The Test of Busyness and Distraction | Jeff Leake

Okay, so we're gonna continue in the series that we've been in called the weary world rejoices It's a line that we take out of Oh Holy Night And we're talking about the fact that even though we're in the Christmas season and it's festivity festive times It's it's also a time where we face challenges relationships We've been talking about, you know pains in life that we need to forgive and sometimes grieves that griefs that we need to deal with And navigate and today we're gonna talk about one another one of those challenges that makes us weary and that has to do with busyness Right. This is a season where life just goes a bit crazy and an appropriate thing for this time of year, so let me give you a metaphor as we start so There's this thing. I'll put up on the screen here. It's a piece of playground equipment This is called the umbrella spinner. That's a that's from the 1970s. I found the vintage one there to take a picture of But but you know, they still have them today in various forms and the umbrella spinner I watched my grandkids on one of these at the picnic we had this summer and for like three hours They there were four of them they would take turns spinning and the other three would be on there screaming like crazy and I was remembering back the first time I got on one of these when that was the moment I learned I got motion stick Yeah, so how many of you love that that thing that you enjoy that how many of you this disgusts you when you think of? It right there. Okay, that's me Like I can't take that but this is a good metaphor for life sometimes life feels like the umbrella spinner because You're on it and then the pace increases and you're not exactly sure why you someone's on the outside spinning it Maybe it's expectations. Maybe it's demands. Maybe it's commitments that you've made Maybe it's people in your life that have made things complicated and they're spinning that thing and you get off of it You feel a bit bewildered and you wonder how do I make this stop? and often this is the way the seasons of our life feel like we just don't know what to do with all the busyness and Distraction and I actually think that our generation is probably busier than any generation ever has been I mean the pace of life just in my lifetime. I can tell you it wasn't always this crazy I actually think maybe this has a contributing factor to it, but there's probably a whole bunch of other reasons why life has just picked up speed and Actually, that might be evidence of the fact that we're living in the end times My wife and I sometimes after we do our devotions

We'll come out and compare notes about what we heard and she said have you ever read in Daniel chapter 12? So Daniel's an Old Testament book we studied the book of Daniel in the summer and we talked about the first six chapters of Daniel's life and Then the rest of the book is a prophetic book and it talks about what's to come things to come in the future and in Daniel chapter 12 Daniel's prophesying about the end of the world in Daniel chapter 12 verse 4 the angel talking to Daniel says But Daniel keep this prophecy a secret seal up the book until the time of the end and then here it qualifies the time of The end where many will rush here and there and knowledge will increase So the end times will be like this people will run around like crazy Going here and there and knowledge will increase what we live in the information age, of course So that's describing us and the frantic pace of life. It's got actually described for us in the book of Daniel We think of signs of the time as being like Matthew 24 14 We think about you know wars and rumors of wars and earthquakes and famines in various places Well, actually I think busyness The pace of life is actually one of the signs of the times that we live in and and there's another passage Ephesians chapter 5 Here's what Paul says about how we should approach life. He says be very careful Then how you live not as unwise But as wise not about you, but I want to live a wise life not a foolish one So Paul says slow down and think about how you're living so that you can live a wise life and make the most of every Opportunity so I only have so many days to spend and I want to live a wise and productive life And so he says then you got to do this because the days are evil Which means not only is it hectic this life we live in But there are powers of darkness that are trying their best to unravel your life. They want to unravel your marriage They want to unravel your family. They want to unravel your soul And so you're navigating through the you know These dark moments where life is going at a breakneck pace Then someone has been in your wheel real fast and we're trying to figure out how do I live in a wise and productive? Fashion and so then Paul says understand don't be foolish understand what God's will is and then he goes on to talk about how living In the Holy Spirit is the wisest way to live, but let's just for a moment. Let's pause and say, okay Here's goals that I have. This is my goals for my life out of these passages, and I think you might share these

I want to live a wise healthy productive life the end of my days I'm gonna look back and I say I was wise and how I spent my time. I was productive I did what I was supposed to do and I was healthy. My soul was healthy. That's the challenge. How do we do? That that's the that's the challenge we're gonna navigate and you might remember if you were here last week or you heard the message I said the most important preacher you ever listened to is you right? Hopefully you preach yourself good sermons this past week and Here's the deal in that spirit. I'm just gonna tell you this particular message busyness and distraction I was thinking to myself, how will I preach this one because I'm struggling with this right now But so I'm gonna preach to myself. You're welcome to listen All right, the rest of the sermon if you if you're struggling anybody else dealing with busyness and distraction, okay, great I'll preach to you too. But this one's primarily for me, right? So, how do we do this? How do we do this? So I've been I've been thinking because I'm struggling with this personally I've been thinking a lot about How to frame this, you know challenge I have and I was thinking when God created the world He created it with a pattern for health, right? He said it says six days He made the world and the seventh he rested So God approached the creation of everything in a healthy way It actually sets a pattern for us about how we're supposed to live with a certain rhythm and pace So God demonstrated healthy patterns when he made everything Okay, then I was thinking about Jesus and how he lived and there were so many demands on his life But you never get to a chapter in the in the Gospels that says and then Jesus was so stressed out He needed to take a couple days off You don't read that right Jesus had the biggest assignment anyone's ever been given to redeem the world Right to bring the kingdom of God to earth but we never see Jesus in a hurry and We never see him approaching his life unhealthily And so if he can carry that much demand and he lived with a certain pace and rhythm and God created the world with certain pace and rhythm

then What is happening for me today must not be God's fault In fact, I'll give you this premise here's the thought God never asks us to live at an unhealthy pace To fulfill his purpose for our lives So if I'm in an unhealthy pace somehow if I'm stressed out and distracted and it's not God's fault I Guess it must be me Yeah, you think so I'd love to blame somebody else, but I don't think that would fix anything I have to say okay somehow the solution has to start with me and how I'm living my life And so that I can get to the place where I can be wise Productive and healthy, right? so so what might be the cause if it's not God putting it on because sometimes I get into that mentality like I just have So much to do and you know, you know, how am I gonna ever get through this? God's giving me this Okay, that it's not God, right? It's some other thing that's causing me to get wound up So what's the other things that wind us up? Okay, let me give you some options now as to what might be making you live at an unhealthy pace I'm gonna give you three options and these things also might help you Frame and filter how to think about your life moving forward. Okay. Here's the first one Let's look at first problem in and that's this everybody say out loud with me Pride right pride that's often the source of a lot of problems This is not the pride that says I'm better than you Although I guess every kind of pride kind of is that but it's probably more like I am dependent upon myself And I really don't need God's help until I need God's help Right. We were never created to live independent from God. We were always created to live dependent upon him for every day and sometimes I Strength on my own agenda with my own preferences and I get out of kilter and I have to come back to admit I am NOT living dependent on God and trusting him with my life enough to rest properly And and if you're wondering if that's you too Let me give you some options of what you might be saying to yourself or to others

That would that would kind of lead to this kind of attitude Here's the first one and that would be where you say I can do it by myself So my son Josh and his wife Allison, they're they're the youngest Annie little girl She has two older siblings a brother and sister and Annie She likes to think she's as big as them and she so so she often when you try to help her with something She'll say I do it by my own self She says like I got this like I'm gonna handle it and and sometimes we we have this mindset I'm gonna do it by myself. Maybe it's a little bit more like this. I can handle it. This is the next one I don't need any help. I think some of us live sometimes like this God if I know you're out there I'm gonna do it my way on on my timetable and I can handle it and if it gets out of control I'll call for your help, right? But but I'm not gonna call I like you're busy Anyway, let me do my thing and then eventually if I need you, I'll call you But that's really not how we were designed to live. We were designed to live in partnership with God in every every day Hey, where he's carrying it with us. And so, you know, I don't need any help. Here's something else you might be saying. Can you say this one out loud? No one can do it as well as I can. This is too important. I can't let anybody else, cause somebody else to do it. If it's gonna be done right, you gotta do it yourself, right? We get sort of in this mindset of thinking that we're the only one. Okay, here's the fourth one. And that's this. It all depends on me. If I stop working, it all falls apart. Like we get this sort of messianic complex to think.

It's all built on me and my efforts. Let me, let me, I've shared this before, but early on in my ministry here, you know, I was a young man in this position for the first time. I had never led an organization before. So I had a lot of learning to do and stress at work. And then we were having babies all the time. And we had, you know, five that were under seven. And so it was loud and crazy at home and it was stressful at work. And so sometimes I needed to just get away to be able to think straight. And so every couple of months, I would go away to a Catholic retreat center here in Pittsburgh because Catholics do solitude well. And I would just take some time to be alone. And I remember once I was away from it and thank God Melody let me do that. She always was like, please go away and come back better, right? So I would go, I was one day, I was taking a walk. And this one, I tend to fall into this trap here. And I was taking a walk and I was looking at a tree, big, beautiful tree. And there were these birds that were perched in the tree and flying up, you know, in and out. And the thought hit me, that tree doesn't need me. And those birds, they'll be here next week just like they are this week. And they don't need me to be able to do anything.

And then I thought to myself, I love that tree. Because it doesn't, you know. And then I thought of what Jesus said. Jesus said, look at the birds of the air. They don't toil or spend. The flowers of the field, I'm taking care of them. Why are you so wound up and worried about everything? Because you're a child of God. Why are you worried? I'm gonna take care of you. Oh, you of little faith, this is what Jesus said. So I started to say, okay, maybe God can take care of this stuff. Maybe it's not all dependent on me. Maybe I can choose to rest. So we get ourselves wound up by this one. Okay, let's go through a couple more. My pace proves my value. I'm just a get-it-done-done person, right? This is how I make things happen. Or this ties into this, I'm not worth anything unless I do more. We don't often admit this, but achievement-oriented people tend to feel like this, like their worth is tied to their accomplishment. And then here's one. Slowing down means I'm falling behind. So there's a competitive university I'm a part of. Or I'm in a company where I'm battling against other salespeople.

I don't know how to do this. So sometimes, actually, do you know the rhythms of six days you work and one day you rest were designed that that one day you rest is sort of a step of faith to say, I'm gonna do nothing today because I want to prove to myself that my world's not gonna fall apart if I trust God. That was a really good place for an amen, you missed it. Let me bring it back, right? Listen, listen, God wants to do some things in your life, but you have to align with him in order to get the benefits that he wants to release to you. It is the will of God to give you a healthy soul. He doesn't want you to live stressed out. Remember, I'm preaching to me, right? He doesn't want you to live all harried and anxious. He wants you to have peace within your life. But a lot of the things that God wills for your life, we don't experience his will sometimes because we don't live in alignment with it, right? So he wants to free you from that compulsive thing that's got a grip on you. But the freedom won't enter your life until you're willing to do the things you have to do to come clean about it and to repent of it and deal with it. Then he sets you free, right? He wants to work to reconcile some relationships, but maybe he won't be able to do what he wants to do until you humble yourself or ask for forgiveness

or forgive somebody or have that difficult conversation. Like there's promises in the heavens that God has willed to you and your family, and it's his will to bring them about in your life, but those promises are not realized until you pray them down into the world. We say, may your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Like some things are not gonna just materialize and appear in your life until you come into alignment with what he wants to do. And the same thing is true with the peace that you need in your life and the pace. It's not gonna happen until you say, yes, Lord, now I wanna align with your purpose. I wanna become dependent upon you and be big enough to say, Lord, I trust you with this. Have your way in my life, right? So God wants this for us, but we gotta trust him. We can't keep just winding ourselves up. There has to be this moment where we reflect on that. In fact, can we just do that for a moment right now? So just turn your face toward heaven. I'm gonna preach some more, but let's just say this out loud. But God, can you say this, say, God, I trust you with this. With all of the problems and all of the stress and every demand, I trust you now. And I know you're big enough and you love me enough to make it happen.

Yeah, in Jesus' name, amen, amen. Give somebody a high five, say, you needed to pray that. Boy, I did too, right? I trust you with this. Okay, starts with pride, number one. That might be one of the things that's a contributing factor. Here's a second one, that's priorities. This is where we haven't narrowed down our assignment from God enough to know what we should be saying yes to and what we should be saying no to, right? This is values and priorities. So I gotta identify, what are the God assignments in my life? Now, this might not necessarily be spending time on bad stuff, but sometimes we do that. Like, I know some have this tendency, life gets busy, you know you're not gonna make it through it, and so you procrastinate dealing with it and you run over here and have fun and then you come back and it's worse, right? And then you're like, oh, now it's worse. And you do a little bit and then you run over here and you distract yourself. And so that's not a good way to live, right? That's a problem, but sometimes the problem isn't that we're running away from stuff and distracting ourselves, it's that we have said yes to too many good things and not all the yeses that we have said are God things. Some things that we are doing in our life,

we're doing because someone else asked us to do it or it's maybe something we're good at or something we used to be a part of, but we haven't filtered through. Am I doing the things that God has assigned to me right now? Here's another tendency, when we get too many things on our plate, I watch this, people say, okay, I'm stressed out, I'm gonna cancel it all, clear the schedule. And then they're like, I'm doing nothing for a while, this is wonderful. And then they're like, okay, time to re-engage. And then they add, ding, ding, ding, ding, all of it back. And so rather than learning how to manage it in context, it's like this back and forth and emptying and filling, that's not a healthy thing. So let's go to the person who lived the healthiest. Let's look at Jesus' life. Jesus lived his life with appropriate priorities. He actually had three contexts that were his priorities and you never see him outside of these three things. He always lived in these three zones, these three priority zones. Here's where we find it, Luke chapter six describes Jesus' life. It says verse 12, chapter six, one of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray where he spent the night praying to God. Context number one, he spent time alone with his father, time with God.

Jesus was the son of God, but he was in human form, he took on human flesh. And in his humanness, he spent time with his father because it was there that he received strength, it was there that he received direction, it was there he felt God's pleasure, the father's pleasure. He was also patterning something for us to follow. So if you ever go to Israel, you'll see the Sea of Galilee is like at the bottom of a basin and then there's these mountains that surround, it's like a big bowl, right? And he would go down and be ministering in the towns around the Sea of Galilee and then he would go up on the mountainside early in the morning before anybody else was awake and he'd spend time looking over the world and talking to his father and refreshing his soul and this was his first context. By the way, I think this is the most important one, regular time alone with God will do more for your soul health than anything else you do. Jesus modeled this, context number one. And then it says he came down, one morning he came down and called his disciples. And he chose 12 of them and the verses that follow named them all. Here's the second priority context, Jesus had a group of primary relationships. They were the people he knew he was called to develop and pour into,

it was the healthy atmosphere in which he lived his life. You have a relational context, your family, your kids, your grandkids, the people you do life with, maybe in your life group or your support group, the people that you're close to, the people that keep you accountable and make you strong and you live in that context, Jesus had that. And then it tells us later, verse 17, he went down and he stood on a level place and a large crowd came, a multitude says in another, in another translation. And what did he do while he was there? Verse 18, those who came came to get their diseases healed and then they came to get impure spirits, you know, delivered from them. And so now here we see Jesus out in the marketplace, like this was his occupation, right? His occupation was healing the sick and casting out demons and teaching the truth of God's word, but he was out in public doing his thing and he exhausted himself doing this. And then when he was done with that priority of ministering to people, he would spend time with his father. and then with his group, and then out in the multitudes. And he lived this way as like a rhythm. He had his priorities in order. And this rhythm kept him healthy and productive and effective in the way that he was living. So let me tell you about something

I'm gonna be doing over the next week. We're coming to the end of the year. It's 2026 on the way. I wanna live 2026 on a healthy path. Anybody wanna wave at me that wants that too? Okay, so here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna talk about my priorities. What are my God assignments? And what are the other things that I've said yes to that shouldn't be on my plate? And I'm gonna use these three words as my filter. And if this is helpful to you, write these three words down. They won't be on the screen. I'll have you repeat them, okay? First question I'm gonna ask is this. What in my life do I need to eliminate? Everybody say eliminate. This is the stuff you're gonna say no to. You're gonna say, I was committed to that, but I'm not anymore. I'm gonna eliminate that from my life because that's not one of my priorities anymore. It might be a good thing, but I'm gonna eliminate it because it shouldn't be there anymore. Number one, eliminate. Second thing I might do is I might do things where I'm gonna say that's important. Somebody has to do it, but it's not gonna be me.

And we do number two. I'm gonna delegate. Everybody say delegate. So I'm gonna move something, and I'm gonna say, would you take this over? Could I ask you to help over here with this? So I'm gonna delegate some things. And then the things that are my priorities, I'm going to number three, concentrate. Everybody say concentrate. So I'm gonna focus on them, and I'm going to then schedule them into my habits so that I pay attention to them properly, right? Okay, and that gets us to number three. Sometimes the reason why we're busy and distracted is because we haven't planned well, meaning that we haven't taken our priorities and putting them into our calendar. We haven't said, this is how it's gonna happen, right? So planning is where we look ahead and we say, here's all the things going on, and here's when it's gonna happen. Here's how I'm gonna make sure it happens at the right time. So here's my time with God, and here's where I'm gonna spend time with my wife on a date, and here's when I'm gonna pour into my family, and here's how I'm gonna fit this into my company's demands, and here's how it's all gonna work together. And then we have a plan that we begin to work.

But let me just tell you what happens with plans, and let me tell you, this is why I'm struggling with this right now. You get the plan set, and someone's on the outside of the wheel, and they go, oh, spin that for you, right? And then all of a sudden, things change, and they transition. You're like, oh, I wasn't planning for that, right? So here's some of the things you have to factor in. First is when you make your plan, you have to factor in the season of life that you're in. Like you might have a perfect plan today, lined up with your priorities, but as soon as you have a baby, forget about it. That baby might not be able to grip anything, but they will spin that wheel at 3 a.m. They will spin it over and over, and you'll be like, what just happened to us? And then you think you got it covered with one, and you have a second. And both of them are spinning the wheel, and if you get three, oh, look out, man, your wheel, you're gonna be dizzy. Can I get an amen from any parents in the room? You better plan. Listen, if you're a parent, and you're dealing with kids that are spinning your wheel and shaking up your plans, here's, let me just give you a word.

Take some pressure off yourself. You cannot measure yourself in the output based upon the way that it was without kids. You gotta figure out what the appropriate goals are for the moment that you're in right now. Yeah, I speak from experience, okay? I know what it is to walk through that. Then your kids grow up a little. The times of life change, season changes. Now, you're a little more proficient in the company you're working in, and people start to depend on you. You're good at that, and then people are on the outside spinning that wheel. You should do more of that. We need you over here. And your wheel starts to spin further, but your family, they're getting old. They're still spinning it, too. So you gotta manage all that. Then you get a little older, and then your body starts to spin your wheel, because it's like, oh, it takes me two hours to get up in the morning. Like, how, this is, I couldn't, can't do the same stuff, right? It's like, yeah, so it's always, there are gonna be outside forces that are gonna be messing with you, but you can't surrender to it.

You gotta plan your way through it, right? And then you also gotta factor in times of the year, like the next two weeks are some of the busiest times of the year for us. And you may be sitting here in this mess, and be like, yeah, that's where I'm at right here. Like, I got so much to do. I got Christmas shopping, and there's family coming over, and there's company parties, and so here's what I've been planning, Pastor Jeff. I'm just gonna press the gas pedal down. I'm gonna plow through to the other side. When I get to the end of this, then I'm gonna look up, and then I'll get healthy, but here's the deal. You plow through that, and you just push, and you get to the other side, someone's gonna spin your wheel over here. You have to take control of your own calendar in order to get yourself back into a healthy place, and remember, this is the will of God for us. He doesn't want us to run around crazy and all harried and worried. He wants to bring us into a place of peace. But for us to be able to do that, we've got to get aligned with Him, which means hard conversations and hard decisions and making some adjustments so that we can navigate our way through, so that we can live like Jesus, right? You know, wise and productive, but healthy in Jesus' name. Can we just pray together? Lord, help us. I'm just, I'm voicing that for myself. Help us. Give us discernment.

Some of this is complex. It's not an easy thing. And there are so many people that have so many expectations and sometimes hard to hit all the demands. And we just say, help, Lord. We are, we're broken. We're dependent. We choose to trust you. And we just ask that you would intervene in our life situation today in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. All right. We're going to now take some time and process this and some other things in our life, because we're going to celebrate communion together. And the teams are making themselves ready in the back. Let me just remind you what communion is. It is a celebration that has existed for several thousand years, instituted by Jesus to help us remember what he did for us when he died on the cross, when he suffered in our place to take away our sin, when they buried him in the ground, when he rose from the grave. And he took in the middle of the Passover meal, the bread and the cup. And he said, when you do this, remember me, right? It's a time for us to look back and remember. And as we do, we center ourselves on him. Now, this celebration is designed for those who are fully declared Christians. Like, I'm a follower of Jesus. I'm surrendered to him, and I want to live for his purpose, right? It's a celebration of those who have received Christ in their life, and they're doing their best to live, surrender to his purpose. And so we're going to get ourselves ready. If you've never prayed to surrender your life to Christ, or today maybe you've just been doing your own thing, and you want to come back and get centered properly, we're going to pray this prayer to be able to get ourselves right. So can we just pray? Just join me in this. So Jesus, I thank you. Yeah, just pray it out loud. Thank you for what you did for me when you died on the cross, and you suffered in my place to pay for my sin. So forgive me today. Cleanse my life. Make me right with God. And I choose right now to surrender to you. I want your will for my life, and I want to live for your purpose. So today, I offer myself to you in Jesus' name. Amen, amen. Awesome. Well, if you prayed that, and this is your intent and desire, as the tray passes, just take the cup and hold it, and we'll pray in a few moments together as a group. If you're not sure about all that, you can let the tray pass you, and we'll still pray together. You're still part of this moment in the service, but let's go ahead as the team leads us today. It's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise, pour out our praise. It's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise to you only. Oh great are you Lord. And it's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise, pour out our praise. It's your breath

in our lungs, so we pour out our praise to you only. Oh great are you Lord. And all the earth will shout your praise. Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing. Great are you Lord. All the earth will shout your praise. Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing. Great are you. Would you stand with me now as we sing this together? All the earth, ♪ Oh, all the earth will shout your praise ♪ ♪ Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing, great are you, Lord, all the earth ♪ ♪ Oh, all the earth will shout your praise ♪ ♪ Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing, great are you, Lord ♪ ♪ And it's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise ♪ ♪ It's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise to you only, oh, great are you, Lord ♪ All right, we hold in our hand the bread, and let me just remind you of what this represents for us. Jesus said, this is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. It represents, first, the physical body that Jesus, you know, was in when he suffered on the cross for us. He died physically, he suffered physically, he rose from the grave physically. There's something very real about it. It also is a reminder of the fact that he now is sitting at the right hand of the Father, he's the head of the church, and we are his body. So on earth now, we are the expression of his work on earth, and we represent, you know, the unity of the body when we love one another. So we think about what he has done for us, and we think about the fact that we belong to each other when we take the bread. And so let's just take a moment now, and we say, Jesus, just like when you offered your body on the cross, you were saying to the Father, I want to fulfill your will. So now we surrender ourselves to you, and we say to you, God, in the same spirit that Jesus surrendered,

we offer ourselves. We say, may your will be done in our life. We want to fulfill your purpose. We center ourselves on you and on what you're trying to do in our life. We pray that you'd be glorified and honored in this moment. In Jesus' name, amen. Let's take the bread together. Okay, before we take the cup, and because this is a little bit of a different weekend, the crowds are smaller, we're going to focus on something right now. So if we can have our leaders come to the front, pastors and leaders come to the front, we're going to pray for people. We are believing, God, at Allison Park, that we would be a house of healing in January. We're going to have a whole emphasis that month on this. And we have been praying for this all fall, and we are hearing stories of God bringing healing. We're going to share a whole bunch of those stories with you soon. But right now, we're going to have the whole room pray for those that need breakthrough in their life this way. So if you need a touch in your body, you just leave your seat and come out and stand in front of one of these leaders. And before they pray for you, we're going to pray as a whole group, and we're going to take communion together, okay? And remember, why am I asking you to come forward? James 5 says, if anyone's sick, they should initiate. Call the elders of the church, right? And the prayer of faith will make the sick person well. So you coming forward is your sort of initiation. Yes, Lord, I'm believing.

I'm going forward in faith in Jesus' name. So come on. You know, we don't want to leave anybody out. We're going to take our time now. You need a touch from God? Yeah, we're going to ask for God's healing in your life. It's good. Come on, guys. Yeah. Plenty of room up here. Okay. Super. Come on, come on. Yeah. It's good. All right. Everybody in the room, would you stretch your hand towards the front? Let's pray together as a whole congregation now. Father, in this moment, while leaders lay hands, we now declare that through the resurrection of Jesus, the curse that is on this world is broken. We declare that every aspect of the curse, even sickness and disease, Jesus, you destroyed through your death, burial, and resurrection. So we now speak life to your system, and we say may every cell in your body experience the touch of God. May every ligament, every muscle, every bone, every organ, every part of you, may you be like standing under the waterfall of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Let it wash from head to toe. May the presence of God and the power of God be released in your life now. We together, we stand as the body of Christ.

In this service, and we agree, we agree. Jesus, may your will be done. May healing flow. May healing flow, even right now, in the name of Jesus Christ. Let it be released in this moment now. In the name of Jesus, we pray. All right, let's now lift up the cup together. Jesus said, this is the new covenant. This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me. Let's take the cup together now. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Yeah, let's just take a moment. Before we do anything else, let's just thank him for his goodness. In your own words, just tell him, thank you, Lord, thank you, Lord. I worship you today. You are so good, Lord. You are great, you are great. Thank you, Lord. Let's sing, all the earth will praise your name. Yeah. All the earth will shout your praise. Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing. Great are you, Lord. All the earth will shout your praise. Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing.

Great are you, Lord. All the earth, all the earth will shout your praise. Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing. Great are you, Lord. Great are you, Lord. And it's your breath in our lungs. So we pour out our praise, pour out our praise. It's your breath in our lungs. So we pour out our praise to you only. Yeah, all right. Thanks for being here today, guys. I'm gonna pray blessing on you. As we do with communion, there's always a little snack or something to kind of fellowship with. And I understand we have something called chocolate bark out there, so you can pick up a package of that after the service. Now, I pray that the Lord would bless you with wisdom and discernment to know what's best, that he'd help you to live out of the priorities he set for you, that he would just bless you with grace to carry you through this busy season, and that he'd provide peace on every family gathering you have. In his name we pray, amen, amen. God bless, guys, have a great day.