Before After : Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People? (Full Experience)

Let's stand on our feet. We're here to give God praise for who he is, what he's done in our lives. Let's go. Let's never take for granted the goodness of God. Everything we have, it comes from his hands. Let's sing this out. I've known the love of the Father's heart. A prodigal now indeed. From where I was to where I'm now, it's overwhelming. Sing the more and more. The more and more, I see it move all around me. Come on. I can't help but praise you, praise you, Lord. And I can't help but lift up shouts of joy. It's when I think. Oh, when I think of how good you've been, you're faithful now to the end. I can't help but praise you, praise you, Lord, yeah. With the blood you spilled to save my life, a debt I cannot repay. For the cross you bore with open arms, salvation, I call my name. From where I was to where I'm now, it's overwhelming. Oh, the more and more, I see it move all around me. Come on, y'all. I can't help but praise you, praise you, Lord. I can't help but lift up shouts of joy. When I think about it. Oh, when I think of how good you've been,

you're faithful now to the end. I can't help but praise you, praise you, Lord. Come on, sing this out. I can't help but dance because I'm free. I got no chains on me. I'm healed and redeemed. And I can't help but call on the name that buried my shame. It opened my grave. See, I can't help but dance because I'm free. I got no chains on me. I'm healed and redeemed. Oh, I can't help but call on the name that buried my shame. It opened my grave. I can't help but praise you, praise you, Lord. Come on. See, I can't help but lift up shouts of joy. When I think about it. When I think of how good you've been, you're faithful now to the end. I can't help but praise you, praise you, Lord. I can't help. Oh, I can't help but praise you, praise you, Lord. I can't. I can't help but praise you, praise you, Lord. Come on. Give him a shout of praise this morning. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Just you and him this morning. Let's sing.

I could sing your name for all my life. And still find more to love each time. Jesus, be the name ever on my life. Come on. And it's sweeter every time that I call on you. Because there's just something about your name. There's just something about your name. There's just something about your name. It makes me cry holy. Come on, there is no other. There is no other name. There is no other name. There is no other name. Jesus, you're worthy. And you have been the friend who never left I won't forget your faithfulness Jesus, be the name ever on my life It's sweeter every time It's sweeter every time that I call on Him Cause there's just something about your name There's just something about your name There's just something about your name It makes me cry holy And there is no other name There is no other name There is no other name Oh Jesus, you're worthy There's just something about your name Jesus, there's just something about your name Sing Jesus, there's just something about your name

It makes me cry holy And there is no other name There is no other name There is no other name Jesus, you're worthy Oh, oh, oh Jesus, oh Oh we lift up our praise There's no other name, no one comes close Jesus, cause Jesus your name Is like the morning light The one the darkness can't deny The resurrection and the life Jesus, oh Jesus your name Can save, your name can heal Your name can make that storm be still You never fail, you never will Jesus, Jesus the bread The life broken for us The wounded and the worthy one The first, the last, the chosen one Jesus, Jesus the King Who overwhelmed the grave Through the heart who will forever reign The name above our hurting pains Jesus, Jesus be the name Jesus be the name Oh Jesus be the name That gets all the glory Oh Jesus be the name

Oh Jesus be the name There's no other Jesus be the name That gets all the glory Jesus be the name Oh Jesus Jesus be the name Jesus be the name That gets all the glory Jesus be the name Jesus be the name Jesus be the name That gets all the glory Yeah Come on Fellowship Church Anyone thankful that in a world that's constantly changing That we serve a God who's unchanging, unfailing With us at every moment and minute Come on Fellowship Church if you're thankful for the God that we serve You picked a great Sunday to come to God's house today As you find your seats, turn to three people and say I'm so glad to be sitting around you today In church Well good morning this morning Welcome to Fellowship, you picked a great Sunday to come Whether Fellowship Church is home or you're a first time guest We are so glad that you are here And as we're getting ready for a great Sunday today We're already looking towards next weekend As we celebrate 250 years of freedom

As a nation, anyone proud to be an American? It's gonna be a special weekend, isn't it? I love it, and yes, and we also have, if you haven't already seen, a special shirt designed by our pastor, Ed Young, for the Freedom Celebration next weekend. So make sure to pick yours up. I love a matching family moment, personally. So make sure to go pick yours up. But 100% of the proceeds go to the ministries of Fellowship Church, and yeah, I just love a matching. Are we okay to match, Sam? Always. Always. Whatever you want, yes. You have to say that. But if it is your first time here, we'd love for you to fill out the blue Connect card located on the back of every single seat, or if you're like, I've been coming a while, I moved, fill out, update your address, and later in the experience, you can drop it in the offering bucket, but we'll give you a moment just to fill that out now. But we truly believe this is like your golden ticket into getting involved in everything that we have here at Fellowship Church, and we believe you shouldn't do life alone. You shouldn't do it alone. You shouldn't do it alone.

And we believe you shouldn't do life alone. You should do it in partner with the local church. And speaking of being new, we have our newcomers class directly after this experience, where we'll feed you a delicious meal. We'll talk about the life of our church and how you can, again, get more involved. And if you're sitting here and you're like, I haven't been to newcomers, or I haven't heard of newcomers, you need to go right after this. That's right, and right now we're gonna continue in a time of worship as we receive our offering. I think about next weekend and what it represents, that 250 years ago, there were many men and women who made some pretty massive sacrifices for us to enjoy the freedoms that we have today. And then I think about the state of the church and the reality, yeah, we can clap for it. I think it's certainly worth clapping for. But I think about the state of the church and the reality that one day, every single person in this room will not be here anymore. But the state that we leave the church to our children and our children's children will be greatly determined by the sacrifices that we are willing to make today. So I wanna say thank you to the men and women of Fellowship Church who are constantly stepping up sacrificially to bring their tithe, to go above and beyond their tithe,

to give towards things like the Anchor Project. As we think about the next generation and we are breaking ground this summer in faith, getting ready for all that God is going to do, and I am so excited about it. Today, we are going to be sharing a really powerful testimony as we continue this series before and after. We're really tackling the question, why do bad things happen to good people? Maybe you're here today and you're going through a circumstance in life and you just find yourself asking God this question, why, why me? I wanna encourage you that you are in the right place today, that the psalmist reminds us that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted. Would you bow your heads and close your eyes with me as we pray? God, I thank you that what your word says is true. And I'm sure that there are people here with heavy and broken hearts. I pray that you would remind them today that you are not distant, but you are near. And we thank you for that reality. And because of that reality, we have something to be grateful for today. We ask all these things in your son's name, everybody said. Amen. Come on, we'll worship as the offering passes,

but let's remain seated during this time. ♪ Mm, there was no way until you made one ♪ ♪ Grace upon grace, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Even though I don't deserve it, you did it ♪ ♪ And even though we couldn't earn it, you give it ♪ ♪ Yeah, so who am I that you keep me on your mind, God? ♪ ♪ I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ All my life, you've been right here by my side, God ♪ ♪ I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ Sing holy, holy. ♪ Holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, there's only one ♪ ♪ And I give you glory for all that you've done ♪ ♪ Even though I don't deserve it, you give it ♪ ♪ And even though I couldn't earn it, you give it ♪ ♪ Say who am I that you keep me on your mind, God? ♪ ♪ I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ All my life, you've been right here by my side, God ♪ Every step of the way. Oh, God. I'm just grateful for you. Who am I? Who am I that you keep beyond your mind? God, I'm just grateful for you. God, I'm just grateful for you. What else can I say but all my life you've been right here by my side. God, I'm just grateful for you. God, I'm just grateful for you. Come on, just take a moment and think about the goodness of God.

From the cross to the empty grave, every blessing, the breath in your lungs. Lift your hands and give Him praise today. Oh, we sing to you, Jesus. And I, I'm lifting both of my hands because you give me chance after chance after chance. And I, I'm giving all that I am because you give me chance after chance after chance. I, I'm lifting both of my hands because you give me chance after chance after chance. And I, I'm giving all that I am because you give me chance after chance after chance. Lift your voice and sing. Who am I that you keep beyond your mind? God, I'm just grateful for you. God, I'm just grateful for you. All my life. All my life. You've been right here by my side. God, I'm just grateful for you. God, I'm just grateful for you. Sing, I survived. Yeah. I survived. And I'm here to testify. God, I'm just grateful. I'm so grateful. God, I'm just grateful. Oh, God, I'm so grateful. And I'm all right if they say I'm out of my mind.

God, I'm just grateful for you. God, I'm just grateful for you. Come on, put your hands together and give praise to the greatness of our great God. Remain standing. How are you guys doing today? Excellent, excellent. You know, we've been in a series called Before After, or you could say Before and After. Our culture is bombarded by before and after photos and before and after testimony. So we thought, wouldn't it be great to do that in the most important entity in the universe, the local church. What's the story behind a lot of people that we see? Because you have a story that's unique to you. I have a story that's unique to me. God is writing the ultimate story, and God wants to use us as instruments as he writes his story. Today, I want you to key in to just a story that is absolutely stunning. When our video team and others looked at it and edited it, a lot of us just wept with tears, tears of pain and also tears of joy. But I want you to meet Naomi and Chris Moore and their family. ♪♪♪♪ Scripture tells us that when we draw near to God, he draws near to us.

And I used to think that was just a beautiful promise for a Sunday morning service, but I never thought worship would become the oxygen that kept my family breathing in our darkest hours. ♪♪♪♪♪ ♪♪♪♪ Hi, I'm Chris. I'm Naomi. And we've been on staff for two years, both a part of our worship team, Fellowship Creative. I work with our student worship team in the Mixed Youth Ministry. And I get to work with Pastor Lisa on lots of amazing ministry opportunities. We met in 2013, leading worship together at Bible College here in Dallas. Worship's always been a huge part of our lives, because when we worship, it's a unique way to feel the presence of God. We were friends for about a year, and something clicked. We said, we're going to get married, which was kind of crazy, but we knew deep down that we were each other's person. So we got married, and the Lord blessed us with a child. Meow was born. And God blessed us with another child, and Millie, she's a firecracker. She's amazing. In 2015, we decided to move to where Chris is from and his family. We came on staff at my parents' church in Brownsville, Texas. Seeing our kids grow up in the church, it was so beautiful, it was amazing. But there's one dream I had, and it was to have a little boy. Right around that time, Naomi got pregnant with a boy, and we named him Milo. Everything was great during the pregnancy, and then it was time for Milo to be born. We were at the hospital.

Her oxygen level began to drop, and then the doctors came in and said, we're going to have to do an emergency C-section. I was losing a lot of blood quickly. But God carried us through, and on March 1st, 2021, Milo was born. I remember spending like the next few weeks just like with so much anxiety. I remember telling Chris like, man, I feel like something's wrong. And then about two months later, it almost felt like there was like a, like a ball, like something here, super hard. I go to the pediatrician's office, they discovered within a couple of days that it was this tumor called the malignant rhabdoid tumor. There is not many treatments available for it. Next thing I know, a nurse comes and she's like, he's going to be airlifted to Driscoll Children's Hospital, which is about two hours north from Brownsville. The doctor hands us this diagnosis, and I was just thinking like, God, like, what are we going to do with this? I said, in our line of work, anything is possible. And she says, where do you guys work? What do you do? And I said, well, we're all pastors, and we believe in the God of miracles. No matter what the doctor would say, every time they walked in through the door, we were going to choose to sing or to praise in the middle of that. His first chemo started, and his body was not able to flush out all the fluids, and he was drowning, basically. We had to put a drain in the side of his body. While Milo is like fighting for his life, the doctors and the nurses that were on that oncology floor were praying with us, you know, and they were like, we believe he's going to make it through. And it strengthened my faith. He was able to finish that chemo round, and it was result time. The doctor came, and she was so excited, and she was like, it shrunk.

And we were so excited. God's healing him. This is amazing. We celebrated that day. For the first time in a month, we were able to leave the hospital. It felt like that was a moment that was like a light at the end of the tunnel. We praised God, feeling like our prayers had been answered. About a month later, we did chemo round three. After he finished his chemo, I saw it looked like a vein bulging a little bit, and then the next day, it got bigger. The cancer had metastasized in his head, and that was like, that was so crushing. I remember the doctor saying, just a few weeks is what we would have. It felt like a knife was in my chest. There was no way that they could do a surgery, because if they did a surgery, he could die under the knife. There's nothing the doctors can do. There's nothing we can do. I think that was where we experienced some of the most tension in our relationship. I came from a spiritual background where we were taught, if you have enough faith, miracles will happen, and if you don't get the miracle, maybe you didn't have enough faith. And I'm raised in that culture that says, we believe those miracles can happen, and I was believing it for Milo. He, with my mom, I was like, I'm just seeing him like suffer and the amount of meds he has to take. And he's just like, he's crying, he's complaining, he's in so much pain. And like, I just like, I want him to be okay. I don't want him to feel that. I wanted him to find peace with God and Chris was contending he's gonna be healed.

And that was like a big tension point. There was one night in specific where we were both in the bed with Milo in the hospital room and we were having that super tense conversation of like, why can't you just see he's suffering and just say goodbye? And then he's pleading his case. And this was one of the sweetest moments we'd ever had. Milo had like one minute where it was Milo again. It wasn't like in pain Milo or anything, but he looked at us like with his big eyes and he smiled. And we laughed and we were like, I said, he's probably laughing. It's like mom and dad stop fighting, get it together. And it just felt like a moment that we were able to experience with him again. Like this is us and our son and he's okay and he's gonna be okay. And whatever happens, God is still good. It was a hard prayer to change to, would you let him not suffer anymore so that he would find true healing in eternity? We cried. We sang. We sang. And he marched into heaven singing a song of victory. We were sitting outside at the grave site and I remember saying, I promise I'm not gonna let this steal my song. Being in that moment saying those words were words of faith for me.

After we buried Milo and did his funeral services, I lost hope, you know? I realized like I have unbelief for healing just because of what happened with Milo. I think I took on the role of like God owes me a son. God took him away from me and so surely he owes me. He owes me this. And so I remember at that time, his parents were part of C3 Global, a network of pastors that fellowship leads and it's a place where pastors can come and be resourced once a year. We came to C3 Conference and just a year before that, Pastor Ed and Lisa had lost their oldest daughter, Libeth. At the conference, they talked about how they processed and we're still processing their pain, but how Jesus and the church carried them through that. And I still struggle with this over Libeth's death. I do, I do. I'm like, why God? I mean, Lisa and I, we followed you, started Fellowship Church and what? I still deal and Lisa does too with that. Faith and doubt, they run on parallel tracks. There's not certainty in this life. However, in God's sovereignty and mystery, Lisa, he has strengthened our faith. See our faith is like a bank account. We've just been dropping faith into this account over and over.

And we've been living off the interest. But when Libeth passed away, we dug deep into that account. Yes. And we pulled that faith out. Yes. And God has given us the strength. And so let me just tell you something, the road winds are gonna hit, but you can be ready. Yes. You can be prepared because this is not the final chapter. That's right. This is not the end. I'd never heard leaders in the church speak so vulnerably and it really helped me start processing my pain and rebuilding my faith. That night there was a live recording and that's when I heard the song, Even So. Even so, I still know, you're not gonna leave me. Might not be easy, but you won't let go. Those words were just really kind of like doing surgery on my heart. And I remember leaving that night thinking like, God actually owes me nothing. Just salvation is more than enough. Like he gave me everything. He gave me his son. He owes me nothing. Milo is whole. He is healed. And so

And I was like, Chris, you know what? Maybe we should try again. And a few days later, we found out we were pregnant with a little girl. And we decided to name her Valerie. The pregnancy was going great. And around week 28, I went in for an ultrasound. The doctor comes in and then he says, we found fluid in her head. And then they were like, this does not look good. There's solid mass here. As soon as they said solid mass, I knew this is cancer. I just remember kind of just feeling so crushed. Like, not again. Like, I can't do this again, you know? I said, we're going to gather at our house. And we're just going to worship for 24 hours nonstop. We got everybody from the church. We literally just prayed for 24 hours. And we would ask God that you would have your will. Your will. Your will be done. Your will be done. That was all we prayed. In this circumstance. We went to bed. And we're laying there. And Naomi said, something's wrong. 20 minutes later, here I am again. Emergency C-section.

And that anxiety that I felt after Milo's C-section, it hit me again in that moment. And I literally couldn't. Like, I was trembling. Like, my whole body was trembling. And the anesthesiologist was like, you need to calm down. You need to relax. And I couldn't. Like, I could not calm down. He took Mallory out. And it was so quiet. No cry. Next thing I know, she's out of the room. The doctors immediately airlifted us back to Driscoll Hospital, where Milo was diagnosed. They came to the conclusion that she was brain dead. They were keeping her basically on life support till Naomi got there, so that she could be there and hold Mallory. We finally get to Corpus. And I see Chris there with Mallory. And she's on all these machines. And I was able to hold Mallory. And with our family, we prayed there. And we dedicated Mallory to the Lord. They turned all the life support off. And I mean, they had told us it would take, like, seconds to a minute. Minutes turned into hours. And hours turned into days.

So we decided, with the doctors, to airlift her back to Brownsville. The hospital that she was born in, so that she could pass at home. About four weeks after she was born, we started noticing she was finally having issues, like, with breathing. And that night, I stayed in the room with Mallory. And I woke up. And Mallory, she had passed. Chris was sleeping in the room. This is, like, 4 o'clock in the morning. And I remember going to the room and just looking at him, sleeping, and trying to figure out, like, how do I tell him? Like, how do I wake him up and tell him, like, our little girl's gone? When Mallory passed, it felt like the type of song I was singing was different. This was a song of pain and grief and hurt. Two years, two different types of cancer, two children that we had to bury, with no medical explanation whatsoever. We found ourselves isolating from family. We found ourselves isolating from friendships. And our coping mechanism was to work. And we worked hard. And I don't think we really processed what happened. We didn't process with our girls. We really didn't process with each other. I hit a very negative place in my mind.

And I started questioning if I should live. I called Chris. And we went to the beach. And I think that was the first time I fully expressed to Chris how not well I was. I think that's when we realized that we needed to do something. We're not well. And we need to get well. Around that time, Pastor Ed and Lisa released a book called A Path Through Pain. It encouraged us because they were able to show us how they went through their grief process in the passing of their daughter. daughter. I remember opening it and just reading their journal entries. It made it feel real. It made me reflect a lot and I remember sitting there reading these chapters and writing and journaling. I was starting to like crack open a shell. There was this section that really just brought a lot of clarity that pain and joy can coexist together and if you bring it to Jesus like he is more than able to help you walk through it. We started wondering if maybe Fellowship Church could be the community we needed. I sent my resume over to be a worship leader and I didn't think anything of it other than God here's our will we're surrendered to you. Maybe a month later I get a notification on screen that says we would like to interview you. We decided that we were going to make the bold decision to move to Dallas. We just head straight here on a Saturday. On a Saturday. We got here on a Sunday and literally on Sunday all the girls went out to Elaso, the kids camp. Me, Mia and Millie went out to Elaso Ranch for kids camp. I'd never seen anything like Elaso Ranch. Seeing like all the activities and Mia and Millie meet other kids their age was so awesome to see them kind of like break out of their shell. It's just what they needed. Millie gave her life to Christ at that camp that year.

Just to be able to see that like it just felt like an instant like thumbs up from God like this is the right decision for our family. We are in the place we need to be. Over the last two years God has done so much healing as we've learned the healthy way to process pain and one of those ways being helping others process their pain. Leading students and adults in worship every single week Jesus is working in all of our lives healing what is broken as only he can. And I get to be a part of helping Pastor Lisa with ministries to help hurting people like our widows groups, support and recovery groups and one that's near and dear to my heart is MEND for mothers who have endured infertility or the death of a child. As we help others learn how to process their grief we're also learning how to process our grief and grow stronger together as a family. I get so emotional just to see where I am now. I'm just filled with like so much gratefulness of God's grace for me in that season. There's still a level of grief that we carry daily. Sometimes in life we want to shake the fist. Why God? Why God? I don't need to know why because I know the who. And when I know the who everything changes. All of our pain was put upon him at the cross and then he went to the grave and he rose again on the third day and through that we get the hope that says we're gonna see our children again one day and we're gonna be all reunited for an amazing homecoming all because of what Jesus did upon that cross and that empty grave and that's the hope we carry today. I want you to meet Chris and Naomi Moore. Y'all come home. Come and have a seat. Well that's got to be one of the most riveting and powerful testimonies that I I've ever heard and the challenging thing and also the exciting thing is it's still being written. Yeah, yeah. Chris, Naomi, I apologize, I'm just a hot mess, but I look at the two of you and I'll be out in the atrium

before service and I'll see Chris leading worship and then of course Naomi and I are together and I just look and I think, how are you standing there? How are you leading in worship? And I mean, maybe I fast tracked the question that is way down the list on the questions that we have, but I'm just like, this is a testimony of strength. I mean, jump in, just take it away. I know that for me, going to church was a non-negotiable. My parents at a very early age forced me to go to church. I remember one time I had got bitten by a wasp and I'm Hispanic and I guess Hispanics aren't allowed to have allergies of any kind. And a wasp bit me and my whole leg was swollen and we had a Wednesday night service and my mom was like, just take a Benadryl and we're going to church. And I remember sitting in the front row and my whole leg is swollen, I'm in pain, but here I am, I'm at church. And I'm really grateful to my parents for instilling in me that church is a non-negotiable because if that muscle hadn't been exercised back then, I don't think that I would have been able to remain faithful to going to church in very hard days. And Naomi, you know, I understand too, I do, when someone goes through a tragedy like you guys have gone through, I understand the pushback, like I don't wanna be around people,

but it's critical no matter who you are, no matter what you're going through to embrace and lean in to, as I said earlier, the only thing, the only thing that Jesus ever built, the local church. Chris, I mean, you're leading as a husband and as a father and also in ministry, which being in ministry, there's a mantle that you're carrying and people are watching and then you're leading Naomi and leading the girls. And what was it like just to try to be consistent? And maybe you could even share like when you became a Christ follower and how you grew to be that leader and consistent in your faith. Yeah, I was a pastor's kid growing up and- Uh-oh. Yeah. Y'all know pastor's kids sometimes have reputations. Yeah, a bit of a mess sometimes. Their reputation is they're the good boys. That's what their reputation is. The reputation is for the good boys. But one of the things that I fell in love with was the presence of God. And that has been the real sustainer for me in this tragedy is being able to go into the presence of God because when you, you can be going through anything and that's what worship is for me. And obviously we talked about that on the video,

but worship for me, when I, the Bible says enters gates with thanksgiving and enters courts with praise. And really what that looks like is daily giving him gratitude for where you are in the moment. And if you could, instead of shaking the fist at God and raising a hand in gratitude, it changes your perspective on what you're going through. And that's what's, that's been the sustainer for me is being in his presence. And Chris, you know, something so brilliant about what you said, we have that opportunity, don't we, every day personally to enter the presence of God through prayer, through worship, through listening and worshiping and singing, even if you can't sing so beautifully like you guys. So that's one way. And we should do that regularly, but also to Naomi's point, embracing it corporately because something supernatural happens when the body of Christ comes together and exalts the name of Jesus. One of the things that our family's been through a lot, and I remember my daughter, Landra, she was going through a really difficult time and she was traveling back home after just having to go away for help with an eating disorder.

And she was on her way back home and she said, mom, in the airport, I looked around and nobody knew where I was coming from and where I was going. And they had no idea the pain that I was experiencing at the time. And it taught me to look at. people who I have no idea what they're going through, where they've been, where they're going, with compassion. And you guys have walked into Fellowship Church and a lot of people did not know your story. Most people, I would say, did not know your story. And it's easy to back away and not jump in, but the steps that you took, though hard, have been necessary. I mean, what was it like for you just to, you mentioned that you knew you weren't well, that you needed help. I mean, what was it like not to isolate, not to just stay drawn away? I think that I'm naturally a very joyful person, like I think very optimistically. And when I realized that I started just questioning the desire to live, then I needed to say something. Because that's not who I am. And I'm grateful that the beach is my favorite place. There's just something about the waves and the sand and what it does to you. But I remember when I was talking to Chris about what was going on in my mind,

it was very hard to like relocate, like to make a decision to relocate our family. I think it took us about three, four months to make that decision. But God's hand was steady, you know, leading us. And I remember before we had our second interview, Chris was on his laptop getting ready to get on the Zoom or whatever it was. And I'm scrolling on my phone and I'm on Facebook. And then I'm like, Chris, there's a shark. There's a shark on the beach. And I show it to him and he starts looking into it. And it was the shark that Pastor Ed caught. Where was it? Was it South Carolina? There's been a bunch of them. There's been a bunch. But if you're talking about the big one. We're talking about Lee Beth. The great white, we caught that off the shore in South Carolina. Yeah, that was the one. That one popped up in South Padre. And I was like, Chris, what are the odds that like right after this interview. Yeah, the shark swam. And the shark, for those of you who don't know, was named after our daughter, Lee Beth. She was tagged and a scientist was on board. And so she was known on this scientific app

as Lee Beth the shark. And she traveled, allegedly, they've said, farther than any shark ever tagged. So she swam, if you think about just a map of our nation. She swam from South Carolina, around Florida, up the coast. And they tracked her like several hundred feet from shore in South Padre Island. We're talking about a 3,000 pound great white shark. Like on the second sandbar. So if you're headed to the beach this summer, I'm just telling you. Stay away from her. And hey man, I spent a lot of time on the second sandbar in South Padre. I know, I know. And like, it was just, it was hard to think of that as a coincidence, like that's not a coincidence. Like this is God's hand leading us to a place that we needed to be at. Tell me this though, because Lisa and I have been there in a different situation. So many others have been there. What happens when you pray for a miracle? Because we believe in miracles. Jesus is the miracle worker. But what happens when you pray for a miracle and it doesn't happen like you want it or I want it? What happened, Naomi and Chris, to your belief at that time? Mine was shaken. It was, it's almost the best way I could describe it

as like a fracture in a bone, you know? It's like that fracture, if it's not bound up, it can over time, like it sneaks up on you. Like I had a fractured foot from a longboarding accident one time. Me and my brother were being cool. I was like 18 when that happened. And like maybe a couple months ago, I felt this like weird thing in my foot in the same spot because I had taken the boot off. Yes. And I was like, ah, I don't need to wear the boot. And sometimes, it's sometimes what happens is we have to let God bind us, like bind us up, so we can heal our faith when we're going through a really tough situation. That's a great point. Naomi, what would you say about that? Do you have anything to add? I could not pray for a long time. Even like when the girls would get like a fever or something like that, I couldn't muster up courage or belief to even just pray a simple prayer of like, God, please help them break this fever or whatever it is. And I held on. to the verse that just said, Lord, help my unbelief. And just being honest with God that like, hey, I can't even pray. Like, I don't even know what to talk to you about

because I don't know if you're listening or, you know. It was months. And you know, too, sometimes people will say, well-meaning people, and they've said this to Lisa and I before too, if you had enough faith, you know, Lee Beth would still be here or so forth and so on. And then other streams would say, well, you're not getting your miracle because of unbelief or sin or whatever. And that's just not biblical truth. Obviously, obviously, God heals. God performs miracles, as I said just earlier. But God is sovereign, he's in control. And faith is not some formula we use to make God into some sort of a Amazon delivery deal. You see what I'm saying to you? Sometimes he heals, he chooses to, and we should pray for that. Sometimes he doesn't. And we should praise him, even though it's difficult in those times. But I just think that's such a great point that yes, we believe in faith. I mean, we have healing services right here. But also too, as Jesus said, in the garden, Lord, I mean, he's talking to his father, Father, not my will, but yours be done. And he was praying, man, can this whole ordeal pass? But he said, at the end of the day, as we would say,

Father, it's your will, and I submit to that. And that's such a hard thing to understand. Yes, it is. For those of us who've experienced the loss of a child or pain in some great way, it's hard to understand that our mind is limited. God's will is, I mean, we cannot understand it. He's too big. And the fact that we get to just submit to that, and it's, but it's hard, because I really have a good will, I think, that my will would be better, you know, off. I remember when Milo had had the bad reaction to one of the procedures they had done. He had almost passed that day. And I remember just kind of going to a place where I could be alone in the hospital. And I kind of got like this picture of just Abraham and Isaac, just like the story was going through my mind. And it felt like I could hear God kind of put in my spirit, like it was like a deposit in my spirit of God saying, he's mine, and you need to relinquish him to me. Like, this is what I'm asking you. And I remember like, it was like a second, a split second that I experienced internally. And I just kind of kept talking to myself through that story. And then I remember saying like, or I guess I prayed.

I was like, God, I want to partner with what your will is for Milo's life. And I think that's the moment that I knew how his story was going to, you know, be that he was gonna pass. I just felt that, you know, myself as a parent, but that's an experience I had, not one he had. Can I just say something? I love your choice of words. Yes. You said, I partnered with God and said, and that's when I knew not how Milo's story would end, but how Milo's story would be. And you may not have even recognized those choice of words, but that's huge because the story is not over. No. It is not over. And God does not waste pain. He does not waste pain. I'm looking as I had the privilege of editing this video with our team, and I'm watching this and thinking, oh my goodness, little did we know at a C3 conference with a bunch of pastors, and we're sharing, that Naomi and Chris were hearing this message. Little did we know, or did I know, when I'm writing a journal, that one day it would go into a book, and that book would fall into the hands of this beautiful couple who has experienced similar pain, but a different pain at a different time in life.

And I just hope you see the thread of God throughout his story among his people. How about this too, talking about the thread of God. You were mentioning Abraham and Isaac. Leibeth passed away, in essence, in our home in Dallas. We lived in Dallas at the time. And she was coming off of a binge with alcohol and drugs and- Adderall. Yeah Adderall. Laced with fentanyl. Yeah, it was laced with fentanyl, we believe. So she was resting in our little playroom and I was in my study, studying for a message on Abraham and Isaac. And I just wrote the words and Abraham laid Isaac on the altar. Boom! I heard a sound and I rushed in and for the most part. I mean how many times as a children did you read that story? Yeah. And you think it's not important and it is so very important. And it really brought, when all this happened, I remember going to Barnes & Noble and I bought myself a Bible, a brand new Bible, just to kind of read the book of Job and just kind of process some of the things. And I remember reading the verse about choosing daily to pick up your cross and follow him. Yes. And that verse really just, it got weightier on me of like, for me and the experiences that I've gone through. It is, it does include, you know, Mallory and Milo and their diagnosis and them leaving here to go to heaven. And that is a cross that I have to pick up and follow. But that's something that I, I didn't know that I was saying yes to when I said yes to Jesus. But it's a journey that I'm on and I have to be able to do this with joy and peace and just the hope, right, of glory that we have in Jesus. And you know the Bible is very clear that we will walk through pain. And if you think about Jesus, for example, the worst thing happened to the best person of all time, fully God, fully man, our sinless Savior. So if, if that happened, we are going to face times of doubt, which is okay to, it's okay to doubt. I was talking to someone recently who's not a believer and I said, you know,

I have faith, but I still experience doubt. And that means you have faith because there's no such thing as, as certainty. If it's certainty, it's no faith. There's no faith involved. So the just shall live by faith. We should pray and have faith and believe God, but also to God, your sovereign. We want this. We, we have this faith, but Lord, it's your will. And I released this situation to you, which is difficult for me to do. And on that vein, think about what it would be like. I mean, we're going to experience pain. You choose whether to do it alone or with God. That's right. It's, it's just, and I cannot imagine doing it without the Lord, the hope of heaven, the hope of his presence, the peace that he gives. And I can't explain it. You guys did a beautiful job explaining it, but it's hard, but it's a choice. What would you say to someone right now who's struggling with a horrific situation? They've prayed, they've asked God to intervene. Their faith is maybe weak at this moment. What would you encourage them with? I would say, obviously, we start with faith every time. Yes. Faith in a God of miracles. But if you don't get the outcome that you want and that you're desiring, that's when you turn the prayer to eternity, knowing that there's a hope on the other side. Exactly. That whatever the outcome is, Jesus says in John 1633, he says, in this life, you'll have trouble. Yes. But take heart for I have overcome the world. What is he saying there? Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, it gives us a hope. He is now the anchor. We're tethered to eternity. And now we have a hope. No matter what happens, when we pass on to the next life, we'll be reunited altogether. Unbelievable. Chris and Naomi, thank you so much for sharing your story. Okay. Are your girls nearby? They are. Okay. Millie and Mia, can you come out? Okay, good. There's Millie, Mia. Y'all give it up for the sweetest little, cutest girls. We just so appreciate. They're so adorable. I know. They are the best hug givers ever. Like we were at a Lasso Ranch, and every time I turn the corner, there's one of these precious little smiles giving hugs. They love to hug. Yeah. We're very proud of you guys. And I know that you know that you have a brother and sister in heaven that one day, in God's timing, you're gonna get to hug and hold and say hello to again.

So pretty. So you wrote a song, Chris, a beautiful song, and we would just be honored if you would lead us with FC Creative in this song. Is that how that's gonna go, Derek? Okay, all right. So that's right. We'll just, you know what? It doesn't matter. You can make it through it as much as you want, we just are appreciative. Oh oh. Oh oh. Oh oh. Oh oh. He's still looking out for me, even when my faith can't see. Maybe I don't trust His plan. But He's still looking out for me. He's still looking out for me, even when I'm lost my way. But He kept me on the path. Yeah, He's still looking out for me. My God, my strength, my sword and shield. He watches over me. If He's eyes on the sparrow, no matter where the wind blows, He's still looking out for me. He's still looking out for me. He's still looking out for me, even in my uncertainty. And I can always trust His plan. What's true, that He's still looking out for me. Come on, let's sing.

My God, my strength, my sword and shield. He watches over me. If He's eyes on the sparrow, no matter where the wind blows, He's still looking out for me. Sing, my God. Oh my God, my strength, my sword and shield. He watches over me. If He's eyes on the sparrow, no matter where the wind blows, He's still looking out for me. If His eyes on the sparrow, no matter where the wind blows, He's still looking out for me. Yes, He is. He's always been. He's still looking out for me. He's still looking out for me. Thank y'all. Would you please be seated in the presence of the Lord? You know, I know many of us come from so many different circumstances and situations. You find yourself here. And many of us, we wouldn't even know that we're here. But we're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. Recognize that when we look at someone, We're here.

We're here. many of us are processing pain right now, and there are various types of pain. Maybe you're at one of our different locations, maybe you're in Dallas or Fort Worth or Frisco, Alaska Ranch. I know this is a time, obviously, where a lot of people are on the road, and we have a big uptick in those who check us out online. But Lisa, what I would encourage people to do when they're processing pain is what we said earlier, what Naomi and Chris have done such a great job. It's getting into the presence of God, but also it's connecting and being a part of the local church. And I know it might be hard for some to step into the doors and to step into commitment, but that's just key. It's key because there's community here. And one of the things that Fellowship Church has been very intentional about is to provide resources in all of these different areas, whether it's recovery groups for addiction. I know that when Leibeth was struggling, she was a part of a recovery group. And our story did not end the way we wanted it to end, just like Chris and Naomi, but it did end the way we wanted it to end because Leibeth had a relationship with Jesus. So heaven is her home.

And though we miss her greatly, we're thrilled at the story that continues through recovery groups here at Fellowship Church, through grief groups here at Fellowship Church, through MEND, Mothers Enduring Neonatal Death, which is a tremendous ministry here at Fellowship Church. So we have all of that information for you in the atrium at your location so that you can stop by and get resources. Also- Yeah, okay. I don't know, I'm interrupting you. No, no, no, that's fine. There's a place for you at Fellowship Church, whether you find yourself as a young adult, whether you find yourself in the student ministry, children's ministry. That's right. We had a great, great conversation with some folks in their 70s and 80s who have a dynamic connection in Bible study every week right here at Fellowship Church. So as I say, from knee-high to tree-high, we have a place for you. And so Ed just grabbed the Connect Guard. It's in the seat back in front of you. Let's say you are looking for answers to these questions and you want to know more. You just fill out the information and we want to get back with you

about your prayer request. Write a prayer request. We care, we're concerned, and we do pray over all of these different things. And it's just good to be in the house of the Lord. But the first thing and foremost thing is a relationship with Jesus. Chris and Naomi, Ed and I, countless others could not walk the walk that we've endured, that path of pain, without a relationship with Jesus. And so I just encourage you, if you've not made that decision, today's the day. And Jesus lived perfectly and He took the ultimate path of pain, didn't He, when He died on the cross for all of our sins. The God of the universe, think about this, arranged for the sins of the world to be transferred to the shoulders of our sovereign, singular Savior. He paid the price on the cross. He was buried for three days, rose again, giving us the opportunity to receive that gift, forgiveness and grace and love, and to give our lives to Him. And that is the beginning. That's why the Bible calls it being born again. We're born into the family of God and then God wants to grow us up and mature us. And that happens daily in our devotions, but also it happens within the context of the church.

And we'd like to pray right now. So bow your heads if you'd like to make that decision to follow Jesus. Just to say these words to God, just say these words after me. It's a prayer that I prayed when I made this decision, it's the same prayer that Lisa prayed, it's the same prayer that many prayed. You might be on a road trip somewhere listening to this, you could be, again, at one of our different locations. Just say, God, I admit to you, that's right, just say, God, I admit to you that I'm a sinner, that I've committed a lot of wrongdoings. And I know you know that, but I confess that to you. And I believe, just say, I believe, God, to the best of my ability, that Jesus Christ died on the cross for all of my sins and on the third day rose again. And right now, that's right, right now, Jesus Christ, come into my life. I receive you, I receive this gift of love. salvation, this rescue of redemption. I trade my sin in for Jesus, my Savior, my guilt, for your grace, God. Jesus Christ, I give everything I am and everything I'll ever be to you. As our heads are bowed and eyes are closed, if you prayed that prayer with me, that is the greatest prayer you will ever, ever pray. And we're so, so thrilled you made that decision.

Others here, maybe you're going through a season of pain, of doubt, of questioning. Lean in to this church, get involved in the appropriate groups. Others who, again, are watching this, take that next step to become a part of the local body of Christ. We give this time to you, Father, and we ask all these things in Christ's name. Amen, come on, can we thank Chris and Naomi Moore for sharing their story? Can we celebrate the people who just made the decision to surrender their life to Jesus Christ this morning? What a powerful, powerful morning in God's house. And if you just prayed that prayer, or maybe you filled out a Connect card with a prayer request, we've got hosts on either side of the worship center, and you can just take that card to them, ask them some questions. We'd love to gift you a Bible, just to congratulate you on your incredible journey with Jesus, isn't that right? Yes, and like we talked about, our support and recovery groups, we have a Find Hope and Healing booth in the middle of the atrium. So if that message spoke to you, there's so much power in vocalizing that it spoke to you, and that what you're going, walking through.

And so let that be your first step of healing, visiting our booth in the lobby. That's right, we mentioned it before, but Pastor Seth Lisa released an incredible resource for people walking through pain. It's called A Path Through Pain. You can pick that up on Amazon. There's an audio book version as well. But we want to resource you if you're in need of that. And maybe you know someone that needs some help. Maybe you know you yourself are walking through a difficult circumstance in life. We'd love to gift you that for free if you're unable to buy that today. So you can stop by the Find Hope and Healing booth as well in our atrium. Somebody say next Sunday. Next Sunday, we are continuing this series. We're interviewing someone who walks through the depths of addiction. You're not going to want to miss it. Fellowship Church, would you stand to your feet? We're going to share some declarations together as a church family as we go out into our week. Would you say this with me together? Jesus, thank you that in you, I am loved, forgiven, and blessed. For you, I will reach up in worship, reach out to share my faith, and reach in to become more like you.

And because of you, I know the best is yet to come. Fellowship Church, we love you so much.