What The Bible Says About Loving Difficult People

Okay, everybody, welcome, welcome, welcome to Church Online today. Tell us where you're joining us from over in the chat. We want to know. It's another snow day Sunday, so I hope you are bundled up. I hope you are warm. I hope you're with friends or family right now, wherever you're joining us from. And man, I hope you're enjoying a little bit of snow outside your window. We are pre-recording this just in case you needed it today. And I'm so, so thrilled that our team is so awesome that they were able to be a part of this. Aren't you grateful? Jump over there in the chat, put one of those little blue heart emojis if you love our Water's Edge team who came out in the elements to make this possible for you. I'm so thankful for technology. And I'm so incredibly thankful that you prioritized this experience. Last Sunday, this is two Sundays in a row, y'all, last Sunday, David and I were cuddled up on the couch. We put the service up on the screen via YouTube. And then we were both actually on our devices chatting away over in the chat as well. And I'll tell you, I loved the online experience. I know many of you, this is the experience that you have every single week. And I love it. I respect it. I'm so glad that we can come together as church family, literally all over the world. I think that's incredible at church online. But I miss being in the room with you. And I really miss, this is kind of selfish of me, but I really miss preaching to a room that's full of people, energized and full of faith. And even though, listen, even though we're not in the room together today, I'd love it if you'd give a whoo-hoo every once in a while, if you give a little hand clap every once

in a while, or if you jump over there and participate in the chat. And I think it'll help you engage and stay connected. I'll tell you, I learned this last week though, staying focused during church online, boy, oh boy, that takes a discipline. That takes it. Lots of things happening. And I know some of you right now, you got a lot of things happening in your house, kids running around, toys flying through the air, breakfast on the stove. I don't know what's happening for you, but whatever it is, I'm praying that for these next few moments, you can kind of shut out all of those distractions. You can dial in and lean in, because I think God has a word for you today. And we're kicking off a brand new series, a whole new collection of messages today. I'm so excited about it. Why don't you give me a little drum roll? Come on, a little drum roll, everybody, a little drum roll. Here it is. It's, we're calling this series, The Elephant in the Room, The Elephant in the Room. And it is a relationship series. It's a series all about relationships. Some of you, why are y'all looking so grumpy, right? Why are you, you ought to get fired up about a relationship series. And I'm going to help you in this series with your relationships. But we called it The Elephant in the Room because, well, we all have some tension. We all have some awkward, we all have some uncomfortable, messy topics and issues in all of our relationships that we avoid or that we don't address or that we just live with, like they're not even there. And the reality is this, and this is the whole premise of the series, is that if you let the elephant stay in the room, there will always be dysfunction. There will always be disunity. There will always be frustration.

There will always be division. And that's how some of you have been living for a very long time in your relationships. And that's really why we're doing this series. I want to teach you in this series that if you'll learn to address the elephant in the room God's way, that you'll start to experience God's best in your relationships. And so today, today, we're gonna have a little fun. I want to, I want to address what is perhaps the most common, biggest, overarching elephant in all of our relational rooms. And for some of you, this elephant is in the room of your marriage, or for some of you, this elephant is in the room of your marriage. elephant exists in the room at work or for some of you this is the elephant that exists in the room at school or this is this is a topic that that might impact your closest friendships or a topic that might impact your your your relationship with your kids or, or maybe with your parents, certainly with your siblings, this is a relationship topic that is could be messy in any number of relational rooms that we experience in our lives on a I'll be honest, on a snow day like today, this elephant probably exists in your living room right now. And the elephant I'm talking about in the room today is what I've called this. I've called it. I don't even like you. I don't even like you. I'm a little I'm a little hesitant to ask for feedback over in the chat. I'm a little scared to ask you to give me a hands up emoji if you have said that or thought that about a relationship in your life in the last seven days. Some of you like last seven days haven't the last seven minutes pastor I have thought that the last seven minutes I love you. But I don't even I don't even like you. And I know it sounds I know it sounds harsh. And I know maybe it's a little a little extreme. But I think you get the point

that that we're we're in relationship. Sometimes with people we don't even like some of you. Some of you are married to people you don't even like that's a problem. Or some of us. Some of us have to work with people. I don't even like you. Some of us our kids go to school together and our our kids play on a travel team together. And so we're with these these parents a lot. And I don't even like you or some of you have a boss. You have to sit in one on ones with them every week or you have to get direction from them every day. I don't even like you some of you have people your neighbors with I don't even like you some of you feel this way. Some of you feel this way about mankind in general. Can we just be honest about this? Like the elephant in the room is when I think about people in general, like, period. I don't even I don't even like you. And I know again, I'm being I'm being extreme. But I would say for a lot of us, we're kind of relationally adverse. Like for a lot of us, we're just kind of over relationships. We're done with people. And the idea for a lot of us have making a new friend. That's like the most daunting thought in the world right now. For some of us listen, probably for I don't know, for three quarters of the people watching this service today, the thought of picking up the phone to actually call somebody, like you have to actually talk to somebody on the other end of the phone, it completely overwhelms you the thought of it. Maybe, maybe for you the idea of actually talking to someone at the grocery store, like, like, like striking up a conversation with a complete stranger, it sounds like the most absurd suggestion I could ever make for you. And maybe, maybe for you when you order DoorDash, you know where I'm going with this. DoorDash for a lot of people is about

convenience. But if you've got this elephant in the room, I don't even like you. If you've got this elephant in the room, DoorDash for you is about avoidance. And you know, you know, you know, it's that way. Because when you order DoorDash, you don't, you don't even let the DoorDasher ring the doorbell and give you the food in person. How many of you put this over in the chat? I'm curious. How many of you when you order DoorDash, you choose the option, leave my food on the front porch, because I don't want to see you. AKA, I don't even like you. Are y'all with me? This is the way a lot of us, a lot of us approach our relationships. And y'all, we got to talk about that. Today, I want to teach you the theology of relationships. Now, don't worry, we're gonna get really specific about some of the messy topics in your marriage and some of the problematic issues in your dating relationships. And we're going to get into, like what God says about some of the things that you're dealing with in your friendships. That's coming in the weeks to come. And it's going to be an incredibly practical series. I think it's going to be the most helpful series we've done in a long, long time. I think it's going to help you in so many, so many ways. But today, I want to teach you the theology of relationships. And I want to help you understand and that God cares about your relationships, that God created you, listen to me, to be in relationship with others. And so we kind of got to adjust this, I don't even like you attitude, because the elephant in the room is actually keeping you from experiencing God's relational best that he created you to have.

God made you for relationship, relationship with himself first, and relationship with others. And I'll say it like this, that relationships are God's priority. You got to get that today. That relationships are God's, he really cares about relationships. In fact, let me show you, I'll prove it to you by taking you all the way back to the beginning of time, as we know it. I want to take you to a place called the Garden of Eden, a place where it was perfect, a place where it was all the way God designed for it to be. There was no stress, were no concerns, there was no problems in the Garden of Eden, no cares, no worries, no needs, no wants. When it all began, the world was as God intended it to be. God does what? He creates man, he creates Adam to be in relationship with himself. That's Genesis 1, 26. But then I want you to see what God says after creating Adam in the garden. Look at it, the Bible says, the Lord God said, it is not good. Hey, are you with me, everybody? It is not good. Can you say those words just out loud with me right there from home?

It is not good for the man to be what? For the man to be alone. And all the men are like, that's right. That's, I mean, the men know this about ourselves. Like men know, yeah, don't leave us alone. Don't, if you leave us alone, we stop showering, right? You leave us alone, we don't brush our teeth for days. Men know this, you leave us alone, we start a steady diet of Doritos and Hot Pockets and that's it, don't leave us alone. Men know, it's not good for us to be alone. And God decided at the beginning of time that relationships would be his priority. So when time began, it's all about relationships. And let me tell you this, that when time as we know it will end, it's all about relationships. I'm teaching you the theology today of relationships from the beginning of the Bible. I wanna take you all the way to the end of the Bible from the Garden of Eden, a place of perfection, where there was no want, no need, no problems, no stress, no cares, no concerns. Let me take you to heaven, a place where there will be no need, no want, no problems, no stress, no cares, no concerns. In the book of Revelation, John gets a prophetic vision of what heaven is and will be. And this is what John says we have to look forward to at the end of time, as we know it.

John wrote, after this, I looked, and there before me in heaven was a great multitude, many people that no one could count from every nation, tribe, people, and language standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out with a loud voice, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. So when time began, God said, you need some relationships. You need people. I made you to be in relationship. And when time will end, we will be with people in relationships, a great multitude from every nation and tribe and people and language. I'm just trying to show you today from the beginning of time to the end of time, it's all about relationships. It's all about people. You know what that tells me? That tells me in the time in the middle, in the in-between time, in the time that you and I are in right now, it's all about people. It's all about relationships. It's God's plan that you prioritize relationships. I don't even like you. That's not working for you.

Solomon in the Bible, the wisest man to have ever lived, one of the wealthiest. And so because he was wise and wealthy, Solomon had everything. And everything, including a people. Solomon was surrounded all the time with people. Solomon even had many wives. And that's maybe a topic for another sermon. I'm just saying Solomon knew Solomon. something about relationships. And this is what he once said. I'm gonna read it to you. I love it from the message paraphrase. It's just so real the way Solomon says it. It's better, he says, to have a partner than go it alone, share the work, share the wealth. And if one falls down, come on, snowy day, come on, icy roads and sidewalks. If one falls down, the other helps. But if there's no one to help, tough. I've fallen and I can't get up, tough. Two in a bed, I like this, warm each other. Woo, yes sir. Alone, one can shiver all night. Two in a bed warm each other. Hey, that's another topic too. We're gonna get to that elephant in the room in another week. It says this, by yourself, you're unprotected.

I like this last part. But with a friend, you can face the worst. You got a friend that helps you face the worst? You know, I know, I don't even like you. I know sometimes you don't even like them, but aren't you thankful today for a friend that protects you, a friend that helps you face the worst? I'm just trying to help you see today that I don't even like you. And that I will actually keep you from experiencing all that God has for you. And the reason is simple, because God made you for relationships. And so if you find yourself constantly frustrated, constantly put out, constantly disgusted by the people in your life, the people surrounding you, the people even at the grocery store, the people in the traffic. If you are like, I am so over people, you are missing the very thing that God created you to experience. Now, in case you're still not convinced that God values the thing that you probably are avoiding, that God values relationships and people, even people you don't like, I wanna show you Jesus's own words. And these are probably the most challenging of all the words that we'll look at from the scriptures today. Jesus, I think, has a message for us

about the theology of relationships. When Jesus was asked, what's the most important commandment? What's the most important commandment? The Bible says this, that Jesus replied, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And we would expect Jesus to say that. That's what we would expect Jesus to say, but Jesus didn't end there. He said, and the second is like it, which I would say, hold up, Jesus, we didn't ask for the second. The question was, what's the most important commandment? But according to Jesus, the most important commandment is two commandments. This is what Jesus said, the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. Well, I don't even like my neighbor. That's a problem. According to Jesus, that's a problem. Because when Jesus was asked for the most important command, he couldn't give us just one. He gave us two, love God and love others. And according to Jesus, you really can't separate those two. Both are the most important commands, which would say to me, God prioritizes relationships, relationships with Him and relationships with others. Why?

Because God's priority are your relationships. And as I was really praying through this message, studying and preparing for the first message in our relationship series, I just really felt like the Lord said to me, this is why, this is why so many of us are missing out on God's best in our life, because we aren't prioritizing what God prioritizes. God's prioritizing for us today, our relationships. And we are supposed to do the same. We cannot forget the value that God places on people and the importance that he places on relationships. And honestly, this is how our whole church is designed. We are a relational church. Can I just help you understand that today? Our church is designed the way it is. We function the way we do because we are a church that prioritizes relationships. That's why for the last couple of weeks, and even today, we are bugging you to death to join a group. Everybody needs a group, and we believe it. You need one. You can join a group today. It's not too late, and I'll give you more information on that toward the end of our service, but you need to be in healthy relationship with other people in our church. You need a group. It's why when you attend the growth track in person on our campuses,

and I hope one of your New Year's resolutions is I'm gonna go to the growth track. I'm gonna complete the growth track. It's why when you come to the growth track on campus, you sit at a table and you share a meal with other people. Did you know that? At the end of the growth track, it's why one of our campus staff or our campus pastors will follow up with you and have a one-on-one conversation with you to get to know you and know your story and know what God's doing in your heart and in your life, know how we can help you and support you and your spiritual growth, because we're a relational church because God prioritizes relationships. It's why when your kids are in kid craze or 45, the environments that they attend on our campuses, it's why they sit in circles and not necessarily in rows. It's why they sit together with others because we are a relational church. It's why, listen, it's why when you come on campus, it's why our ushers actually ask you to sit together and not all alone by yourself. Have you ever thought about, that's an intentional choice. Do you know why? Because, well, because I don't think you were created to sit alone, because I think God created you to be in relationship.

It's why online we ask you, hey, don't just watch, but engage. It's why we keep saying, jump over in the chat. And I know for somebody my age, hey, if you're near my age, keeping up with the chat and the sermon, keeping up with the chat and the songs, that's really difficult. It's like, oh my goodness, the chat flies so fast. And it takes me a long time with these big fat thumbs to type anything in the chat if I'm watching on my phone, but we want you to not be alone. We're a relational church because we need each other. God made you for relationships. So what do we do about it? What do we do about it if we find ourselves, maybe in our marriage, maybe with our kids right now on a snow day, maybe with our parents, maybe with a friend or somebody at work, maybe with people all together, like I said earlier, what do we do about it if you've just decided, I don't even like you, I don't even like you, what do you do about it? Well, I wanna answer that question really with four practical next steps. And listen, this isn't meant to be an end all message. This is a introduction message. This isn't meant to solve all your relational issues. This is meant to help you start thinking

about the value God's given us in relationships. This isn't going to address all the messy stuff happening right now in your relationships. This isn't gonna uncover and expose all the elephants in the room. But I do believe this, if you'll apply what I'm teaching you today, these four practical next steps, God will use them in your relationships. And the amazing, remarkable thing is this, God will use them to change you in your relationships, to change your heart. So I wanna help you with that, to learn to not just like the people in your life, but to actually learn to love them like Jesus said. I wanna take away from our vocabulary, this little phrase, I don't even like you. So what do you do? What do you do? Well, the Bible actually tells us, I wanna show it to you, some of the most powerful words of all of scripture. I wanna give them to you today. And I believe, listen, if you'll take these words and apply them to your life, I believe the Bible will show you what to do with the elephant in the room called I don't even like you. I don't even like you. This is what the Bible says.

Look at it with me in Philippians chapter two. If you got a Bible, open it up. If you wanna follow along, come on. This would be a great passage of scripture to actually write down and begin to meditate on, more than just for the few moments that we're together today, but to study it together in your life. It's Philippians chapter two, verses five through eight. It'd be a great memory verse for this whole series. A great passage of scripture. where it says this, in your relationships with one another, now that's pretty important, the relationships you have with other people, I don't even like them, I know, I know, but in those relationships, this is what the Bible says we're to do, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. We could end the sermon right there, period, if we wanted to. Like the way we are to value relationships, prioritize relationships, and live in relationships with people, even people you don't even like, you have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. What was that mindset? Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage,

rather, he made himself nothing, by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, Jesus humbled himself, by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Wow, think about that. In the relationships of our lives, the Bible says, take on the mindset of Jesus. Now, what does that look like practically? I'm gonna give you these four ways, that I think you can have the mindset of Jesus, even if you've decided I don't even like you, I don't even like you, this will change your heart, it'll change your life, and I believe it'll change your relationships. Number one, four ways, leave from here and decide today, I'm gonna listen, instead of speak. I'm gonna listen, I'm gonna listen, just try it, just try it, understanding in relationship, is actually more important than being understood. Now, this is a message right now, I wish our entire nation could hear, it's important to listen,

more than we speak, and that's what Jesus did, it's so amazing to me, Jesus had so much to say, and yet so often what we see Jesus doing, is not saying anything, he's actually listening, in fact, I'll give you the numbers, just so you can process this, Jesus in the four gospels, was asked 307 questions, 307 questions asked, oh, I'm sorry, let me correct that, rewind, Jesus asked in the gospel 307 questions, he was asked 183 questions, now here's the part you need to know, of the 307 questions he asked, he wanted to get feedback from, he was asked 183 questions, he only answered eight questions, now I'm not really good with math, and you guys all know that, but I put those numbers into chat GPT, and this is what chat GPT told me, I think it's accurate, chat GPT said that means that Jesus was 40 more times likely to listen than he was to speak, what? 40 more times likely to listen than to speak, I think you should try it this week,

try listening more than you speak, number two, if you decide, I don't even like you, I don't even like you, here's what you do, number two, you decide, you first, instead of me first, you first, instead of me first, Jesus had every right to be first in everything, and yet the Bible says he humbled himself, and put others first, the Bible says he did not come to be served, but to serve, so I'm just challenging you this week, look for ways to say you first, hold the door, let somebody go in before you, let somebody go before you in the line at the Starbucks tomorrow morning, and you know it's gonna be busy, let somebody else do the dishes, no, I'm gonna do the dishes, without even being asked, I'm gonna take lunch to a coworker, I'm gonna do your chores, instead of making you do them, I'm gonna take a project on at work, that maybe isn't mine to take on, but it'll take the load off of somebody else, what are ways that you can say you first,

instead of me first, these are practical ways, to have the mindset of Jesus in your relationships, number three, I don't even like you, well, here's what you do, decide I'm gonna build up, instead of tear down, I'm gonna build up, your words matter, and can I tell you what Jesus was masterful at, Jesus would often speak to someone's potential, and not their reality. Can I ask you to start doing the same thing? Could I challenge you in your relationships? I don't even like you. That's okay. I guarantee you, even for people that you don't even like, you can find something good to say about them. You know how I know that? Because God created them. So why don't you start to use your words to build others up? By the way, your words, they give direction to your feelings. I don't know if you knew that. You might actually be surprised. You start to talk kindly about someone, your feelings about them might actually follow. The reason some of you don't even like your boss is because you've only ever told yourself

bad things about your boss. But if you start to use your words to say good things, your feelings will follow. I'm gonna build you up and not tear you down. Finally, number four, if there's an elephant in the relational room of your life, decide today, I'm gonna forgive instead of take offense. When you live with a I don't like you attitude, you know what you're doing? You're looking for ways. You're looking for reasons. You're looking for opportunities to be offended. I wanna ask you to change that today. Just decide, just decide. I'm not gonna be offended. I'm gonna forgive. That's what Jesus did. Jesus displayed love. Jesus displayed comfort. Jesus displayed his heart. Jesus forgave. And I wanna ask you to do the same thing. Just decide, I'm not gonna be offendable. You can't offend me today. You honk the horn at me today, guess what? I'm gonna take that honking of the horn as a sign. I'm gonna actually interpret it as have a good day. That's what I'm gonna interpret it as. My spouse is rude to me in the morning. I'm gonna just interpret that as a opportunity

to show more love and more grace. I'm not gonna be offended but I'm gonna forgive instead of take offense. And here's what it really boils down to. It really boils down to a prayer that I'm inviting you to pray with me, not just today, but every day. I'm challenging you this week. If you've got a relational room that has an elephant sitting in it, maybe it's there today. I don't even like you. Then really what these four things, listening and putting you first and building you up and forgiving you, what these four things are really all about is this. It's a prayer. I'm gonna teach you to pray it. Jesus, teach me to do for others what you did for me. Because this is how Jesus lived his life. Would you say that out loud with me, Jesus? Come on, say it with me. Teach me to do for others what you did for me. I think it's so powerful and imagine. Imagine if you learn to do for your spouse, for your boyfriend, for your girlfriend, for your boss, for your employees, for your parents, for your siblings, for your coworkers, for the stranger at the store or the neighbor next door, what if you learned to do for them

what Jesus did for you? Imagine the difference it would make. And maybe you're thinking, why in the world? Why would I do that, Pastor? I'll tell you why. Because relationships are God's priority. And so they must be ours too. For over 85 years, researchers at Harvard pursued a bold question. They wanted to know the answer, what makes a good life? In fact, the research began in 1938. The Harvard Study of Adult Development is what it's called. It began to investigate what makes people flourish. It is the longest, in-depth, longitudinal study on human life that's ever been conducted. And all these fancy, well-trained, distinguished psychologists and all these really, really smart Harvard data scientists have spent a lifetime digging in and doing research with what started as over 700 participants initially, and then they followed the descendants of those 700s because they just wanted to be able to tell all of us with scientific certainty, what makes a good life? What is it that makes people prosper? Now I'm gonna tell you what they discovered. After that study, that infamous study that has gone down in the history books straight from the science journal, here's what they discovered. Good relationships lead to health and happiness.

That's what the Harvard scientists have told us, that good relationships lead to health and happiness. I didn't need the Harvard study to tell me that. I didn't need some fancy Harvard scientists to put that down on paper. After 85 years of a study to teach me that, I just had to open up the Bible and understand the theology of relationships to know that God designed us to be in relationship with each other. He prioritizes relationships. If you want a good life, a life of happiness and health, you'll do what God created you for. You'll prioritize relationships. I don't even like you, it ain't working. It's not working. Why? Because we were made to be in relationship. We gotta get the elephant out of the room and be in relationship with God first and then with others. And I wanna pray that for you, for your family. I wanna pray for our kids, for our nation. Hey, I wanna pray for our church today. So would you bow your heads? Would you close your eyes right where you are? Just a few more moments left with our time together. And let's start with the most important of all relationships,

the relationship God made us to have with him. If you've never said yes to a relationship with God, today is your day. He loves you so much. He created you to know him and to be in relationship with him. And that's why he sent Jesus so that he, Jesus, could pay the price for your sin so that you could be made right with God in heaven. So if you've never said yes to a relationship with God, this is your moment. This is your time. This is your prayer. You can just say right from your heart. You can say, God, oh, I wanna know you. I wanna be made right with you. So forgive me of my sin. Jesus, come into my heart and my life. Be my Lord and my savior. God, thank you that when we pray out and call out to you, you listen and you save us. And I pray for many today who give their heart and life to you. And now I wanna lead all of us in this prayer, this prayer that says, Jesus, help me to do for others what you've done for me. Come on, would you just pray that? Maybe in your own way, with your own words, if you want to, but maybe even put somebody's name in the Bible in the box that, hey, I wanna do for my spouse, my friend,

my neighbor, my teacher, my coworker, I wanna do for them what you've done for me. I wanna love them like you love me. God, help us today to prioritize relationships. I pray that for our families today, that our families would be united in relationship. God, I thank you. I thank you in advance for the work you're gonna do in this series in our family's lives, in marriages. God, thank you for that. I pray today that that prayer would be lived out by Christians literally all over the world, that we would start to show the love of Jesus even to complete strangers, even to people we don't even like, but God, do something in our hearts and our lives to cause us to like them and love them the way you have loved us. God, we pray that for our nation, that our nation would be united because of the love you've given to us. You prioritize relationships, help us to do the same. I pray for our church today, that our church would be even more relational in all that you've called us to. We love you, Jesus. We worship you. We thank you for your word. We believe in that you're gonna use it to change our lives. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen, amen.

My goodness, I'm so glad that you've been here today to experience this online service with us. If you just prayed that first prayer with me to give your heart and life to Jesus, then jump over in the chat. There's a link. If you click on that link, it'll let you tell us your story. We wanna know, and we wanna, listen, we wanna send you a gift to help you continue to follow Jesus with all that you have, to know what it means to give him your heart and your life. And we wanna come alongside of you and encourage you in that. Follow the link over in the chat. Today is the first day, y'all. It's the first day of the month. We're right here in the beginning of the month. And one of the best ways, I think, to celebrate the beginning of the month is to bring your best gift back to God. We talk about giving around here as a way to generously give back to God for all that he's done for us. And there's a couple ways that you can give as a response to what God's doing in your heart and in your life. And you can, there's a little QR code you can scan. I'm told even at WEC Online, you can tap that QR code and it'll take you to an opportunity to give Tabitha and I for our entire married life.

And maybe we should do a whole topic in the elephant in the room on this. I don't know, but our entire married life. On the first of the month, we've always brought back what the Bible calls the tithe, it's the first 10%. The Bible calls that the tithe. And we've done that for our entire married life, to honor God with our first and our best. And I would encourage you today on the first to give your tithe, your first and your best, and watch and see as God honors the rest. I love that. You give your first and your best, God will honor the rest. I promise you today, based on the authority of God's word, that God will honor those who honor him. So I invite you to do that today using that little QR code. I told you earlier, it is groups season, and everybody needs a group, including you. We really believe in groups around here, because of what I just taught you today, that groups really are the way to live out the idea that God prioritizes relationships. You need some people in our church to meet with once a week, or every other week, or once a month, to grow in your faith, to be encouraged by, to be challenged by. So I'd love it if you'd join a group. Follow the link in the chat. Right now, groups are open. And what are you gonna do on a snowy day anyways?

Come on, just jump over there and start looking for a group to join. There's a whole bunch of them that I know you would enjoy being a part of. Let's get into a group. Finally, we got a prayer team waiting. They're on standby. They've been waiting for you all day. And if you just click the button at the bottom that says request prayer, or follow the link over in the chat, our prayer team's waiting to pray with you right now. So glad you've been here today. Hey, share this experience with others. Invite somebody to join you back next week, either online or on campus next week. We'll be together. I cannot wait. We love you. We're celebrating you. Thanks for making today a priority. Happy Sunday, everybody. We'll see you next time. We'll see you next time. Bye.