You saved me. No, I will never leave you alone. You saved me. You saved me. No, I will never leave you alone. You saved me. You saved me. No, I will never leave you alone. Oh, yeah. You saved me. You saved me. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Whoo! ♪♪ ♪ I've made up my mind.

I'm never going back. I'm never going back. Yes, I've made up my mind. I'm never going back. I'm never going back. Yes, I've made up my mind. Oh, yeah. I'm never going back. I'm never, I'm never going back. I'm never going back. Yes, I'm never going back. I'm never going back. You saved me. You saved me. And I will never leave you alone. No. You saved me. You saved me. And I will never leave you alone. You can have my heart. You can have my whole heart. You can have every part of me. You can have my heart. You can have my whole heart. You can have every part of me. I don't want to go if you don't go. I don't want to stay if you don't stay. Sing it. I just want to be with you. I don't want to go if you don't go. I don't want to stay if you don't stay. Just want to be with you. Just want to be with you. You can have my heart. You can have my whole heart.

You can have every part of me. You can have my heart. You can have my whole heart. You can have every part of me. You can have every part of me. You can have every part of me. You can have every part of me. You can have every part of me. He has done great things. He has done great things. Arms open wide. The Lamb crucified. Worthy is He. He has done great things. God has done great things. Thorns on His brow. Grace flowing down. Worthy is He. As high as the heavens above. Great is His everlasting love. Rivers of mercy run over us. As far as the east and west. He has removed all our sin. We are forgiven by His blood. Sing He has. He has done great things. He has done great things. Arms open wide. ♪ The Lamb crucified, worthy is He ♪ ♪ He has done great things ♪ ♪ Our God has done great things ♪

♪ Thorns on His brow, grace flowing down ♪ ♪ Worthy is He ♪ ♪ As high as the heavens above ♪ ♪ Great is His everlasting love ♪ ♪ Rivers of mercy run over us ♪ ♪ As far as the east or the west ♪ ♪ He has removed all our sin ♪ ♪ We are forgiven by His blood ♪ ♪ By His blood ♪ ♪ As high as the heavens above ♪ ♪ Great is His everlasting love ♪ ♪ Rivers of mercy run over us ♪ ♪ As far as the east or the west ♪ ♪ He has removed all our sin ♪ ♪ We are forgiven by His blood ♪ ♪ He has done great things, yes He has ♪ ♪ He has done great things ♪ ♪ Arms open wide, the Lamb crucified ♪ ♪ Worthy is He ♪ ♪ He has done great things ♪ ♪ Our God has done great things ♪ ♪ Thorns on His brow, grace flowing down ♪ ♪ Worthy is He ♪ ♪ Worthy is He ♪ ♪ Worthy is He ♪ ♪ Worthy is He ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ Worship You ♪ ♪ Shout to the Lord, all the earth let us sing ♪ ♪ Power and majesty, praise to the King ♪ ♪ Mountains bow down and the seas will roar ♪ ♪ At the sound of Your name ♪ ♪ I sing for joy at the work of Your hands ♪ ♪ Forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand ♪ ♪ Nothing compares to the promise I have in You ♪ ♪ Nothing compares to the promise I have in You ♪ ♪ Oh, nothing compares to You, Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, nothing compares to You, Lord ♪ ♪ My Jesus, mercy, Lord there is none like You ♪ ♪ All of my days, I want to praise the wonders of Your mighty love ♪ ♪ My comfort, my shelter, tower of refuge and strength ♪ ♪ Let every breath, all that I am, never cease to worship You ♪ ♪ Let every breath, all that I am, never cease to worship You ♪ ♪ Shout to the Lord, all the earth, let us sing, come on ♪ ♪ Power and majesty, praise to the King ♪ ♪ Mountains bow down and the seas will roar ♪ ♪ At the sound of Your name ♪ ♪ I'll sing for joy at the word of Your head, Lord ♪ ♪ Forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand ♪ ♪ Nothing compares to the promise I have ♪ ♪ Oh, nothing compares to the promise I have, Lord ♪ ♪ Nothing compares to the promise I have, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, nothing compares to You, Lord, nothing compares to You, Lord ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, nothing compares to You, Lord, nothing compares to You, Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, nothing compares to You, Lord, nothing compares to You, Lord, nothing compares to You, Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, nothing, nothing compares to You, Lord ♪ ♪ Nothing compares, nothing compares, nothing compares to You, nothing compares to You ♪ ♪ Nothing compares to You, nothing compares to You, oh nothing compares to You, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. ♪ Oh, You're seated on the highest throne, Lord, yeah ♪ Oh, You're seated on the highest throne ♪ Oh, nothing compares to You, oh nothing Lord, oh nothing Lord ♪ You are high and lifted up, high and lifted up ♪ Oh, worthy, worthy forever, yes ♪ Oh, nothing compares to You, Lord ♪ Nothing compares to You, Lord ♪ Come on, let's sing that chorus. ♪ Shout to the Lord, all the earth let us sing ♪ ♪ Power and majesty praise to the King ♪ ♪ Mountains bow down and the seas will roar ♪ ♪ At the sound of Your name ♪ ♪ I'll sing for joy at the work of Your hands ♪ ♪ Forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand ♪ ♪ Nothing compares to the promise I have ♪ ♪ Nothing compares to the promise I have ♪ ♪ Nothing compares to the promise I have ♪ ♪ In You ♪ Come on. It's been a long time since I heard that song. It's awesome. I don't know why. It should never be a long time. Oh man, that's one worth remembering. Thank You, Lord, for Your faithfulness

year after year after year, decade after decade, generation after generation. Lord, You are faithful. You are good. You have always been good, Lord, and You're gonna continue to be good. We thank You, God, that our trust is secure when our trust is in You. And so we put our trust in You this morning. We say, Lord, You carry our lives in Your hands, and so we will not fear. Thank You for Your presence that is in this place this morning. You know, I want us to just stay in worship this morning. We are... Are you guys, are you good? You guys ready to go on a little walk? How many of you, any first time guests are here today? There's a million of you today. Any first time guests here today, I would encourage you to not make this your last time. We're going to do something. Today's going to be a little unusual. But I was reading this week in Psalms 147 and 148, and Psalms 147 verse 1 starts with this command. It's a command that we take very seriously here at the altar. In Psalms 147 it says, praise the Lord. That's the command. Praise the Lord. Why?

It says, praise the Lord, for it is good to sing praises to our God, for it is pleasant and praise is beautiful. It is good to sing praises to our God, for it is pleasant and praise is beautiful. Guys, I need you to understand that we don't sing songs at the beginning of our services to just loosen up the crowd so they'll be more eager to hear, you know, my preaching, right? Like we do this because this is our highest calling. We do this first because this is our first calling. Everything else is secondary to our calling to be worshipers of God. Praise the Lord, for it is good to sing praises to God, for it is pleasant and praise is beautiful. Amen. In that same Psalm, in Psalms 147, verse 10 and 11, verses 10 and 11, it's describing the Lord, and it says, he does not delight in the strength of the horse. He takes no pleasure in the legs of man. The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his mercy. Now, for those of you who were here last week, you remember last week, I taught out of Luke chapter 18, where we hear the tax collector crying out and saying, God have mercy on me, a sinner. You remember that? And so I need you to hear this, that we see Jesus declares that that man is justified. That man is made right before God. His sin is forgiven. His relationship, his connection with God is restored. Because why? Because he did exactly what Psalms 147 tells us

the Lord takes pleasure in. And that is that he feared God and he put his hope in God's mercy. We have to put our hope in God's mercy, because if God won't have mercy in us, there is nothing else that we could possibly hope in. And so I wanna tell you, to just let you know this has been, like I pray for this church daily. This isn't something I'm, I don't just visit the church or do my job as a pastor here once a week. It's like every day I wake up, every night as I go to bed, I cover you in prayer. Sometimes I'll pray for some of you specifically by name. And as the Lord brings you to mind or puts you on my heart, but as I pray for the church generally, God tends to kind of guide me to pray for specific things. And there's been one thing I've come back to over and over again this week. There is a common objection that people have to American evangelicalism. And that common objection, the common issue that they have with this movement that we're a part of is they say, well, people just build these churches that become like a cult of personality where you're just drawn to the personality of this one magnetic teacher or pastor. You've got, and then they'll maybe point to whoever,

Stephen Furtick or Mark Driscoll as examples of like, see, everybody just loves this guy. They'll follow him wherever he goes. That's a problem. And I would agree. I think that is a problem. We've gotta be a people who are devoted to Christ. And as I've been praying for the church this week, there's this thing that has been troubling me to be honest. And I had a whole, you should know, I've got a whole message prepared on John chapter 11. It's a killer message. Hopefully someday you'll be able to hear it. That day is not today. But as I was praying for you this week, this thing was troubling my spirit. And it is this, that on Sunday mornings, generally speaking, you guys know that I'm gonna teach. And so seven, eight, 900 people will come between our two services on a Sunday morning. And then one of our elders who are men I've appointed, who are men that demonstrate day after day, month after month, exemplary character, who have phenomenal, beautiful, healthy marriages, the kind of men we should all look to with admiration and honor and respect. Those guys prepare messages for months to come and teach a class on Wednesday nights, and they'll have 30 people show up. And here's what's been troubling me.

So sometimes as a pastor of this church, I feel like I'm the biggest obstacle to your ability to see Christ, the beauty of Christ. Because some of you are so focused on me that you can't see Him. And I want to serve this house. And, and I want you to understand that it doesn't have to be me. God can move through you. He can move through the person sitting next to you. He certainly can move through our elders. They bless my life constantly. And my hope is that with maybe the same respect or eagerness that you come to hear me on a Sunday morning is that you would look to the person next to you this morning and say, hey, would you pray for me? Would you minister to me? Would you, do you have anything? Is the Lord laying anything on your heart for me? Like my hope is that we as a community can be a people that aren't so focused on me that we miss the fact that Christ moves through His whole body, that any part of the body of Christ can be, can be effective in blessing and benefiting your relationship with Him. And so, you know, as I've been wrestling with this and it's interesting, God in His wisdom, I don't know that this issue even occurred to me months ago when this idea was first floated,

but our, our council of elders and our board. have, uh, have talked and have recommended that this year, um, during our seventh year of ministry that I take as the pastor of this church, a seven week sabbatical. And, uh, and so I just maybe just want to put it on your radar. I'm not like, I'm not leaving the church. I love you guys, but I won't be here for seven weeks. And, um, I mean, I'll be around, I'll be in town. I'm actually really looking forward to going to visit the churches of some of my friends who are pastors, the guys I've been rolling with been my brothers for years, and I've never gotten to, to visit their churches because we're all working at the same time on Sunday mornings, you know? And, uh, and so I, I'm so excited to get to do that. And, um, you know, and during that time, uh, we were going to have some, some people that are here in the house, some friends and family, and even some people from outside of the house to come and minister to you. So believe me, it's going to be a surprise every Sunday, but believe me, you are not going to want to miss some of these surprises. It's going to be a lot of fun. Um, but I, I've got to tell you, full disclosure, I've been wrestling with this idea of like, I'm going to be gone for seven weeks. Will there still be a church when I get back? And this week, as I was praying, I had to say, God, make us the kind of people that can see past me, like make this community, the kind of people that can see you. God, give me the grace to be invisible here. The people could come here and never know my name, but be more in love than they've ever been with you. That's what I want. And, uh, and so I, uh, I I'm just maybe putting that on your radar about a month from now will be my last

service. And then, uh, I'll be away for about seven weeks and then I will come back. I'm telling you, uh, with a lot of things to say, I think. And so I, uh, I am looking forward to that time. Certainly I will miss you guys. I'll miss being together with you, but I think that it'll be right and good. And I'm grateful for the recommendation and the wisdom of our board. But I, uh, I need to tell you, each one of you is responsible before God to guard your heart against the idolatry that often happens in modern American churches. It's easy to put a man on the throne that belongs to only God. And so I would ask you for my sake and for yours, please guard against that because it is Christ alone who can save and it is his spirit alone that can sanctify. Amen. And so what are we going to do today? I was reading in Psalms 148 the last couple of days and Psalms 148, I think gives us a great bit of guidance and instruction for the service. Can I just read this entire chapter to you? That'd be all right. It says this praise the Lord, praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights, praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his hosts, praise him, sun and moon, praise him. All you stars of light, praise him. You heavens of heavens and you waters above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord for he commanded and they were created. He also established them forever and ever. He made a decree which shall not pass away. Praise the Lord from the earth. You great sea creatures and all the depths, fire and hail, snow and clouds, stormy wind, fulfilling his word, mountains and all hills, fruitful trees and all cedars, beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying fowl, kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all judges of the earth, both young men and

maidens, old men and children. Let them praise the name of the Lord for his name alone is exalted. His glory is above the earth and heaven and he has exalted the horn of his people. The praise of all his saints of the children of Israel, a people near to him. Praise the Lord. Are we a people near to him today? Then I think our right response is to praise him. Amen. I think the only appropriate response is to praise him and I know that we've got a structure and every week we sing five songs and then we take the offering and then we dismiss kids and have a break and then we get back together and do announcements. Let's forget about that today and let's, let's today not worry about learning something new. Let's learn about responding to what God has already revealed. He is good. He is great and he is greatly to be praised. Amen. He is great and he is greatly to be praised. So our schedule today is canceled. We're going to just go back into worship. Can we do that? And I want to give you freedom to Get out of your seat if you need to. Come to the front, come to the back, lay down, kneel down, run around, do a somersault, whatever you need to do. Let's respond to the beauty that God has revealed. Let's respond to the kindness and the love that God has showed us. Lord, we turn our eyes away from man's systems and structures today. We turn our eyes away from the institution of church and we fix our eyes on you, the one that sits upon the throne, the God that has established all creation

by the might of his word and who sustains our very existence. Lord, you alone are worthy of our praise. You alone are worthy of our honor. You alone are worthy of our adoration and we give you all of it this morning. God, be exalted, be glorified, be magnified in this place. God, we repent of our small view of you. We turn our hearts away from the affections and the idolatries of this world and God, we fix our eyes on you and you alone. We bring our hearts today to the altar and we say, God, be praised. Be seated in the throne in our midst, God. Be exalted in this place, in our songs, in our hearts, in our minds. Lord, you alone are worthy and so we give you all of our praise today. In Jesus' name, in Jesus' name, in Jesus' name, amen. Amen, amen. Somebody shout hallelujah. Hallelujah, he's worthy. Come on, let's just get free. Let's get free and let's come before the throne of heaven. ♪ Oh, praise the Lord, oh my soul ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul ♪

♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul, praise the Lord. ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul, praise the Lord. ♪

♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul, praise the Lord. ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul, praise the Lord. ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul, praise the Lord. ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul, praise the Lord. ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul, praise the Lord. ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul, praise the Lord. ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul, praise the Lord. ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord, oh my soul, praise the Lord. ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ Oh, all hail the only beginning ♪ ♪ All hail to Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Savior of the world ♪ ♪ All hail to Jesus, oh, all hail, all hail to Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, all hail, all hail to Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Savior of the world ♪ ♪ To the world ♪ ♪ Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, oh ♪ ♪ Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, oh ♪ ♪ Jesus we worship, Jesus we worship, Jesus we worship, Jesus we worship, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey ♪

Mmmmm ♪ Mmmmm ♪ Mmmmm ♪ Mmmmm ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Mmmmm ♪ Let every knee Bow before the King of Kings Let every tongue Confess that He is Lord Lift up your shout Let us join with all of heaven Singing, holy ♪ Singing, holy ♪ Since this morning, during men's prayer, this word, basics, came to my mind and then it's been in my mind this whole time and then Pastor Matty came to me and he's like,

God is speaking to you and like the word basics and he's like, okay, I'm feeling the same thing. So I think it's just God calling us to basics, prayer and worship, you know, nothing else. No, I don't know. Just sometimes I feel like we complicate ourselves so much as we, even with the Bible, with the scriptures, you know, like sometimes, you know, we can find, I'm not saying contradictions, but things that make us doubt or just think too much, just go back to basics. Go back to just praising God, praising the Lord of the Lords, praising the King of Kings and just, and worship, worship and prayer. So go back to basics. If you're finding yourself on a crossway, go back to basics. If you're feeling doubt, if you're thinking too much, go back to basics, all right? Oh, and the other one, sorry. So right now, as my family, we have a newborn and he's been struggling with some healthy issues and, you know, he's been battling and he's, thanks God, he's been winning every little battle. But, um... I feel like sometimes we put our attention in the negative things so much that we forget how big our God is. So put your attention in the positive things in life, okay? Don't tell God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big your God is, okay? So declare victory over your problems, declare success over your life.

Go from glory to glory, you know, that's a big thing in this house, from glory to glory, okay? So stop, stop just looking at the negative things, stop seeing the bad things in your life but focus on the good things, focus on the Lord, the King of kings, Jesus Christ is your God, is your Savior. So stop wasting time in just in the things of this world and what the doctors say, Jesus Christ has the last word. Thank you. You know, I think that that is maybe an invitation for some of us, maybe you're dealing with an issue that is requiring an uncomfortable amount of trust, maybe it's a health issue, a financial issue, a relationship issue, and you're saying, okay, it's hard for me to get my eyes off of this thing, like it's hard, it's so big, it feels so big, it's hard for me to see past it, and this morning I need to refocus myself and get my eyes back on my good God that rescues and saves and redeems and heals me. If that's you, if you're in that situation, would you, right where you're at, just raise your hand. Come on, if you're close to someone who's raising a hand, would you just lay hands on them if you can? Come on, we're just, I'm not even going to, here's what we're not going to do, we're not going to say, all right, what are you struggling with, what are you scared of, what's frustrating or disappointing or disrupting you, here's what we're going to do, as we're laying hands on these people, we're going to go back into worship and I want you to sing over them about the victory of our Lord Jesus, I want you to sing about the love of our God, we're going to praise God over these people, that's a prophetic declaration that he's good before the healing comes and he'll be good after, he is the God of miracles, he's the God who does the impossible, and our lives, many of us, our lives are living, breathing, tangible examples of that, so let's just go back into worship and let's sing now the praises of our God over the problems of our brothers, in Jesus' name, come on. Shout unto God with the voice of the tribe, shout unto God with the voice of praise, shout unto God with the voice of the tribe, we lift your name up, we lift your name up, shout

unto God with the voice of the tribe, we lift your name up, we lift your name up, shout unto God with the voice of the tribe, we lift your name up, we lift your name up, shout unto God with the voice of the tribe, we lift your name up, we lift your name up, shout unto God with the voice of the tribe, we lift your name up, we lift your name up, shout ♪ Shout out to God with the voice of trial Sh-out out to God with the voice of praise Shout out to God with the voice of trial We lift Your name up We lift Your name up Shout out to God with the voice of trial Shout out to God with the voice of praise Shout out to God with the voice of trial We lift Your name up We lift Your name up Oh ♪ Oh ♪ Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Jesus, You're beautiful There is no one like You Jesus, You're beautiful There is no one like You Oh Jesus, You're beautiful

There is no one like You Oh Jesus, You're beautiful There is no one like You Jesus, You're beautiful There is no one like You Jesus, You're beautiful Jesus, You're beautiful Jesus, You're beautiful Jesus, You're beautiful Jesus, You're beautiful Jesus, You're beautiful Jesus, You're beautiful Jesus, You're beautiful Jesus, You're holy Jesus, You're worthy Jesus, You're beautiful Jesus, You're beautiful Jesus, You're beautiful Jesus, You're holy Jesus, You're worthy Jesus, You're worthy Beautiful, beautiful Beautiful, beautiful Beautiful, beautiful ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you, heaven's too high. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪

♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth, ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ You're beautiful, beautiful, no I'm not alone. ♪ ♪ You're beautiful, you're beautiful... yay. ♪ ♪ You're beautiful, you're beautiful. No, I'm not alone... ♪ ♪ You're beautiful, beautiful... yay. Yeah. ♪ ♪ You're beautiful, beautiful... yay. Yeah. ♪ ♪ There is no one... there is no one like you here. ♪ Come on, you sing it! Show the room! ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you. ♪ ♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪

♪ There is no one like you in the heavens or on the earth. ♪ When we first started CU Worship, I sat in the back and I'm just, for those of you that know, I suffered a knee injury late last year and had knee surgery. And my family and I have been going through things dealing with that. And I'm sitting in the back and there is this quote from John Piper that just keeps playing in my head and it's, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. And, and like my brother Sam said, it's back to the basics, it's, the song talked about being captivated. I don't remember what I was doing before I met you. Some of us still remember what we were doing before we met him because we're still doing those things. We have not been captivated. Take your eyes off of worthless things and be captivated by the thing your eyes were made. The thing your soul was made to behold. Be captivated by Jesus. He will be most glorified in your life and in your kid's life. This community will be blessed as you are satisfied in Jesus. So guys, just take the time right now. We have time. If you haven't yet, come. Be captivated in Jesus. He is captivating. He is the most captivating thing we have to look at. Our soul's desire for Him. Jesus, you're beautiful. There is none like you, Lord.

Jesus, you're beautiful. There is none like you, Lord. Jesus, you're beautiful. There is none like you, Lord. Jesus, you're beautiful. There is none like you, Lord. Jesus, you're beautiful. There is none like you, Lord. Jesus, you're beautiful. There is none like you, Lord. Jesus, you're beautiful. There is none like you, Lord. There is none like you, Lord. Jesus, you're beautiful. There is none like you, Lord. Jesus, you're beautiful. There is none like you, Lord. Jesus, you're beautiful. There is none like you, Lord. Jesus, you're beautiful. There is none like you, Lord. ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ All powers and dominions ♪ ♪ All powers and positions ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ Come on, your name. ♪ Your name is the highest ♪ ♪ Your name is the greatest ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ All powers and dominions ♪

♪ All powers and positions ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ Your name is the highest ♪ ♪ Your name is the greatest ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ No rules and dominions ♪ ♪ All powers and positions ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ Let the angels cry holy name ♪ ♪ In the nation of Christ holy ♪ ♪ You are lifted high holy holy forever ♪ ♪ Oh hear your people sing hear your people sing holy ♪ ♪ Holy to the king of kings holy you will always be holy holy forever ♪ ♪ Oh hear your people sing hear your people sing holy you will always be holy holy forever ♪ ♪ You will always be holy holy holy forever ♪ ♪ You will holy always be holy holy forever oh holy holy holy holy holy forever ♪ ♪ Now we sing Holy Now we sing holy ♪ you are holy you are holy ♪ ♪ ♪ Holy Holy are you Lord God Almighty Worthy is the Lamb

Worthy is the Lamb you are holy Holy are you Lord God Almighty Worthy is the Lamb Worthy is the Lamb you are holy Holy are you Lord God Almighty Worthy is the Lamb Worthy is the Lamb you are holy Holy are you Lord God Almighty Worthy is the Lamb Worthy is the Lamb you are holy Holy are you Lord God ♪ God Almighty ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ You are holy ♪ ♪ Are You, Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪

♪ Hallelujah to the Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah to the Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ For You are holy, holy ♪ ♪ Are You, Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ You are holy, holy ♪ ♪ Are You, Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb of God ♪ ♪ Oh worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ You are Holy, Holy, are You Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ You are Holy, Holy, are You Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ You are Holy, Holy, are You Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ High, exalting ♪

♪ High, exalting ♪ ♪ High, exalting ♪ ♪ Oh Lord ♪ ♪ I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, O Lord ♪ ♪ I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, O Lord ♪ ♪ I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, O Lord ♪ ♪ I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee ♪ ♪ I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, O Lord, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee ♪ I exalt Thee, O Lord, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, O Lord, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, O Lord, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, O Lord, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, O Lord, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee. Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee. You know, I'm reminded this morning of the woman with the alabaster jar who just days before Jesus was crucified, spent a year's wages to anoint him with her love, her most precious gift. She washed his feet with the oil, with her own tears. and she dried it with her hair. And the people who watched it, consider this to be wasteful. They thought, oh man, you know, you could have taken that money and given it to the poor. There's other ways you could have invested that. There's no reason to be that extravagant in your expression of gratitude to Jesus. But that woman, I think, knew something that we can often forget.

And that is that our most lavish, our most lavish expression of thanks to the Lord is never wasted. That our time spent pouring out ourselves, our energy, our efforts, our abilities at His feet, those things are never wasted. This is not a wasted Sunday. In fact, this may be the most productive Sunday we've ever had. I was recently talking with a man, one of the teachers at our school, and I said, you know, there's this picture at our boys' school. I said to him, there's this picture in Revelation chapter four of creatures and elders, you know, seated and flying around the throne just declaring the praises of the one who sits on it. Jesus' desire was that the will of the Father, that His will would be done, His kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven. I said, so I look at Revelation four and I say, that's my standard, that's my ideal. If our church is successful, we'll know it by how closely it resembles that scene in Revelation chapter four. And so I said to him, if everybody in our church, if we came together and we start worship and everybody in the room is prostrate before the throne of God, everybody in the room is laid out on their face

and pouring their hearts out in extravagant, unfiltered love to the one who sits on the throne, then all of my job is irrelevant because everything I do week after week after week is to try to provoke you to that place. All of our ministry organization, all of our structures and systems and methods, all of that is to try to get you to this place where nothing matters but praising the one on the throne, where nothing else matters, where you're not checking your watch, you're not worried about how your clothes look, you're not stressing about, well, but what about the sermon? Like the schedule goes up with it where nothing matters. He is beautiful, that's the only thing that matters. If we can come to that place as a church, we've made it. That's the goal, that's always been the goal. So I want you to consider this in Psalms 103. David, he writes this, bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me. Can I pause right there and tell you, it is okay to command your soul to get it right. We don't have to follow our emotions. We can demand that our emotions follow us. You can't say, well, no, no, no, my emotions aren't blessing God. Somebody upset me and so I'm upset. Somebody frustrated me, so I'm frustrated. Somebody annoyed me, so I'm annoyed.

You can say, well, that person is upsetting or frustrating or annoying, but my soul will bless the Lord. I want you to learn this week and in the weeks ahead to take control of your own mind, will, and emotions and to begin to instruct by the spirit, the soul that lives inside of you. Begin to instruct your own emotional, internal, interior world and to instruct it to bless the Lord. Bless the Lord, O my soul, David writes, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies. Friends, I want you to remember this day, not as an unusual or interesting or exciting or fun Sunday service that we had, but this is the standard to which all of us have been called to live. Mama Fred said to me just a minute ago, the Lord wants us to remember that this cannot stop here. I think she's exactly right. Just this morning, Michael, was it Michael Turley, said that there was. There's something like a bubbling or a boiling in culture

and that everybody is giving energy back and forth to each other. But the church has all of this energy and it's not breaking out. It's not reaching the surface. And so what an amazing moment to stir ourselves up in the faith, to stir ourselves up in right and righteous passion for the things of God. And then to commit ourselves in this moment that it won't stop today and it won't stay here. This is how we were made to live. To worship Him throughout the day as you work, to worship Him in your car ride home at the end of the day, to worship Him at the dinner table, to worship Him as you're cooking breakfast or packing box lunches for your kids in the morning, to let the worship and the adoration of the Lord be the common thread that is woven into everything you do all day long. This is why we were made. And everything else either serves this calling or it's a distraction that needs to be brought into subjection to your highest calling and that is to the worship and adoration of God. This morning, I just wanna give you some quick instruction. If you are a part of the church, you know that one of the ways we worship God, not just in singing, is through our giving.

And as we begin to wrap up for the morning, we're gonna make sure that we put that graphic up on the screen. If you wanna use the envelope in the seat in front of you to give, or you can scan the QR code or give through the app, you can go ahead and do that. If you are giving through the envelope, using cash or check or card, we're gonna have Pastor David and Pastor John, they'll be standing back by these two doors. And so if you try to not give, they'll know it. So I'd ask you to give this morning to what God is doing here and to partner, not just your faith, not just your singing and dancing, but your finances as well with what the Lord is establishing here. But before we do any of this, I would love this morning to just pray over you. Can I do that? Come on, Lord, I thank you for these people who are so precious to you and who are so precious to me. God, I thank you for the privilege that it is to be their pastor. And I pray, God, you'd continue to lower me, continue to humble me, continue, God, to keep me needy, like poor in spirit, and daily relying on you, clinging to you, not just for my sake, God, but for theirs as well. Lord, I ask you that you'd pour out on each of them

your spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God that they would know you better. Lord, I pray that your spirit right now would begin to cut through the noise and the chaos of life and open the eyes of their heart so that they can see your beauty and your majesty and your love. I pray, Lord, that somehow, by divine and sovereign influence, Lord, that they would begin maybe for the first time to grasp the height and the width and the depth of your love for them. Father, that they'd see you in your majesty and that they would be daily confounded at the fact that you love them, that you care for them, that you see them, and that you invite them to know you and walk with you. Lord, you are great and greatly to be praised. Give us the vision to see past our problems and to remember that you are the God that holds all things in your hand, that you uphold all things by the power of your word and that in your hands, our hope is secure. So we put our hope in you again. We fix our eyes on you again, and we rest in you again. Lord, carry us this week. Convict us this week. Strengthen us and sanctify us this week and let our lives be light in the darkness of this world

for your glory and for the good of your people. And we ask all. of this in the beautiful name of Jesus our King, amen. Amen. I want to remind you, I am remembering an announcement for the first time in my life as a pastor. I wanna remind you next week, the youth group is gonna be doing a car wash. And so I'd invite you to go ahead and sign yourself up for that. They're gonna be working hard, blessing, serving the body to earn some money for youth camp this summer. I wanna remind you also on Wednesday night, elder Dr. Rich Hartman is gonna be teaching Wednesday night at 6.30. Right here. And I am as convinced as I've ever been of anything. I'm as certain as I've ever been of anything that if you will come and listen to the Lord speak through Mr. Rich, it will bless your life. And so I would strongly encourage you to do what it takes to arrange your schedule and make sure that you're there. Family, I love you. God bless you. Thank you so much for being a part of this this morning, because I'm convinced this is what, this is the dream that held Jesus to the cross, that earth would begin to look like heaven, amen.

I love you guys. One more time as you honor our musicians, thank them for their long ministry. It's been a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful morning. God bless you, we'll see you next week, I promise I'll preach Lord willing next week. I love you guys. Thank you. гов.minst triedo gov.minst triedo