July Team Teaching

Oh, my goodness, oh, my goodness. Man, can we just give it up for the creative and worship team here at Church by the Glades. Unbelievable. God has blessed us with some of the best on the planet. You know, it's interesting because the church at large exists for many, many reasons. So obviously, one, be a beacon of hope in the community that we live in, pointing people to Jesus Christ. It is, of course, to teach, study, and understand the word of God. It is to offer help and sanctuary to those who are broken and hurting. But one of the many reasons that the church at large exists is to offer a place where you can find good, godly fellowship and community. Because we're never meant to journey here on earth alone. So welcome to Church by the Glades where you don't have to live your life all by yourself. Is it corny? Yes. But put your hands together anyways. So glad you like that. So glad you're here. So glad you're here. For those that don't know, my name is Nick. I'm one of the pastors. And we are honored that you decided to join us. And listen, whether you are a guest or family alike, maybe you're wondering to yourself,

what is going on on this stage right now? Well, as many of you may already know, on Monday we begin, tomorrow we begin our student camp experience titled United Knights. So we thought it would be fun as a church to let the student team take over and really showcase what you can find and expect at United Knights and why it's so important for your teenager parents. So what's going to happen today, you're not just going to hear from me as the student pastor, you're actually going to hear from a few of our camp team members who I believe have a word from God, not just about United Knights, but for you. All while being supported by some of the best and brightest students at the way. Would you help me thank our Amen Corner today? Student-led Amen Corner. And we believe this as a church, that these are not the leaders of tomorrow, that these are the leaders of today. That God has given them unique gifting and calling for right now in the church and we want to empower them to use it. I know I'm biased as the student pastor, but as Pastor David always says, just because I'm biased does not mean I'm wrong. We really have the best students on the planet here at Church by the Glades. And I truly believe with all my heart that there is nothing better that your student could be doing, nothing more helpful, nothing more impactful,

nothing more fun, nothing more powerful next week than going to United Knights. Nothing. Nothing in my opinion. And there are many reasons that this is the case, but because we only have a limited amount of time together today, I simply want to speak to the power found in its ability to provide your student with the right community. United Knights really is a place where fellowship is found. It really is a place where lifelong friendships are formed. It really is a place where brotherhood can be built. And I cannot emphasize or overemphasize the importance of this enough because in the culture and generation that we live in, even for us adults, there is this hypersensitive draw towards an emphasis on individualistic mindsets and lifestyles. This draw towards personal autonomy and self-sufficiency that I need to live my life all by myself. But what I've learned is that all this has really led to is a decrease in human connection and an increase in isolation. And what I have found is that stagnation is oftentimes the byproduct of isolation. So maybe today you find yourself stuck. Or maybe you've been praying for your kid because they're stuck. Stuck in a mindset they can't seem to shake. Stuck in some habits they can't seem to break. Stuck in a cycle of dysfunction or sin or pain they just can't seem to make their way out of. And because they are stuck in their situation, they have lost all hope in their situation. But could it be possible that what you have failed to realize and what you

have failed to recognize is that the purpose that God has for your life, the promise of God that you are waiting for, and progress that you are hoping is found will always require collaboration with people. It will always require collaboration with people. But let me make myself abundantly clear, students and adults alike, it's not just any people. It's God's people. As your student pastor here at Church by the Glades and as somebody who has been leading in student ministry at this church for over 11 years now, I can unequivocally say the one thing that kills a student's destiny faster than anything else is not their lack of faith. It's not the things that lie behind them in their past that they are ashamed of. It's not even the things that they do today or will do tomorrow that are sinful. The one thing that kills a student's destiny faster than anything else, and I can attest to it because I've seen it, seen it so many times is who they choose to do life with. There is power in who you find in your presence and sadly I have seen many a good godly student fall victim and subject to a bad friend group and interestingly enough the Bible actually warns us of this it says in 1st Corinthians chapter 15 verse 33 do not be misled because bad company corrupts good character. The reason for this is because bad company tends to drag you into the wrong environments. Bad company tends to pressure you into making decisions you know you ought not to be making. Bad company even tends to persuade you to looking to sources outside of the person of God to fulfill for you what only God can fulfill for you joy and purpose and peace and satisfaction and fulfillment and freedom and victory and as parents this is worrisome. We stay up at night thinking about our kids and who they are gonna be friends with because we know it matters so much but I heard a pastor once say if bad company corrupts good character imagine what good company can do. Oh good company won't drag you

into the wrong environments but they will drag you into environments that are conducive to your growth and your freedom and momentum in your faith. They won't pressure you into making the wrong decisions but they will spur you on to love the Lord your God. Spur you on to love your neighbor and spur you on to good deeds. They won't persuade you to look to sources outside of the person of God but they will point you to the only one the only thing the only person that can actually do something about what you're going through no matter what you're going through that's our King Jesus Christ. The truth of the matter is for us and for our students no matter how hard we try parents to protect them they will go through things that will test their faith that will discourage them that will will tempt them to veer off the path of God and the same is true for you and it's in these moments of our lives we need people we can draw strength from we need people we can draw faith from we need people that will encourage us to keep fighting the good fight of faith to keep running the race that God has set before us to keep doing what he has called us to do because the truth is it's not if but when trial comes our way and when it does sometimes there is nothing more than the encouragement and prayer and faith of the people around us that keeps us standing and keeps us moving forward we need people in our lives that have faith that will challenge us to keep fighting that will challenge us to keep praying that will challenge us to keep stashing away our money that will challenge us to keep reading our Bible that will challenge us to keep showing up that will challenge us to not fall pressure and victim to the the things that other people are doing that will remind us who we are in Christ Jesus that we are not our mistakes that we are not what other people say about us but that we are more than conquerors that we are redeemed that we are chosen we are a royal priesthood we are the head and not the tail we are leaders that we are strong that we are courageous that we are saved that we are free that we are victorious in Christ Jesus now I understand these people don't grow on trees so if you're a teenager in the room and you're wondering where can I find this type of community if you're a

parent how can I put my student in an environment where they can maybe have the best opportunity to find these types of people I'm so glad you asked I believe it's found at United Knights truly truly you know it's not just fun it's not just great preaching it's not just worship but for four nights they will have life-giving conversations they will build deep relationships with people who are there for the same reasons as they are to love the Lord and grow deeper in a relationship with him that's why this QR code is gonna be up here all service long because we want you to sign your kid up today to go to the lobby after service and ask one of our team members questions about United Knights and how you can get signed up well because we have sponsorships available too we don't want money to be an object for you but I know what they're gonna say and before I finish I just have to point out one of the things that they're gonna resist you on which is but mom dad I don't have any friends there I don't know anybody so I don't want to go can I submit to your consideration that though they might not know anybody there yet that it will be the place they find their good company community that they may show up alone but you have my word as the student pastor they will not leave alone so maybe maybe the hope that they have been looking for in the middle of their situation maybe the freedom that they have been praying for in their life is going to simply be found on the other side of their faith action step when they get out of their comfort zone and finally join us for United So they can find their good company, community, because hear me, their destiny may depend on it. Sign up for United Knights today. That's all I have for us. Would you help me welcome to the stage our next communicator, Cassidy Collazo. Yeah! Oh, what is up, church. I'm our life group and best next step director here.

And there has been some updates in my life since I last been able to speak with you guys like this. Last time I was here, I was recently engaged. Now I'm recently married. Oh, sorry, are you asking, I mean I'm a little bit shy about this, but because you guys are begging me, yes, I'll show you my wedding photos because I'm so generous. These are my wedding photos behind me. It was a whirlwind of a season. It was absolutely amazing. I loved it. And you guys have been asking me a lot of post-wedding questions. And I thought I would share with you guys the best question you guys have been asking me. And I also share with you guys the worst question you guys have been asking me. You guys ready for this one? The best question you have asked me, I think it's just the best because it's the most funniest to me, is this one. Has he gotten annoying yet? I mean you guys have been living together for two months. Has he gotten annoying yet? And what I want to respond to you is, yet. Did my model come defective? He's been annoying. It's okay, you can laugh. I made sure to get permission to do that joke, okay. But the second question, the worst question you guys have been asking me, and I need your help to finish this. You guys look like a really smart audience.

You guys are pretty smart, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, you got that, you got that. So I will set up this sentence, and whatever word you think is applicable for this last word, you will say. You guys ready? The first question is this, when are you having? Did you just curse in church? You better wash your mouth. Because what my brain perceives when you ask this question is a personal attack against me and my family. And to all of you who have been saying, man, we are praying that it's soon, we're praying over your womb. I've been praying harder that your prayer fails. And I think I'm going to win this one. But as I reflect on my wedding season, as I reflect on my wedding season, I do note that it highlighted some really great things. It highlighted the community that I have. I could not have gotten married happily without the community that I had. And my community was found here. If you do not have a community, look no further than your local church. Look no further than this church. You can find your community. But I also would be remiss not to note that the wedding season did highlight some negative things. It highlighted the people that weren't there in my life. And because of this, some really great people in my life who loved me asked me a very tough question.

As you guys know, I was raised by a single mom. And I mean proudly raised by a single mom. But the question they would ask me is this, are you sad that you won't have a dad to walk you down the aisle? And the three times I was asked this question, my answer remained the same, no. And I was met with the same skeptic look you guys are giving me right now. And I get why you are skeptic. Either you can empathize with the emotion of not having a present father or maybe he was present physically but mentally absent. Or you had an awesome dad so you cannot imagine the pain of not having there on your wedding day. But when I say no, I truly mean the word no, truthfully. Why do I mean that? Let me take you back 10 years back to United Camp 2015. Pastor Abe was speaking on this stage and I remember this night and I was in second grade. And this is my incoming 10th grade year, I was in camp 6-10. And I remember thinking, I knew everything there was to know about Jesus. With the three Bible verses I had memorized, I was so convinced that if Pastor David opened up another campus, I was on the speaker rotation, holier than thou. And I remember thinking that night, I will be there for my peers and support them. And Pastor David opened up another church, I'm not kidding, it was one sentence. He said, God is a father to the fatherless.

And I had not realized. I had not realized that I maybe was not carrying something outwardly but I was harboring something inwardly. And for the first time I understood that I was missing something I already had access to. It says in 2 Corinthians 6.18... will be your father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. Because of that one sentence I heard at United Knights, 10 years into the future, I would be able to say, no, it does not hurt, because 10 years prior, I understood that I have access to the father. Oh, you have access to a father that won't abandon you, you have access to a father that won't betray you, you have access to a father that will sacrifice for you, you have access to a father that cares for you, you have access to a father who is your friend and your companion, you are not fatherless, you have access to the father. But that is not the point I'm trying to make. The point I'm trying to make is this, that one sentence, if I did not hear it, I would be carrying something to this day that I have no business carrying. And the fact of the matter is, your student is carrying something. Whether it is anxiety, whether it's insecurity, whether it's shame, whether it's disappointment, they are carrying something. And one single sentence at United can set them free.

One. One. One. One. One. One. And so I'm gonna give you a bit of parenting advice, because I know how much parents love advice from people with zero kids and zero experience. So I'm gonna give you this parenting advice. If your kid says no, bring them anyway. I didn't know I could develop an opinion about what I was doing until I was 18. Bring them here anyway. I don't care if they hate it night one. I have seen life change from night one to night four. One single sentence can change their life, but they have to be in the room to hear it. Should I do that weird, cringy thing where I go, here's my sexy, hot husband? No, I didn't think so. Austin Coyasso, please welcome him next. Come on, church. I'm the annoying one. How are you guys doing? My name is Austin. For those of you who do not know who I am, and like Pastor Nick said, I get to be a part of one of the best student ministries on the face of the planet.

Can we put our hands together for what God has been doing in this church at our student ministry? And before we get into anything, I just wanna start with saying this. I wanna say thank you, church. Thank you. That's what I wanna say. And the reason why is because every weekend when I go out to the lobby, you guys have such kind words, and you'll come up to me and be like, hey, that was a great sermon, Pastor Nick. If you didn't tell from my introduction, my name is Austin, I'm not Nick. Nick didn't come up here twice, okay? We're two different people, but because we're both Hispanic and have beards, everyone swears we're the same person. So I wanna get something clear real quick, all right? I want y'all to help me, all right? This is Nick, this is Austin, okay? Can y'all say that with me? Nick, Austin. Nick, Austin. Similar, but different, okay? We're not even the same Hispanic. See, he's Cuban, and I'm Puerto Rican. Also similar looking flags, but different, okay? Completely different.

But I'm so glad to get that off my chest. Thank you for this free therapy session. I feel so much lighter right now. But speaking of feeling lighter, I wanna share a word with you guys today that I hope makes you feel a little bit lighter when you're exiting the room today. So if you would, we're gonna dive into the word of God, but I'm gonna pretense a little bit for the sake of time, so excuse me for that, but we're gonna be talking about the woman at the well. And the woman at the well, it starts off with Jesus and his disciples heading to Samaria. As they get to Samaria, Jesus sits at a well that was built by one of his ancestors, Jacob, and he tells his disciples, hey, why don't you go into town and go get some lunch? So they're like, all right, cool. They head into town. Jesus sits there. It's about midday, like noon, and this woman walks up. And they start talking to one another, and it's kind of weird because Jews and Samarians don't typically talk to one another. See, they got beef, all right? They don't really like each other. And so as Jesus starts talking to her, she's like, what is going on? And they have this dialogue,

and Jesus gives her an invitation to living water, water that will well up to eternal life. And as he gives her this invitation, she starts asking questions, they start having dialogue, and this is where it leads us. In John 4, verse 15, we can look at the screen as we read along together. It says, the woman said to him, sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water. He told her, go call your husband and come back. have no husband, she replied. Jesus said to her, you are right when you say that you have no husband. The fact is you have had five husbands and the man you are now with is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true. Now I know what you're thinking. Austin, out of all of the verses in the Bible, those are the ones that you chose for this short amount of time with us together. But hear me, see the word of God never returns void. And if there is something that is in the scripture, if there is something that is in there, it is there for a reason, for teaching and for reproof. So if you would allow me to elaborate a little bit and just give some speculation, this is my speculation on why. I think she was asking Jesus about this living water, but deep down inside in her heart,

she probably thought to herself, if he really is who he says he is, and he really can give me this living water, am I even worthy of it? Am I even qualified to have this living water? And what Jesus is saying is he's not being rude. He's not being sassy. Jesus is simply saying, I already know. I already know what you've been through. I already know your hangups. I already know your dysfunction. I already know all of that. And yet still I have an invitation for you. And maybe there's someone in this room that maybe you have some excuses in your life that you've been clinging to. And you're like, well, I don't go to church every week because I got some things in my life I gotta get together. And I don't wanna be around these perfect Christians worshiping and all of that. But I want you to understand, this is the place that you come to get it all together and to find out that Jesus truly does love you and has a plan for you. Maybe there's someone in this room with an excuse and saying, I haven't yet started my relationship with Jesus just because if he only knew who I was and what I've done, how could he love me? And I wanna remind someone here today, Jesus already knows. He already knows you on your worst day.

He already knows the mistakes that you've made. He already knows what has happened to you. Jesus already knows all of this information and still he has an invitation for you. And so maybe at the end of this service, you wanna come down front, we're gonna have prayer partners and you can say, hey, I wanna accept this invitation that Jesus has for me on the table and I wanna live for him. But there's a second invitation and I'll share this last thought before we're done. The second invitation is for someone who's in this room, who's the parents of a middle school or high school student or a student that's sitting here. And the second invitation is different, but it leads to the first one. The second invitation is an invitation to be in this room over the course of the next four days as God does a work in our student ministry and God does a work in our church as God literally transforms the lives. An invitation to be here while students learn to worship for the first time. An invitation to be here as someone breaks down the word of God in one sentence could literally transform and make them do a 180 from the lifestyle that they may be heading towards and towards a lifestyle that walks in the calling and the purpose and the plan that Jesus has for their life.

There is an invitation on the table to be in the room. And the question is not if there is an invitation, the question is, will you accept it? Will you accept the invitation and be all in for what God has for you? So I am a product of United. I've been a part of this ministry. I went to United. That's where I made a decision to get saved. That's where I made a decision to follow Jesus and to get baptized. It transformed my life. And if it could do that for me, oh, what could it do for a student in the life of our church? So sign your students up. There is that QR code like Pastor Nick mentioned. It is gonna be on the screen for the rest of that service. Don't wait, do it. But speaking of products of United Knights, I would like to introduce our next communicator who is not only a product, but he is the youngest communicator we got on our panel today. Can you help me encourage? And welcome to the stage, Zane Hughes. What is up Church by the Glades? I'm so excited to be here with all of you today. Like Austin said, my name is Zane Hughes. I'm 17 years old.

I'm a student in high school and I'm also one of the sons of Pastor David and Lisa Hughes. So I wanna say thank you to my parents for this opportunity. I feel very honored to be on this stage with such great preachers. I feel a little bit extra honored because United Nights is coming up. Every year, I leave United Nights feeling encouraged and feeling ready for whatever God has in store for me. I leave with a sense of community that I've not had before, not to mention that it's a week of faith-filled fun. I love United Nights. But before I begin my sermon today, I know what a lot of people are asking themselves. Is this kid only preaching because his dad is the pastor of the church? My answer for you, maybe. Probably. But even if that is the case, I still think God can use me here today. So let's get started like this. Most good things take time. You don't go to the gym for one day, work out even very hard, look in the mirror, and expect to look like Arnold. You don't spend 30 minutes doing sit-ups, crunches, leg raises, look in the mirror, and exclaim, where's my six-pack? That didn't work?

No. If the transformation of your body takes time, should we not expect that the construction of our Christ-like character will be a process? Now, salvation happens in a moment. The nanosecond you trust Jesus, you have passed from death to life. Recommitment, forgiveness, acceptance, all happens in a moment. When you return to God with all your heart, your Heavenly Father is always glad to embrace a prodigal. But typically, there's time, and even difficulty and struggle from when God will visit your life with a divine dream to when it actually comes to pass. So quickly, I want to take a look at a moment in our Bibles where a biblical hero that we all know discovers that they have some really cool, really promising, really powerful things awaiting them in their future. If you want to read this story for yourself, it's in 1 Samuel chapter 16. This is the story of the shepherd boy, David, being chosen by God to be the next king of Israel. So Samuel, he's a great prophet, and God tells Samuel to go find a man named Jesse, because God wants one of Jesse's sons to be the next king of Israel. And by the way, the reason Israel needs a new king is because the current king, King Saul, has been disobedient to God. So Samuel goes.

He meets Jesse and his family. He starts trying to figure out which one of Jesse's sons God has chosen to be king. So he meets the oldest son. His name is Eliab. And Eliab, you know, he's tall, kind of looks how you'd expect a king to look. So Samuel sees Eliab. He's like, that guy's an option? That's the guy. That's the next king. And God's like, actually, Samuel, no. So he meets the second son. And Samuel's like, God, is this who you have? And God says, no. And pretty quickly, Samuel has been through all of Jesse's sons that were there. And God has said that none of them are the one who he has the specific purpose for. So now Samuel's over here. He's like, yo, Jesse, are you lying to me? Do you have any more sons? And Jesse goes, well, you know, they're still the youngest. David, he's in the field with the sheep. And so Samuel's like, get him in here. And so they bring David in. And the moment that Samuel lays eyes on David, God says this to Samuel. 1 Samuel chapter 12. Read the highlighted word with me.

The word of God says, then the Lord said, rise and anoint him. Rise and anoint him. Choose him. This is the one. This is powerful, but it's also a pivotal point in David's life. It's a moment where even though his own father sent him away to go shepherd the sheep, his heavenly father calls him to one day shepherd a nation. This is amazing. It's a happy story, but it's part of a much bigger story. This is just the start of David's journey where his purpose is proclaimed. God tells David, you're going to be king. And guess what? That very next day, in front of the whole country, David is made king. This is what I wish I could tell you. It's not the next day he's made king. The next week. No, actually, the next month. No, the next year he's made king. No, actually, from the time of his private anointing to his public coronation, it is a decade and a half. A decade and a half of drama, disappointment, dysfunction. There are some ups, and there's a whole lot of downs, and by far one of the lowest points David finds himself in during this time. From being told he'll be king when he's actually made king

is when the current king, King Saul, finds out about the future king, David. King Saul, he starts to see God's favor on display in David's life. And because of his fear and his jealousy, evil King Saul decides that even though David's been nothing but loyal that he wants David dead. So David has to run for his life He was told he was gonna be king Now he's worried about being killed He's at the low point of low points. David is in the mud and when thinking about this I realized something I realized David Never would have had to deal with any of this If he just never received the calling that God gave him. None of this would have happened He would have no issues with Saul if God would just never chose him, never chose him to be king If God would have never given him this purpose Never would have had to face this problem Maybe you're here today and you're stressed You're facing pressure, you're facing temptation Maybe for one reason or another you may even feel tempted to give up on your walk with God as a whole If that's you. It's here in David's story. I believe God is giving me something to share with you That may be the reason you feel like you're going through hell is because you have a purpose from heaven I think the reason this season may feel like it is breaking you Is because you're right on the edge of a breakthrough in your life And once that happens, who knows what God may do because God He's doing something so great in you And he has a purpose for you. That's gonna help and benefit everyone around you So, of course the devil isn't just gonna sit back and watch Of course, he's gonna put up a fight. But just remember that when the devil comes Knocking on the door of your life trying to make it harder It's because he's afraid. Don't cower. Let the devil's fear fuel your faith because God has a purpose for you

He does every student in the room, every parent in the room So With all hands raised in this moment, it would be my honor to pray with you I want to pray for every person in this room's life, but also for United Knights next week Dear God Thank you. We're here. Thank you for every hand raised. This is someone you loved enough to send your son down Thank you for what's happening later this week at United Knights Help it be an experience for students to find freedom We know where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. Things cannot stay the same So that's what we ask of you. Do what we've always seen you do. We thank you in advance in Jesus name. Amen