Passing on the Faith

Church if we stand together this morning we are here to worship our God. More than just songs, it's a declaration of faith and love to our Lord and Savior. And like the psalmist said, praise the Lord O my soul. Regardless of the season that we're in, whether it's victory or failure, whether it's joy or sorrow, peace or chaos, our response is always the same. Praise the Lord O my soul. And so Father we praise you this morning, we surrender our hearts. We're here to worship you, help us Lord to be reminded of your faithfulness, to be reminded of your goodness Lord, and to remind us that it is well. Let's worship Church. When peace like a river attendeth my way When sorrows like sea billows roll Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say It is well, it is well with my soul It is well with my soul It is well, it is well with my soul It is well, it is well with my soul It is well, it is well with my soul I'll praise when I'm humbled, I'll praise when I'm humbled As praise is the water through my enemy's trial As long as I'm free, I've got a reason to praise the Lord O my soul Praise the Lord O my soul I'll praise when I'm pleased, I'll praise when I know I'll praise when I know your sin and control As long as I'm free, I've got a reason to praise the Lord O my soul Praise the Lord O my soul I won't be white, I got it to lie How could I keep it inside? I'm gonna praise the Lord O my soul Praise the Lord

Come on, put your hands together for our king, let him play for us Praise the Lord I'll praise cause you're strong, I'll praise cause you reign I'll praise cause you rose and defeated the grave I'll praise cause you're faithful, I'll praise cause you're true Praise cause there's nobody greater than you, I'll praise I'll praise cause you're strong, I'll praise cause you reign I'll praise cause you rose and defeated the grave I'll praise cause you're faithful, I'll praise cause you're true I want to bless nobody greater than you. Praise the Lord, oh my soul. Come on! Praise the Lord, oh my soul. Praise the Lord, oh my soul. Praise the Lord, oh my soul. I won't be quiet. My God is alive. How could I keep Him? No, I won't be quiet. I won't be quiet. My God is alive. How could I keep Him inside? I won't be quiet. My God is alive. How could I keep Him inside? Cause I'm gonna praise the Lord, oh my soul. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.

Give a praise, sir. Well, hey, good morning and welcome to the local church. You may be seated for just a quick minute. And happy Mother's Day, everybody. Happy Mother's Day to the bio moms, to the set moms, to the aunties, to the spiritual moms. And all of those in between today is all about celebrating you. We're so grateful that you're here today. We're also grateful that you're here today if you're a guest. If you're a guest in our house, we actually have a free gift just for you. It's our little way of saying thank you for joining us. If you haven't already done so, do us a favor and fill out that Connect card in the seat back in front of you. We want to put a free gift in your hands. So much more than that when I get to know your name and your story. Make sure you get a proper welcome here today. And, hey, listen, I'm excited to invite you guys back next weekend. Next weekend is what I like to call it's the cutest weekend of the year as we will be celebrating family dedications. I love family dedications because they're a beautiful picture of what God has called the church to be. God has called the church to be this community of people that lift each other up in prayer that carry each other's burdens. And so it's an opportunity for families to come forward and say, hey, I am committing to raising my children in the way that they should go. But I need the help of the church and the church response by saying, hey, we're going to pray for you and we're going to bless you. And we're committing to be a part of this journey together. And so if you want to be a part of that, if you have little ones that you want to commit and be a part of family dedication, you can register through our website or through our app and Church Familia. We just get to look at the cute babies and say, oh, they're so cute. And I can't wait. It's going to be so beautiful. And, hey, as I mentioned, it's Mother's Day. We're celebrating big today. I hope that you guys got some great refreshments on your way in. But listen, I love one of the things that that is true about every mother that I know is that moms are sacrificial. Right. It's just something in our DNA that they are sacrificial and they are generous and they do it almost by nature.

And it's this beautiful picture in response to the sacrifice that Jesus lays out for us. Right. There's no one more generous and sacrificial than a mother, except for God. And it's his example for us that we respond to his sacrifice. We respond to his generosity in generosity. And so if your giving part is giving as part of your worship today, there are several ways you could do so. They're on the screen behind me. We're doing it out of response to God's generosity to us. And so we've got some offering boxes on your way out, the giving kiosk in the lobby. You can always give safely and securely online. But right now we're going to pass some buckets. And so if you're on the left hand side of your row, if you reach down and pass that to your right, it would be greatly appreciated. And, hey, while those are being passed, can I just pray a prayer over the generosity of the church right now? Let's pray together. God, we thank you so much. We thank you that you are a generous God. We thank you for your sacrifice. We thank you for your provision. We thank you that you're showing up in our midst. God, we pray that you would take the generosity of the church, that you would use it for your kingdom, that people would come to know your name because of the generosity of the people in this room. We thank you that you will multiply it for your efforts. And thank you that you use us, everyday imperfect people, to reach people for your kingdom. We love and praise you. It's a great way to pray. Amen and amen. Hey, church. Man, I'm so excited that we get to worship together. Let's stand to our feet and continue to do just that. Father, we surrender our hearts this morning. And we give you the praise that you deserve, Lord. Not only our praise, but give you our life.

So I could live in the freedom you died for And now my life is yours And I will sing of your goodness forevermore Worthy is your name, Jesus You deserve the praise Worthy is your name Worthy is your name, Jesus You deserve the praise Worthy is your name And now my shame is gone I stand amazed In your love undeniable Your grace goes on and on And I will sing of your goodness forevermore Worthy is your name, Jesus You deserve the praise Worthy is your name Worthy is your name, Jesus You deserve the praise Worthy is your name Worthy is your name, Jesus You deserve the praise Worthy is your name Worthy is your name, Jesus You deserve the praise Worthy is your name Oh, I will build my life upon your love And I will build my life upon your love It is a firm foundation I will put my trust in you alone

And I will not be shaken I will build my life upon your love It is a firm foundation I will put my trust in you alone And I will not be shaken I will build my life upon your love It is a firm foundation I will put my trust in you alone And I will not be shaken Holy, there is no one like you There is none beside you Open up my eyes and you will see Holy, there is none like you There is none like you There is none like you Give a praise, church Thank you, Lord You are holy Thank you, Jesus Church, you may be seated Direct your attention to the screens On Mother's Day, it's always a blessing to think about what kind of mother I was raised with, but I just pray that I'm instilling the same legacy as a Christian that you instilled with me, with my kids, and we're doing the best we can, and I think seeing them accept Christ at such a young age and have just such a passion for God's Word and for prayer and doing all the things just makes it so much better as a family to know that we're doing something right. My number one to try to carry down through the generations is faith, you know, faith in God and joy, right? Joy in the hard times, in the happy times.

In the morning, I am not a morning person, and neither are my children. Pretty much every morning, I would wake up, and the way that I was woken up was, Good morning, good morning, it's time to rise and shine, every single morning. Now that when I have children and I need to wake them up to be able to, you know, open up the curtains and then sing the same exact song to you, right? And that's definitely something that, you know, we can carry down from generation to generation is just starting our day with joy. I think like, like my mom, like she was a believer, but we're not necessarily living out our faith. When I made a decision that, you know, your dad and I, we're gonna, we're gonna have kids that I didn't want it to be circumstantial faith. I wanted it to be real faith. I never saw it, but I made an intentional effort to make something different in our home for us and for you guys, and to create a legacy beyond what I experienced as a child. All right, hello, hello, hello, how's everyone doing? Hi, I am Jessica Gamero, and I have the honor of serving here on the leadership team at Local and in keeping with tradition, my, my husband, Eric, he has given me the gift for Mother's Day of being here and sharing with you in this completely stress-free time for Mother's Day. Thank you for catching the sarcasm. First service did not get it, and I really appreciate, way to go, way to go, 10 o'clock, very, this is gonna be great. It's gonna be fun. No, but in case you haven't realized it yet, today is Mother's Day, and so we are gonna take some time and we are gonna celebrate moms. May it be a mom, or an auntie, or a grandmother, or a godmother, or just a woman who spoke into your life in a way that shaped us. We get to take today to celebrate them, and celebrate all it is that they have done as they have poured into our lives, and so I'm excited to do that, and I know it's a day of joy, but for some of us, it's a day that's a little bit of a struggle.

There may be some grief that we are experiencing, some sorrow, some longing that comes with today, and so no matter where you are today, I just want you to know that God sees you, that He loves you, that He has a purpose for you, and the joy that you may not be feeling, God has that for you, and we'll be able to give that to you. So let's go ahead and let's take a minute to pray. God, thank you for who you are. Thank you that today at 10 o'clock, we get to come, and we get to celebrate you, and all it is that you have done in the lives of women who have spoken into our lives, and so we just ask a blessing over all of the women who have stepped into the role of mom in the lives of so many. Thank you for the way that they have shaped us and taught us, and we ask right now, God, as we dive into your word, and learn about some moms that you had for us in the Bible that you would just be in our midst, that you would open our minds and our hearts to be able to receive what it is that you have for us, and it's in your name we pray, amen. All right, so quick show of hands, who in this room, you have said something, and before you're even done saying it, you've gone, oh no, I'm my mom, or like, oh no, I'm my dad or my parent, okay, yeah, there we go, yeah, all of us. They didn't have to teach us how to do it, it was just something that naturally happened, and my hand was up, too, because we're not, it's not an isolated event, it is. So common in fact that progressive insurance has made a whole series of commercials about this Okay, some of you have seen it. I'm gonna read it because I don't want to get it wrong This is dr. Rick a parenta life coach who helps home home owners avoid Parental morphosis, which sounds like a dinosaur, but it's something progressive made up and it's the act of turning into your parents It's it's these things that we do or we say it's maybe the you know for all the dads you kind of just walk with your hands behind your back like this or When it's been really really dry and our grass is getting a little brown and it starts to rain and we go man We just really needed this Really needed this rain or you're talking to your kids because you just got back from grocery shopping and you go You know when I was your age milk only cost Instead of the $17 that it costs today or

They just don't make things the way that they used to Now we're the ones saying that and here's the thing is it's true Because the washing machine from my house as a kid growing up is still fully functioning today But my LG that we bought 18 months ago cannot dry our clothes Our Parents and our moms they didn't sit us down and teach us to say those things. It's something that we just naturally Absorbed it's something that naturally Happened and so today we're gonna take some time and we're gonna talk about something that very much so Happens in the same way It's faith See last week Eric kicked off our teaching series on apologetics and it's called faith forward and he walked us through the Reliability and the importance of God's Word and what it means for us in our everyday Lives and today we're going to continue faith forward as we talk about passing our faith Forward see what I did there. It's very good. I'm very proud of myself We're talking about a Legacy of faith. That's what today's teaching is called and if you have your Bibles go ahead and open up to 2nd Timothy 1 and 2nd Timothy is written at a time when Paul he's in prison and he's writing to Timothy and he is giving Final instructions Paul has become aware of the fact that his time here on earth is Coming to a close. And so we're gonna We're gonna pick up in verse 5 and right here Paul is reflecting it's his opening greeting to Timothy and he's not Talking to Timothy about his theology or his giftings. He's talking to him about something That's much much more personal in verse 5 It says I am reminded of your sincere faith a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now I am sure dwells in you as well Here's what I want us to know Faith doesn't just grow in individuals. It moves through

generations the first thing that Paul does is he traces Timothy's faith back to two women who aren't in the spotlight and Their names only appear once it's a grandmother and a mother Lois and Eunice Timothy's faith didn't start with him. He was surrounded by Authentic faith and here's how we know that it was authentic faith. We know that because it was passed down It was modeled and it was lived out It was passed down it was modeled and it was lived out that's Legacy, the truth is whether we realize it or not We are leaving a legacy right now And the question is not if we are passing something on to the next generation It is what are we passing to the next generation? I Want us to understand three things first is this faith is caught More than it is taught Faith is caught more than it is taught. Now. I am NOT downplaying the importance of teaching I I really I'm not because I'll get in trouble in my family. I'm a fourth generation educator, so I'm not playing down the importance of Teaching Paul tells Timothy in the very next chapter to continue in what you have learned Teaching matters scripture matters what we put in front of our children and bring into our homes matters But there's a distinction. Information tells people what to believe. But a life that is lived in faith shows them what to do with it. See, Paul doesn't say, Timothy, I'm reminded of your great theology. He says, I am reminded of your sincere faith. The same faith that lived in your grandmother and your mother. In other words, it wasn't just something that they said,

it was something that they lived. Because here's the truth, people don't just listen to what we say. They watch how we live. Whether we want them to or not, they are always watching, especially our kids. They are constantly observing us, what we prioritize, what we run to when life gets hard, what gets our time and attention, what we pour our energy to, how we respond when things don't go our way. Whether we realize it or not, we are answering a very powerful conversation, a very powerful question. Is God actually important? Or is he just something we talk about? Our actions, the way we live our life, are what answers that question. And this isn't meant to pressure us. This is so that we can have some clarity. This is to bring attention to the fact that although we spend a lot of time paying attention to what we say, the most formative communication is happening in how we live. You can't teach what you don't live. Two of the largest religion organizations, research organizations, did some research. It was Pew Research and PRI, and it was independent of one another.

They did some research about the strongest predictor on whether or not someone will identify with the faith as an adult. What we found is that if between the ages of five and 17, if someone has a healthy relationship with church, a positive relationship with church, 84% chance that as an adult, they will be a self-proclaimed active Christ follower. So what does that mean for us? Why does that matter? It matters because what we show them is important. What we value will matter to them. I can tell you that growing up, in the home I grew up in, faith mattered. If we went on vacation, and that vacation went over a weekend, no matter where we were, if we were on Sanibel Island, which has a population of like 500, we were finding a church to attend on Sunday as a family, not because we had a box to check off on our weekly to-do. It wasn't because church was what was so important. It was because the worship of our Savior was a priority in our home. We have to example for our kids what matters. Right now, down in Children's Ministry and local kids, your children are learning about Jesus and building a foundation that is gonna help them as they walk forward in their lives to help them as they are as adults. That has to be a priority,

getting them into those classrooms. It has to be a priority. On Tuesday nights, this campus is taken over by our middle and high school students. Every single classroom is used for Bible study, and here is the auditorium where our high school guys meet for their Bible study, but they have worship, they have a teaching. They are learning things about Jesus that helps them in their schools to stand firm in their faith. And I get it, it's on a Tuesday night. I have two kids that are now in middle school. I know the struggles of homework and all the things that can keep you from being here on a Thursday night, but it is worth readjusting your schedule to make Tuesday nights happen than telling them that homework or work or anything else comes before the worship and learning of Jesus. In one month from today, yes, one month from today, we are gonna be at summer camp. Summer camp is the best week in the lives of your students. And in fact, this year our fifth graders are invited to come because they will be going into sixth grade. It is a week away from all of the distractions that they have surrounding them in South Florida. And it's a time where Jesus is just poured into them and they are encouraged.

The reason why we have bake sales that are happening every week is because there is not gonna be anything that is gonna keep a child from coming to summer camp and learning the truth about who Jesus is. Because that week matters, it's a priority. I mean, if you were made to go to summer camp as a student by your parents and it changed your life, do me a favor and raise your hand. It's transformative. Go online and register your kids for camp. It matters. There should not be anything that is more important than that because what we show them matters, what we show them is important. It is caught by them. It has a generational impact. They pick up on everyday moments of when we pray over them before they go to bed, when we are driving in the car and have worship music going, when we respond with grace instead of anger, those moments that we show them Jesus in our everyday lives, it's teaching them a lesson and it teaches a lesson to anyone who is around us because those who are closest to you are taking notes. In Deuteronomy 6, this is Moses, just as he's come down from the mountain and God has given him the 10 commandments and he's talking to the Israelites about the 10 commandments and this is what he says. In verse six, it says, and these words that I command you today

shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise. Notice he didn't say teach them diligently once a day. He said live it out. Let the truth of who God is be something that you talk about all of the time. It's a lived faith, it's woven into your everyday rhythm because the goal is not to raise kids who know about God. The Bible tells us that demons and the principalities of hell know about God. That's not the goal. The goal is to impact the people around us, to raise our children so that they know who God is, that they follow him and they have surrendered to the Savior. That's the difference. Not knowing, but relationship, surrender. And that happens when they see him in you. Let me put it to you this way. Your life is a sermon that someone is always listening to. You are the Jesus that someone sees. Eric and I are very different. And one of the ways that we're different is that if we are out somewhere and I see someone, I'm gonna talk to them. I'll start a conversation with anyone, no matter where we are.

He will not, he is an introvert. I know it's hard to believe because he gets up here, but Eric is very introverted. And so we are different in that. But if you make eye contact with me, we're having a conversation. I'm gonna pull you in to whatever is going, right, Danny? I will, yes, I will do it. I will pull you in. And some of you are like, I will never make eye contact with you. Don't worry, you don't need to. I will still talk to you. We can still have a conversation. But I, I'm gonna start a conversation with you. Because of that and because I like just talking to people, I will and have been known to, when driving through the drive-through at Polio Tropicale, I will ask the girl at the register, like, hey, how can I pray for you? And when we go out to dinner as a family, I have on quite a few occasions, I'll just, I'll say, hey, you know, when the food comes, we're gonna take some time to pray. Is there anything that's going on in your life that we can be praying for? And maybe twice, maybe twice, people have said, no, I'm good, I don't have anything. But by and far, 99.9% of the time, there is something happening in someone's life

that they want prayer for, and it's some of the coolest God conversations that we get to have. total strangers. About a year ago, our youngest, who is a very active child, he was doing parkour in the house, not because he was supposed to, but he broke his hand. And so we went to the ER and we had just an absolutely wonderful nurse who helped him feel safe and comfortable in a situation where he felt very anxious and he was in a lot of pain. And she gave him a popsicle, so they were best friends. But as she was giving us his discharge paperwork, he just looked at her and he said, hey, how can I pray for you? And with tears in her eyes, she looked at him and she said, can you please just pray that I can feel Jesus? Because I don't feel him. He said, yeah, absolutely, I can pray. But I need you to also know that Jesus is with you and he loves you and he's never gonna leave you. And then he grabbed her hands and he prayed for her. He was seven years old and he was bold and confident in who his Savior was. And what I realized in that moment is that I was teaching him a lesson through how I lived. But you don't have to be perfect. I can tell you right now, I'm not perfect. I have unfortunately also taught my children how to not be patient with the amazing drivers of South Florida. Great drivers all around. But at this point, I now don't even have to tell the other cars around me what to do because my kids are gonna let them know before I even get a chance. We're always teaching them lessons. Do you think that Timothy's grandma and mom were perfect? No, they were real. And a real faith is powerful. It's honest. It says, I don't have it all together but we're gonna figure it out. I still struggle but God is gonna take me through and he's gonna be in the middle of it. I'm gonna fall but God is gonna pick me up. Faith is caught more than it is taught. And that kind of faith that is caught, it's a faith that is rooted in God's Word. It's all about what he tells us in this because authentic faith is rooted in God's promises. Let's talk about what made Lois and Eunice's faith transferable in the very first place. Paul tells us it was their authentic and

sincere faith. This was not something that they performed on a weekend. This was something that was real and tangible. It's what they lived. An authentic faith is the kind that lasts and it transfers and that's because it's not based on our feelings. Our feelings, they're gonna change. Our circumstances are gonna change. Life is going to get hard, amen? I mean, there's a, there's a, did you hear about the virus? It's been six years. We're done with that, right? But it's, life is going to get hard. But if our faith is rooted in the promises of God, it becomes unshakable. Look at what Paul says just a few verses later in verse 12. He says, I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. He's saying, listen, I know who God is. It's not maybe. It's not hopeful. It's I know in who I believe and he has trusted this with me and I know he's going to protect what he has trusted me with until he's done with me. So if I'm here, he's not done. There are gonna be seasons when your faith is gonna be tested and how you respond is what is gonna teach them about the truth of who Jesus is. There's gonna be seasons of uncertainty with our health, with our finances, with our relationships, with our work. Vocationally, we're gonna have struggles and the faith that you to carry yourself with in those seasons will either demonstrate who God is and what his promises are, or it will tell people that this Jesus thing isn't what it's supposed to be. Faith is not something that we should hold onto just because it's convenient. Faith is something that will sustain us when it's not. That is a faith that gets passed on through generations. And the only faith that survives is one that is founded in his word, on his promises. Because here's the thing about God's promises, they are true today and they will never change.

They are the same for every single generation. And we're gonna go through a few of them today. All right, so God promises his presence. God promises his presence. Numbers 6, 24 through 26 says, the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Not a promise of an easy life, but a promise of a present God, that he will keep you, he'll be gracious to you, he'll give you peace. God promises his faithfulness. Deuteronomy 7, 9 says this, it says, know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps his covenant, steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations. He is always faithful. When we are inconsistent, he is consistent. When we don't understand, it's because he is still working. God promises to finish what he started. Philippians 1, 6 says, and I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ. That means God is not done with you. He is still working on your kids and the people that you love.

He is still moving in your relationships. God promises nearness in pain. Psalm 34, 18 says, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. It means when life hurts, God doesn't step back. No, he leans in. He's there, present, with you. Lois and Eunice are only mentioned once in the Bible, so we don't know much about their life, but we know that their faithfulness created conditions for Timothy to become one of the most significant figures in the early church. You may never know on this side of eternity the full impact of your life that you lived on the people around you. But a faith that is authentic and sincere will go far beyond because faith is multiplied. Through legacy. Here's a beautiful thing that I don't want us to miss. Paul mentions first Lois, then Eunice, and then Timothy. It's three generations. Lois' faith shaped Eunice. Eunice's faith shaped Timothy. And Timothy goes and he plants churches and he writes letters and he does all these things that 2,000 years later, we're still talking about it. The unshakable faith of a grandmother had generational overlap. And here's the thing.

You don't have to be a parent to have generational legacy. God has created and called all of us to carry a legacy of faith. Matthew 28, 18 through 20 says this. When Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you even to the end of the age. That's not a suggestion. That's our mission. If you are still breathing, God has called you to share the goodness of who he is. to share our faith. We are called to invest in others. We are called to raise up the next generation because our faith is not meant to stop with us, it's meant to go beyond us. This is important. Some of you might be the lowest in your family. You might be the first one. Some of you might be the lowest in your friend group or at work or in your neighborhood. My mom is the lowest for our family. She didn't grow up in a home that that had faith. And when she she shared a story with me that when she had us, me, and then my brother, she wanted a household that had joy. And so she remembered a family in her neighborhood growing up that was joyful and happy and loving. And what was different about her family and her in that family was that they went to church. So she started going to church. She and my dad raised us in a in a household that Jesus was talked about all the time. She was the lowest. She broke cycles and started a legacy of faith. And it's not a small thing. And it was her neighbor's legacy of faith that started it in her family. And some of us, we we might be realizing that we have friends, co-workers, neighbors who are

watching our lives and we're realizing for the first time that our faith is lived out and that it's not just about us. And so we need to make a commitment to live our lives as though it matters. As though the fact that people are watching matters. Today we need to ask him to stir in us to be genuine and authentic in our faith. And then there's some of us who are here in this room that you want to have authentic faith. You want to have what we're talking about, but you have to take this first step of even having a relationship with Jesus. Because of someone's legacy of faith in your life, you showed up to church on a Sunday because you want to find out what this church thing is all about. You see that there's something different about people. Jesus lived and died for you. He rose back from the dead for you. He has purpose for you. And one of the greatest decisions that you can make is to start that relationship with him. His good news is what sets us free. A relationship with him is what gives us the keys to eternity. So let's not wait to start that journey of faith. We're going to have an opportunity of prayer that's going to happen in a moment and our prayer partners are going to come up. But let's talk about it. We're going to be praying for two different things. We're going to be praying and asking for God to change within us so that we can live and lead in that legacy of faith. And then there's for those of you who don't have that relationship with God yet, I'm going to walk you through in a prayer. And in that prayer it's going to be saying to Jesus, I'm flawed. I've messed up. But I'm ready today to have that relationship with you. So let's do this. Can I have everyone stand up? All of us. And because we already have that upward motion, because we already have stood up, and I promise you this, that anyone who is around you will not be upset, but if you today are ready to make that commitment to live your life for Jesus, to have a legacy of faith, to live for him on the outside not just on the inside, I want you to come up. I want you to come up and I want you to be with our prayer partners as we start to pray for you. Come on. Come on up, don't hold back. I promise you, if you ask someone next to you

to move out of the way, they will gladly move out of the way so that you can come up here and make that commitment. And then there's some of us here in this room that need to take that next step of relationship with Jesus. And so I would encourage you to do this. I want you to come forward as well. And if you are nervous about coming up because people's eyes are open, that's okay. Close your eyes, everyone. Tap someone on the shoulder, ask them to get out of your way, and come on up. I see you, come on up. And we're gonna pray. I'm gonna give you time, don't worry. Let's pray. God, thank you so much for who you are. God, right now, I ask for any of those who are still standing in their row and they feel this pull and this urge of like, man, God, I wanna make this commitment to you. God, I wanna surrender my life to you. I ask, just God, give them the confidence and the courage to come up. If they need to grab whoever's next to them, let them grab that person to come up with them. And God, I pray for all those who are ready to live their life for you who are still in their seats. I ask that you would give them the courage to come forward because we are living a faith out loud. We are setting an example.

And if you're the person who has not started that relationship with Jesus yet, I'm gonna pray these words and I want you to repeat these words after me. God, I love you. God, today, I give you my life. God, today, I'm not living for myself. Today, I start to live for you. The legacy starts today. God, I love you. God, I surrender to you. God, from this day forward, I am your child. We love you, Lord. And for those of you who are ready to take that next step and live a legacy of faith, God, I'm gonna pray a blessing over you right now. God, right now, I pray for all of those who are in this room who are ready to live their life for you who have held back but realized that people are learning even though we didn't realize we were teaching. God, I just ask that you would be with every single one of those people, that they would live their life for you, that they would be bold. God, I am so grateful for the lives that were changed. I am grateful for the people who walked forward to this stage for the eternity that was changed, God, because they have the promise of you. Thank you for who you are.

Thank you for moms. Thank you for dads. But God, thank you for being our Father who created us and has purpose for us. We love you, Lord. Amen. ♪ Be gracious to him, the Lord turn his face toward you ♪ ♪ And give you peace, we believe it ♪ ♪ Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen ♪ ♪ Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen ♪ ♪ The Lord bless you and keep you ♪ ♪ Make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you ♪ ♪ The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace ♪ ♪ Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen ♪ ♪ Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen ♪ ♪ Amen, amen, amen ♪ We voice praise and pray and say amen. ♪ Amen, amen, amen ♪ We receive your blessing. ♪ Amen, amen, amen ♪ ♪ Amen, amen, amen ♪ ♪ Amen, amen, amen ♪ Holy Spirit, have your way. We declare that you're in this room, Lord. So we receive your blessing for us. Come on, sing it out, church. ♪ His favor be upon you ♪ ♪ And a thousand generations ♪ ♪ And your family and children ♪ ♪ And their children and their children ♪

♪ His favor be upon you ♪ ♪ And a thousand generations ♪ ♪ And your family and your children ♪ ♪ And their children and their children ♪ ♪ His favor be upon you ♪ ♪ And a thousand generations ♪ ♪ And your family and your children ♪ ♪ And their children and their children ♪ ♪ His favor be upon you ♪ ♪ And a thousand generations ♪ ♪ And your family and your children ♪ ♪ And their children and their children ♪ ♪ His love is coming for you ♪ ♪ And he's got you inside you, all around you ♪ ♪ He's bringing him, he's bringing him, he's bringing him ♪ ♪ And His glory, you'll believe it ♪ ♪ In His glory, and you'll worship it ♪ ♪ Your living, you'll rejoice it ♪ ♪ It is for you, it is for you, for youit's for you, ♪ ♪ It is for you, it is for you, for you it's for you, ♪ ♪ It is for you, it is for you, for you it's for you, ♪ ♪ Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, ♪ ♪ Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, ♪ ♪ There's thousands, generations, ♪ ♪ And your family, and your children, and your children, ♪ ♪ And your children, and His presence is for you, ♪ ♪ And He's hiding, and beside you, all around you, ♪ ♪ Is waiting, is waiting, is waiting in the morning, ♪ ♪ In the evening, when you're coming, when you're going, ♪ ♪ When you're making, rejoicing, is for you, is for you, ♪

♪ Is for you, is for you, is for you, is for you, be fine, ♪ ♪ Is for you, is for you, is for you, is for you, be fine, ♪