Movie Theater Christianity - JC Lopez (Full Experience)

Speaking of the next generation, students, how many of you are starting to think about what's next after high school? If that's you, college isn't just a place you go, it's an environment that shapes who you become. That's why you need to check out Fellowship Church University. FCU is a fully accredited Bible and ministry college right here at Fellowship Church that offers online courses through SCU Southeastern University. You also get hands-on ministry and leadership training to help prepare you for wherever God leads you in life. So to learn more or enroll, visit fellowshipchurchuniversity.com. To stay in the know, follow us on social media and make sure you check out Pastor Ed's C3 Leadership Podcast where new episodes drop every week to help you take your leadership and life to the next level. Don't do life alone. To find out more and get connected, you can visit our website, fellowshipchurch.com or take your phone out and tap the C back in front of you. You can also download the Fellowship Church app, which is filled with incredible resources like daily devotionals, messages, and other resources to fuel your faith. We're so glad you're here. So now let's get ready for today's experience. .

Good morning, welcome to church. Come on, let's stand to our feet. We worship a God who holds all things together in his hands. We're here to lift up his name, call on his name. Whatever you're going through, he is enough. Come on, hands together like this right here. Clap, sing, fill your heart with praise. He shames every idol He reigns without rival He goes by the name of Jehovah, Jehovah He speaks into nothing, the darkness And darkness goes running He goes, he goes by the name of Jehovah, Jehovah We call on his name Call the name, call the name, call the name Jehovah All our praise, all our praise, all our praise, all our praise Belongs to him Let's give him praise today, hands together. He's worthy of everything, we sing. His foes will be silenced He's fighting for Zion There's no other God like Jehovah, Jehovah His arm never tires His eyes are like fire He's worthy of worship today There's no other God like Jehovah, Jehovah We call on his name Call the name, call the name, call the name Jehovah All our praise, all our praise, all our praise Give him worship

Call the name, call the name, call the name He's worthy, Jehovah And all our praise, and all our praise, and all our praise Belongs to him Jehovah needs to fight your battles Jehovah needs to fight your battles That's who he is Jehovah needs to fight your battles Jehovah needs to fight your battles Sing the names of your God today Jehovah needs to fight your battles This is who he is, Jehovah Jireh Jehovah Jireh needs your knees Jehovah Rapha Jehovah Rapha heal your body ♪ Jehovah Shalom ♪ ♪ Jehovah Shalom be with you ♪ This is who he is, lift his name up, exalt him today. ♪ Jehovah needs to fight your battles ♪ Every time he's been there. ♪ Jehovah Jireh meets your need ♪ He satisfies us. ♪ Jehovah I love you, your body ♪ He's a healer, he's a healer. ♪ Jehovah Shalom be with you ♪ Yeah, this is who he is, we sing. ♪ Jehovah needs to fight your battles ♪ He's worthy of your praise. ♪ Jehovah Jireh meets your need ♪ He's a good, good father.

♪ Jehovah I love you, your body ♪ ♪ Jehovah Shalom be with you ♪ So call that name. ♪ So call the name, call the name ♪ The one that's worthy. ♪ Jehovah and all our praise, and all our praise ♪ And all who we are. ♪ And all our praise belongs to him ♪ ♪ Call the name, call the name, call the name, call the name ♪ ♪ Jehovah, Jehovah and all our praise, and all our praise ♪ ♪ And all our praise, and all our praise belongs to him ♪ Come on, let's give him praise this morning. You and I, when we sing praise to the Lord, we're joining with all the angels in heaven surrounding the throne. So let's lift this up, come on and sing. ♪ A thousand generations falling down in worship ♪ ♪ Falling down in worship to sing the song of ages to the land ♪ ♪ And all who've gone before us, and all who will believe ♪ ♪ Will sing the song of ages to the land ♪ Lift this up. ♪ Your name is the highest, your name is the greatest ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ All thrones and dominions, all powers and positions ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all, and the angels cry ♪ ♪ Holy, all creation cries, holy, all creation cries ♪ ♪ Holy, you are lifted high, holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ If you've been forgiven, if you've been redeemed ♪ ♪ Sing the song forever to the land ♪ ♪ If you walk in freedom, if you bear his name ♪

♪ Sing the song forever to the land, yeah ♪ ♪ We'll sing the song forever and amen, and the angels cry ♪ ♪ Holy, all creation cries, holy, all creation cries ♪ ♪ Holy, you are lifted high, holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ Hear your people sing, holy, to the king of kings ♪ ♪ Holy, to the king of kings, holy, you will always be ♪ ♪ Holy, holy forever, your name is the highest ♪ ♪ Your name is the highest, your name is the greatest ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ All thrones and dominions, all powers and positions ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ Jesus, your name is the highest, your name is the greatest ♪ ♪ Your name is the greatest ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ All your rules and dominions ♪ ♪ All powers and positions ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ And the angels cry holy, all creation cry ♪ ♪ Holy, you were lifted high ♪ ♪ Holy, holy forever ♪ Let me hear you sing. Hear your people sing. ♪ Holy to the King of kings, holy to the King of kings ♪ ♪ You will always be holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ You will always be holy, holy forever ♪ Lift your voice. ♪ You will always be holy, holy forever ♪ One more time. ♪ You will always be holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ Holy, holy forever ♪

♪ Holy, holy, holy to the King of kings ♪ ♪ We're in awe of you, Lord ♪ ♪ We worship you, Jesus ♪ ♪ So what can I say? ♪ ♪ What can I do? ♪ ♪ But offer this heart, oh God ♪ ♪ Completely to you ♪ ♪ Give you everything, so what can I say? ♪ ♪ What can I do? ♪ ♪ But offer this heart, oh God ♪ ♪ Completely to you ♪ ♪ We praise you, Jesus ♪ ♪ We bring you this offer, oh God ♪ ♪ You're our praise today, Lord, we lift your name ♪ ♪ I could sing your name ♪ Come on, sing this out, I could 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 lips ♪ ♪ It's sweeter every time that I call on it ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ That makes me cry holy ♪ ♪ There is no other name, there is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name, there is no other name ♪ ♪ Jesus, you're worthy ♪ ♪ You have been the friend who never left ♪ ♪ I won't forget your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Jesus, be the name ever on my lips ♪

♪ Promise so much sweeter ♪ ♪ It's sweeter every time that I call on you ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ That makes me cry holy ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ Oh, there is no other name ♪ ♪ Jesus, you're worthy, sing Jesus ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name, oh no ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ Oh, there's just something about your name ♪ ♪ That makes me cry holy ♪ ♪ There is no other name, none but you ♪ ♪ Oh, we lift you up, there is no other name ♪ ♪ Jesus, you're worthy, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, you're worthy, worthy, worthy Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, we lift you up, Jesus ♪ Come on, would you lift your voice in this place? Would you say your praises to Jesus? Will you thank him for what he's done? Jesus, we come to you today with grateful hearts, God. We praise your name, you and your love, come on, sing Jesus. ♪ Your name is like the morning light ♪ ♪ The one the darkness can't deny ♪ ♪ The resurrection and the life, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ♪ ♪ Your name can save, your name can heal ♪ ♪ Your name can make the storm be still ♪ ♪ You'll never fail, you never will, Jesus, Jesus ♪

♪ The breath of life broken for us ♪ ♪ The wounded and the worthy one ♪ ♪ The person lost and soon to come, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus, the king who overwhelmed the grave ♪ ♪ The Lord who will forever reign ♪ ♪ The name above all other names, Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus, be the name, Jesus, be the name, Jesus, be the name ♪ ♪ Jesus, be the name, Jesus, be the name, Jesus, be the name, Jesus, be the name, Jesus, be the name ♪ ♪ Jesus, be the name, Jesus, be the name, Jesus, be the name, Jesus, be the name, Jesus, be the name, Jesus, be the name ♪ ♪ that gets all the glory, sing Jesus. ♪ Jesus, be the name. ♪ 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. ♪ He's the light in the darkness, a shelter in the midst of your storm. He's the way to follow, the truth to stand on, the life that you were born to live. He's the way maker, the miracle worker, the chain breaker. His name is Jesus. Come on, church. Can we worship the name of Jesus this morning? Well, good morning. Good morning. You may be seated. Hey, once again, welcome to Fellowship Church. My name is Derek.

I'm one of the pastors, and on behalf of our pastors, Ed and Lisa Young, we wanna say thank you so much for being here today. I wanna welcome everyone who's watching online as well. You picked a great Sunday to be here at Fellowship Church. In just a few moments, we're gonna hear from one of our pastors. Pastor JC Lopez is here this morning. He's one of our mixed pastors here at our Grapevine campus. We're so excited to hear from him. I don't know if you thought about this when you walked in today, but have you thought about the freedom that we have? have to worship God. There are people all around the world today who are worshiping God in fear of what might happen to them. But we get to worship God freely. But we know that freedom comes at a cost. That's what Memorial Day is all about. It's remembering the brave men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country and never made it home so that we could have the freedom that we have and live the lives that we do. I'm so thankful for Fellowship Church, that we are a church that honors these men and women and honors the families of these individuals as well. That's why every year around this time, we host out at our camp and retreat center

in East Texas called Elasa Ranch, we host what's called America's Mighty Warriors. These are for Gold Star families where they get to come into Elasa Ranch and experience the love of Jesus through being served, being encouraged, being loved on, to have a place where they can find healing and rest. And this morning, at all of our Fellowship Church locations, we have an empty seat with a flag to remind us of the empty hearts and the empty seats at the tables of these amazing families. This morning, we wanna take a moment, we wanna pray for these families and I wanna invite someone special to lead us in this prayer. She's the founder of America's Mighty Warriors. Her son, Mark Allen Lee, was the first Navy SEAL to give his life in the war on terror. Fellowship Church, can you help me honor and welcome Miss Debbie Lee this morning. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi.

Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. And Father, as a body of believers, we do that this morning. We come in and we choose to worship you. Thank you that you are our transformer, our redeemer, our savior. And Father, we wanna lift up all these gold star families across our nation that are hurting. And Father, we know, I've seen you do it in my life, that you've provided me that peace and that strength and that comfort and that hope. So we pray that you would do that for every one of those other families whose loved one gave their final breath for us and for the freedoms we enjoy every day. And Lord, we never wanna forget those sacrifices.

We think of the sacrifice your son made on the cross, Lord, that was that example for each one of those. We pray that you would give us the strength to live our lives worthy of that sacrifice. But Lord, I pray for those families that you would continue to remind them that we're here for them, that we love them, and that we'll never forget. We pray that you would touch each one of those families this morning and give them comfort, strength, hope, and peace. Lord, we would pray for joy for those that loved one loved you and is in heaven today, Father, and one day we get to see them again and be in your presence. Father, I thank you for a body of believers who understand the sacrifice that's made and continue to support our gold star families. Father, we thank you that we were born in America, that we do have those freedoms that so many have paid a dear price for so that we can live free every day. We pray this in your precious son's name. Amen. ♪ Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen ♪ ♪ Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen ♪ ♪ Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen ♪ for families like ours could live in safety. This yellow rose represents hope. Today we honor those heroes who gave up their tomorrows so we could have ours.

This red rose represents sacrifice. Today we honor those who are willing to give up everything for the freedoms we enjoy every day. We honor the sacrifice of these men and women by taking this freedom we've been given to worship God freely. Come on, let's sing out with all we have to the one who gave his life for ultimate freedom, ultimate victory. Rose again. All my words fall short. I've got nothing new. And how could I spread all my gratitude? And I could sing songs as I often do. But every song is still, and you never do. So I throw up my hands. So I throw up my hands and praise you again and again. Because all that I have is a hallelujah, hallelujah. And I know it's not much. I'm nothing else fit for a king. Except for I sing hallelujah, hallelujah. Come on, there's parts of the world that can't lift their voice in freedom, but you got all the freedom in the world. So lift it out loud and proud today. Give praise to the one. Come on, he left heaven for us, for all of us. Sing it out. Oh, come on my soul. Yeah, don't you get shy of me and lift up your songs. You've got a life inside of those songs. Get up and praise the Lord. So I throw up my hands. So I throw up my hands and praise you again and again. Because all that I have is a hallelujah, hallelujah. And I know it's not much. But I'm nothing else fit for a king. Except for I sing hallelujah, hallelujah. God, we praise you and we love you for who you are, for what you've done, for what you're going to do. Let's get ready for what he wants to do in our lives, church. You may be seated. Good morning. You know, when Memorial Day rolls around, it kind of feels like it's the kickoff of summer. We've got vacations lined up. We've got time with family taking place. We've got work. Amen.

But the reality when it comes... to summer is that not every day there's gonna be all these plans right I mean there's some points where there's really nothing lined up and if my schedule allows for it there's one thing I really want to do I want to go to the movies I love a good movie very rare nowadays but I want to go to the movies and I know what I'm signing up for when I go to the movies I'm signing up for debt we know it right I mean movie tickets right now are ridiculous you buy two tickets a box of popcorn and a drink and you consider if you should have gotten a flight to New York you know you know what I'm talking about right now when you do go to the movie it's more than just watching a film on a big screen and it's the experience behind it you get to pick what movie you want to watch you get to pick where you want to sit you get to pick the time you get to show up but I think even better are those recliner chairs man those chairs are comfy aren't they and even they have that little button on the side you know I told my wife I wanted that for Father's Day she said no but we're gonna try for next year but what do we know about every movie I mean when you're when you're sitting in that comfy seat you're gonna get the opportunity to listen to an inspiring story and at times that story will get you to a point where you might even ask yourself what if that was me what if I was Sylvester Stallone but we all know that that's not gonna happen right every movie has to come to an end the credits will roll and what happens right you get it from your seat you leave your trash and you leave and that little bit of inspiration starts to dwindle and fade away you show up you get comfy you get inspired and then you leave and I'm afraid that many of us this is how we treat the church we show up we get comfy we get inspired and then we leave and even think about it just for a moment you get to pick the seat you get to sit in you get the coffee that you want for some of you you've been coming a little longer than most and so you'll plan out and you'll treat the MC and the worship like you do a preview to a movie you know you don't need it so you show up for the message but then when you hear the message the message is inspiring there's so many

stories behind it and then the message ends pastor says amen the credits roll and you get up and you leave and that inspiration dwindles away and you do nothing with it if I can be very transparent with us here today if we think we can treat the church like we do a movie theater walk in get a little bit of inspiration and then walk out nothing's gonna change in our lives at some point we're gonna have to stop watching other people's stories unfold and then actually wonder when does it become our own because by the way this is this is your life I'm not here to plead with you for more help I'm not coming to you saying you're not doing enough not at all I just simply want you to experience what I have personally experienced and so many others want you to experience we want you to experience the life-changing message found in the name of Jesus and not only do we want you to experience that but then we want you to be a part of the stories of life change and so wherever you find yourself whatever you were looking for I believe it starts with getting up out of your seat and into the story that God has written for your life you know I think about my personal story and I think about the people that were willing to get outside of get out of their seats for me to the point that they were willing to pick me up from church they were willing to encourage me and check in on me and pray for me they were willing to show me as a young man who did not know nothing about faith how to read God's Word but you know what the thing that stood out to me the most was from these people that I saw week after week after week it was the contagious joy it was the commitment it was the selflessness and I got to a point where I kind of just wanted to stop watching it and I actually wanted that for myself so what did I do I got involved and it was the greatest decision I ever made getting involved in the local church because through that I would find my lifelong friends that I do life with now I would get the opportunity to be able to understand what it meant to be a man of faith I started to grasp and understand why we serve y'all I got to meet my wife while serving hallelujah come on

But I'm telling you, I'm not here today to tell you that you can't come to service. Not one bit, that is not what I'm saying. I mean, we work week after week to create an experience where all of us collectively can worship the name of Jesus together and we can spend time in the teaching of God's word, but there's actually far more outside of this room too. Did you know that? There is. I've seen it firsthand and I'm living it. What I'm simply just asking for our church to recognize is that movie theater Christianity just watches, but biblical Christianity consistently responds. Let's think about a day like today, Memorial Day. Yes, for many of us, we have the day off tomorrow. We're excited, but let's come back to what Memorial Day is about. We just talked about it during worship. Remembering our fallen heroes, the men and women who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Why would they do such a thing? Why? Why do we have men and women still serving this country? Because they love their country. They stand for freedom and they simply wanna play their part. And I'm so thankful that we get to be in a country where there are people fighting for our freedom.

Think about it. We are reading God's word and there are people being persecuted to the point of death for this. And here we are in a beautiful facility learning God's word together. I'm thankful for sure, but I'm also reminded what if the church operated with that same mentality? Because of my love for God, I stand with the church and I will play my part, whatever that may be. And the beauty is this, you absolutely can play your part. There is an opportunity waiting for every individual here. And there's a story that God has placed over your life that you can absolutely live out. It's just gonna require you to get up out of your seat and live it. James writes it greatly. In James chapter one, verse 22, he says, "'Do not merely listen to the word "'and so deceive yourselves. "'Do what it says.'" Now, don't take it from the overgrown Hispanic telling you this, you can even see Jesus' own words in Mark chapter 10, verse 45, as he says, "'For even the Son of Man came not to be served, "'but to serve others and to give his life "'as a ransom for many.'" Can we stop and think about that just for a moment? Amen, you can clap to that, absolutely. But stop and think about that just for a moment.

The God of the universe chose to come to a sin-stained planet and basically looks at us and says, I'm not here for me, I'm here for you. And if that was the posture of our King and is the posture of our King, why would it not be the posture of his people? After all, we say that God has transformed our lives, so why would we not live it? Why would we not live it? Jesus clearly explains to us what does it look like to be a follower and also understand that there is a cost to following him. Luke 9, 23, if any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily and follow me. And notice God's word is not saying, you better bring what you have to God because he wants to see all your gifts, he wants to see all your abilities, not one bit. God does not need your abilities, he just needs you to be available. And that's the truth. What I love is as you dive in to the New Testament, specifically the gospels, you'll begin to see Jesus's earthly ministry begin with some pretty available people, but the unlikely people that you and I, we would not pick to join our team. Matthew 4, verses 18 through 20 says, as Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee,

he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake for they were fishermen. Come follow me, Jesus said, and I will send you out to fish for people. At once they left their nets and followed him. I'm trying to find the portion in this verse that says, watch me. Jesus said, follow me, not watch me. But you know what I also love? He doesn't just say, follow me. He says, I have a promise for you. I will make you into something that you are not. I will use you in such a way that you yourself will not be able to explain it. Only I have a plan and purpose for your life, but you must follow. Scripture teaches us, right? And notice, look at who he chose. He didn't choose people who went to seminary school. He didn't choose people who were in the religious establishments. He walked right past the synagogue, went straight to the beach, and picked fishermen. These are not the guys you want for the NBA draft or the NFL draft. I'm just being honest. They didn't just pick fishermen. Tax collectors, zealots, doubters, betrayers.

He picked nobodies. These were blue-collar guys with callus on their hands with no formal training. I mean, but do you see how in Scripture, Jesus doesn't even go, show me what you've got. Show me your resume. Show me your degree. He said two words, follow me. You know what I love about this passage? Do you know what I love about God's word? Jesus uses ordinary people, and he calls ordinary people into extraordinary purpose. And you know what the good news is? You and I are pretty ordinary, but we serve an extraordinary God who has a great purpose for our lives if we choose to follow him. I believe we have created this idea that spectatorship is more valuable than surrender, and that could not be further from the truth. And so I simply ask us here today, are you following him? Or are you watching from your seats? Well, JC, what seats are you talking about? Maybe you find yourself in the seat of comfort. Maybe it's all you know, because you just kind of started showing up, and you've just come in and out, and you didn't really know what else to do. I understand that.

But what I love as a believer in Christ is that we are comforted by Christ, and we step out and get uncomfortable for Christ in building his kingdom. And it is a great joy to do that. But for a lot of you, you've been coming to Fellowship Church for several years. You've sat in the same seats, and you prefer observation over obedience. Let me be a little bit more in-depth and a little more clear. As a youth pastor in this church, I am seeing firsthand what God is doing through the next generation. I know we talk about it, but I am seeing it. It is genuine revival, what the Lord is doing through middle school and high school students. And it brings me such great joy. And we talk about it every week, right? We talk about the Anchor Project. We talk about what God's gonna do as we create this facility. We talk about the cost it's gonna take to make this happen. And we are like, man, I'm so thankful to be a part of a generous church. Except the problem is some of you, you're not generous. Maybe for some of you, it comes back to serving. You've been texted, you've been called, you've been reached out to,

but you just prefer to sleep in a little bit longer. Maybe it's just you keep on saying phrases like, not yet, I'll think about it. Maybe, I don't know. Or the fun one, I'll pray about it. But listen to me. You have gifts that God has wired in you to be lived out. I mean, let's be even more transparent. Some of you have made the greatest decision of your life. You have put your hope and faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. That's wonderful. But for some reason, there is a timidness, and you keep on saying that phrase, I'll think about baptism. When we see God's word, tell us to take that step of obedience with boldness and gladness and joy, because we wanna show people publicly what the Lord has done in our lives. And listen to me, Satan doesn't need you to say no. He doesn't. He just needs you to keep saying not yet. And he'll be perfectly fine with those words. I'll think about it. I'll get to it. Or not yet. Could it be comfort? Could it be the seat of control? You want Jesus without surrender?

You're the kind of individual where you wanna call the shots. Maybe you're very skeptical of how the church operates. Nah, I don't like it, so I don't wanna be a part of it. When you haven't even given the church a chance to come into contact with you. But maybe there's some of you in the room, when it comes to control, it's not from the sense of pride or arrogance, it's fear. Because you feel like life is so chaotic, it terrifies you to let go. And that is the beauty of the church. We don't want you to feel like you're on your own. That's not the goal. We wanna support you. We wanna encourage you. We want you to know that you don't have to have control of everything in your life, but that you can trust in the one who is in full control, and that is the God of the universe. You absolutely can. Is it comfort? Is it control? Is it maybe something a bit deeper? Is it the seed of shame? That you've created this idea, that you are so messed up. There is no. possible way that you can get out of your seat,

because God would never dare use someone like you. And you could not be further from God's word. Second Corinthians 5.17, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come, the old is gone and the new is here. And I'll tell you this, I am thankful to be a part of a church that's got a lot of stories of people that had past and they became new creations and are now living their stories. I think about a man in our church several years ago, served a 10 year prison sentence. When he got out, he wanted to make a change in his life. A coworker of his invited him to fellowship church. And what do you think the church did? Do you think the church put a hand up and said, sit in the back, don't talk, we don't want you here. Not at all. The church with their arms wide open said, come in, we'll take you where you need to go. We helped him find his community. And along the way, as he began to develop in his faith, he would come to know Christ. He would go public with this faith through baptism. And he would even marry his wife in this church. He is currently celebrating his 10 year wedding anniversary and has been serving fellowship church for over 13 years and is helping others with their stories to live it out. I think about a couple,

I think about a couple in our church over 20 years ago, they were in the early stages of their relationship and they were dating and they thought, man, this is the real deal. We don't wanna joke around with it, but they were living together. They were invited by a family friend to go to fellowship church. And they heard about this thing called newcomers. And they went, they heard the vision of fellowship church. They sat down and when the pastor found out that they were living together, he challenged them. And he said, do you want God's best for your life? Do you wanna take this seriously? Get married, get planted. Now, if you say that nowadays on cohabitation, there's some pretty mean comments. You know what this couple did? Yeah, they got married. They've been married now for over 20 years and have been faithfully serving fellowship church for over 20 years, have raised four amazing daughters and are investing in the next generation. I could tell you story after story after story of God transforming so many people's lives. But do you know what's amazing? Do you know what all these people had in common? The stories that we are so inspired by every week? Do you wanna know? They got up out of their seat.

All they did was just get up and go. And the danger that we will find ourselves in is when we get the inspiration, we hear the stories, but choose to do nothing about it. That's not the purpose. And I look at a room this size and I see gifts. I see stories, I see purpose. But what breaks my heart is knowing that there are some of you, you are sitting on your gifts and your stories when the Lord meant for them to be active in his house. And listen to me loud and clear. This is not, you're not good enough, not at all. It's the fact that our God is so great. He wants to use you. And when you get connected to the church, you have a family. You have a group of people who say, you are not alone. They will stand with you. And they want you to understand and know that, man, they're not gonna give up on you. You know, when you pull into the parking lot and you see that big word that says fellowship, definitely a great name for a church, absolutely. But that word has so much more meaning than we realize. It derives from the Greek word koinonia. Try to say that three times. Koinonia means joint participation. And in fact, if you dive even more into the context, it is a deep, active, and spiritual bond

between God's people. And this is modeled all throughout the New Testament. And I believe it is how we operate as Fellowship Church. We do not operate in individualism. We operate as the body of Christ, as we see in 1 Corinthians 12. We want you to know there is a part for you. There is a role for you. There is a story that you are meant to be lived, and the God of the universe is the one writing it for you. I believe that we need to look so much like what we see in Hebrews 10, verse 24. As it says, let us think of ways to motivate one another, to acts of love and good works. Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. And notice, it doesn't say don't neglect on attending, it says don't neglect on meeting. Because a meeting is not something that you watch, it's a family that you're a part of. Right here, this place, this is a family who's gonna encourage you, stand with you, pray for you, not give up on you, check in on you, hold you accountable. Fellowship Church is a place that models that very word koinonia, and it is meant for each and every one of us as well who call on the name of Jesus. But we can't do that if all we do

is just occupy a seat every single Sunday. Jesus doesn't call us just to watch, he calls us to get up and follow him. And that is a great joy, because listen to me, we have to remember that movie theater Christianity stays anonymous and unaffected. But biblical Christianity says, I am redeemed, I am forgiven, I have purpose, and I'm ready to build the kingdom of God. So the question I pose to so many of you here today is, what are you waiting for to live the story that God has for your life? What are you waiting for to get up out of your seat and play the part that he has for you? Because he doesn't want you to just sit on your gifts, he doesn't want you to just sit on your stories, not one bit, he wants you to live it to the fullest. And my challenge and my encouragement to many of you is make a decision today to get involved. And at the end of the service, I promise you, we will help you begin to live out that story. You know what I think about great stories? I think about a couple from this church by the names of Doris and Prentice Scoggins. They're no longer here with us, they're in heaven. Prentice passed away about a year ago, Doris passed away a few weeks ago. And I had the honor and the privilege to go to their celebrations of life. And can I tell you, what an inspiration.

Their lives were genuinely unbelievable. How people spoke about them was simply they were faithful. I reached out to one of our parkers that's currently on our team that knew Prentice when he very well, and he shared with me that Prentice was so passionate about life change. He would call people every single week, hundreds if not thousands of people in hopes of getting them involved. Doris had an esteemed background in the corporate world. And she was still devoted to building the kingdom of God. In fact, she was known to cry a lot because she loved seeing people come to know Christ and take the next step in going public with their faith through baptism. They were part of the original team that would help select pastors Ed and Lisa to lead at the time Fellowship of Las Colinas. And you would think, oh, they were probably preaching left and right. I mean, they were preaching, just not on stage. They were preaching with their lives. They were committed, they were faithful, and they served God's house. Whatever the need was, they met it. And I know with full certainty that hundreds if not thousands of people encountered Jesus because of their faithfulness. But I also know with full certainty that they heard those beautiful words

when they came face to face with their Savior. Well done, good and faithful servant. You ever wonder what will you hear? Because one day the credits are gonna roll on your life and mine, and we won't be asking ourselves, did we enjoy the show? The question will simply be, did we follow Jesus and live the life of a good and faithful servant? Today, make the decision to get up, to follow Him, and to live the story He has written for us. You, will you pray with me? If you're in this room right now, and you have never made the personal decision to put your hope and faith in Jesus Christ, and you have never began your story as a believer, let me explain to you who Jesus is. Jesus is the Son of God. He came down to this sin-stained planet to die on a cross for you and for me, and He didn't just stay dead, He rose from the grave three days later, and the Bible says that if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and that He was raised from the dead, you will be saved. saved, meaning your story will begin. And if you wanna make that decision right here and right now, you could pray this prayer after me and simply saying, Jesus, thank you for writing my story. From this day on, I'm turning from my old ways and I'm fully following you.

Thank you, Jesus, that you have set me free. From this day on, I'm all in for you. Lord, we pray that we are not just spectators who just watch, but may we be genuine followers of you and model who you have called us to be. We thank you, Jesus. We thank you, Jesus, that you have a wonderful story. There's so many. We love you, we praise you, and we pray all this in your holy name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Hey, one more time, can we thank Pastor JC Lopez and celebrate every single person who made that decision today? Hey, if that's you, if you gave your life to Christ today, we want you to know that it's hands down the greatest decision that you will ever make. And we as a church, we're so excited. We're here, we wanna walk with you and walk beside you as you begin to discover the amazing things that God has for your life. And so we would love to know about it. We have our team standing by to my right and left. So right after this service, you can walk over there. We have a free gift for you that we wanna give you. It's a Bible, it's a next step book

that really begins to outline, now that you've made this decision, what is your next step? Also, if you have any prayer requests, anything that you're going through, our team would love to pray with you and to pray for you. Pastor JC talked a lot about getting out of our seat and getting involved. And so I wanna help you to take that next step in your life. If you look at the back of your seat right now, you'll see this blue connect card. You can grab that right there. There's a pen that's attached as well. You can grab that card, just begin to fill it out with some basic information about yourself. But this is gonna be your ticket to getting involved, to finding community, and to begin living out the story that God has for your life. JC talked about finding that community. Y'all talked about serving, getting involved, using your gifts and talents right here in God's house. The cool thing is, is you have different gifts and talents than the person sitting next to you. God has wired us all uniquely different. There are some people who even are really good at spreadsheets. It's mind blowing. Whether you're an introvert or extrovert, whatever it is, we have a place for you.

I like to do this. Everyone look down at your hand like this. Look down, and then hold it up like this. And then do this back and forth. Congratulations, you just passed the greeting test. You're all now certified greeters at Fellowship. Now seriously, whatever it is that you enjoy, that you're good at, or maybe you don't even know, we wanna help you to get plugged in and connected right here at Fellowship Church. So fill that card out in just a few moments. The offering's gonna pass. You can take that and drop that in there. And speaking of offering, right now, we're gonna move into a time of generosity by bringing back our tithes and our offerings. Fellowship Church is a blessed church because of so many people who are obedient in every area and every aspect of their life. And there's something amazing that happens when you're obedient to God in this area of your life. You get to be a part of God writing your story, but also you get to be a part of the stories that he does in other people's lives as well. That's why so many people have gone above and beyond their regular giving to be a part of the Anchor Project, which is us building a brand new 60,000-foot, square-foot Anchor Center facility right here at our Grapevine location for the next generation, for students, for kids,

for families. It's gonna be a hub for them to be able to find community, to find ultimately the life change that comes from a relationship with Jesus. And in faith, we are stepping out and breaking ground this summer. I say in faith because we don't have the money yet. So we invite you to join us to step out in faith, to be a part of building the only thing that Jesus ever established, the local church. I'm gonna invite our host to come forward right now. I'm gonna pray over our offering. Father, we love you, and we thank you for who you are. We thank you for what you are doing in our lives. God, we thank you that we get to be a part of building your church. We pray you take these tithes and offerings and continue to use them to reach people far from you. We love you, we praise you. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. You can remain seated as the offering passes. We're gonna take a moment to respond today for all that God's done. And I invite you to pray and ask the Lord, Lord, how can I follow you today? What's a step of obedience that I can take today? What can you speak to my heart? What's a simple step? Maybe it's going to pray with one of these wonderful people on the side of the room.

Maybe it's confessing sin. Maybe it's forgiving someone. Maybe it's investing to the Anchor Project. It could be a million things. But I invite you as we sing to just pray and ask the Lord, how can I follow you today? You stood before creation. Eternity now in your hand. You spoke the earth into motion. My soul now to stand. You stood before my failure. You carried the cross for my shame. My sin weighed upon your shoulders. My soul now to stand. You spoke the earth into motion. My soul now to stand. You carried the cross for my shame. My soul now to stand. He's worthy of all your heart. So what could I say? Oh, what could I do? But offer this heart, oh God, completely unto you. So would you stand? Take your step of obedience today. There's no better way than the Jesus way. So pray and ask him, Lord, how can I follow you? Repent where you need to repent. Obey where you need to obey. Forgive where you need to forgive.

Love where you need to love. Serve where you need to serve. He has a step for you today. All you need to do is ask. So we stand and we sing this together. With all the authority in Jesus' name, we surrender everything to him. So we stand, pray and sing to your Father. So I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned. Oh, in awe of the one who gave it all. So I'll stand, my soul, to you surrender. All that I am is yours. So we stand, so I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned. So I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned. Oh, in awe of the one who gave it all. So I'll stand, my soul, to you surrender. All that I am is yours. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. One more time, we stand on the truth. So I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned. So whatever you want to do to us, we're surrendering to the one who loved us first. So I'll stand, my soul, completely surrender. All that I am is yours. To all I am. ♪ And all I am is yours ♪

Sing that to your Father. ♪ And all I am is yours ♪ Come on, what a great Sunday we've had today. Hey, we'll let you know, next Sunday, we are kicking off a brand new series. Pastor Sam Kelly is beginning a series called Encounters. Encounters, all about the divine interruption. What can happen if Jesus interrupts your life? So hey, bring somebody back with you next Sunday. But hey, before we leave today, let's declare these truths in our lives. Hey, repeat this with me. 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. We love you guys. Have a great Sunday. See you back next week. ♪ I'll stand with my time, I'll abandon it all ♪ ♪ Of the one who gave it all to me ♪ ♪ I'll stand, my soul, Lord, to surrender all I am is yours ♪ ♪ Surrender all I am is yours ♪ ♪ All I am is yours, all I am is yours ♪ ♪ All I am is yours, all I am is yours ♪ ♪ Moving on, I'm done holding on, lies in my head ♪ ♪ It just whispers and whispers ♪