Your Best Year Has Nothing To Do With Better Circumstances

Well, welcome, welcome, welcome to church today, everybody. We're so thrilled, so thrilled that you've joined us. I hope you're safe. I hope you're all snuggled up and warm wherever you're joining us from today. And I'll tell you, it is this preacher's hardest decision when it comes to canceling in-person services. Oh my goodness, I love it when we can be together, but your safety, the safety of our staff and our volunteers made this a pretty easy decision today. And I'm so thankful that we can join together online, literally from all over the world today. And I say, welcome to the 21st day of 21 days of prayer and fasting. For those of you who have been with us on this journey, you made it. Come on, you made it, everybody. It's day 21. It's a special day and it's going to be an incredibly special service today. So let me encourage you, stay to the very end, all right? I know, I know you're going to have some distractions. I know your kids are going to be trying to get your attention. I know, I know the crock pot needs to be stirred with the soup in it right now. I know, I know. But stay with us till the very end because we're going to end our 21 day journey with a special time of worship and prayer at the end of this message. So don't go anywhere. Stay with me to the very end. And if you haven't done it already, jump over in the chat and tell us hello. Tell us where you're joining us from. Do it right now. We want to know. We want to know where you are. We want to know what's happening at your house today.

And look outside, tell us what the weather looks like today. Here it is real cold and as you can tell, real empty. But that's okay. It's going to be me and you for the next few moments. So why don't you get out your notebook, a place to take some notes, maybe open up the Water's Edge Church app, because today not only is day 21, it is the grand finale. The final message in our series that we're calling your best year, your best year. And I hope you're already having it. In fact, I believe this, I believe you're going to have it in 2026. And that's not just wishful thinking, and that's not just hopeful thoughts going in your direction. It really is a statement of our faith and our belief. It's going to be your best year. But let me remind you, your best year might look different than you thought. Your best year might not be filled with all the things that you dreamed your best year would be full of. Because remember, you can be blessed and still go through a trial. You can be blessed and still walk through a difficult season. You can be blessed and still get a bad doctor's report. You can be blessed and still break up. In fact, sometimes the breakup is in the blessing. Come on, somebody, right? That's the way it is for a lot of us that blessings come in the midst of challenging circumstances. And that's why today I want to teach you in this finale message about your best year. I want to teach you that your best year isn't about the circumstances, it's about the source. That your best year is not going to be about the circumstances of 2026, it's actually going to be about the source. Now, pastor, how do you know that? Well, I'll tell you how I know it, because for some of you, in 2025, you had the best

circumstances. Some of you, things moved last year in your favor. Some of you last year made more money than you've ever made. Some of you got a promotion last year. Some of you bought a 2025 model new car last year. Some of you took a fancy vacation. Some of you got engaged or maybe got married or celebrated a big anniversary milestone. Maybe you graduated last year. Maybe you made a new best friend last year. Maybe you bought a new house last year. Your circumstances last year were great. But if you were to be honest, you would say, my year wasn't. My year wasn't. I had good circumstances, but I still felt lonely. I had good circumstances, but I still felt empty. I had good circumstances, but I still struggled with an addiction. I had good circumstances, but I still felt anxious all the time or angry all the time or negative all the time. You had good circumstances in 2025, but not your best. Now, compare that to another group of people. A group of people, maybe this is your story. You had bad circumstances in 2025. You lost your job. Your company laid you off. You had a car accident and totaled the car. You went to the doctor only to hear the words cancer. Your spouse walked out on you in 2025. Your friendships were filled with relational tension. You had bad circumstances in 2025, and yet you felt peace.

You felt joy. You felt purpose. You served others and used your days to make a difference. Maybe you grew spiritually in 2025. Some of you were baptized in 2025. You shared your faith with a friend in 2025. You had bad circumstances in 2025, but you had a great year. Now, how is that possible? I'll tell you, because your best year won't ever be based on circumstances. Your best year is always about the source. And I wanna teach you that today so that you can truly have your best year in 2026. Here's what I want us to do. I want us to go to our theme scripture. And if you have enjoyed this theme scripture like I have, jump over in the chat. Give me one of those blue heart emojis. Those are our favorite, all right? Because blue's the color here at Water's Edge. So find one of those blue heart emojis. Put it over in the chat. If you have loved our theme scripture as much as I have loved it, it is a powerful scripture. In fact, I hate to leave it. Today's the last week we'll study it together. So I thought we'll do this from all over the world, wherever you're joining us from, from living rooms and kitchen tables. Maybe some of you ventured out to a coffee shop today.

Wherever you're joining us from, dorm rooms. I'd love it if all of us could lift our voice and read this scripture together. We'll put it up here on the big screen so everybody can see it together. In fact, if your kids are close by, pull them in. Let them read it along with us. Put, hey, put the cereal spoon down now. Come on, let's lean in. And I want you to read the scripture out loud with me. Here we go. Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever they do prospers. What a picture. What an awesome image of the blessed life. A picture of what it looks like to truly have your best year. May we be like that tree in 2026. In fact, today I wanna focus in with you in this final message today on the source of blessing. I wanna talk to you about the source of blessing. If you're gonna have your best year, it's gonna be a blessed year.

And for it to be a blessed year, I need you to know about the source of the blessing. I love the phrase in that scripture. I think it's such a beautiful word picture for us, the imagery that it paints for us, where it says that the blessed person is like a tree planted by streams of water. And of course you get this, right? That the streams of water provide the source of nourishment for the tree to be blessed. The tree isn't fruitful on its own. The tree isn't strong and resilient. It's not flourishing and prospering and blessed without the stream it's planted by. And the stream of water is the source of blessing. I love the water. If you were to say to me, pastor, where's your favorite place to be? I would tell you, put me by some water. Like I love the water. How about you? Jump over in the chat. Tell us where your favorite place is. For some of you, you love the mountains. You're mountain people. You like the fresh air. You like the scenic views. You like the uphill hikes. I'm not so much a mountain person. All right, maybe you're like, no, no, no.

I'm not a mountain person. I'm a city person. If you're a city person, put it over in the chat. You love the hustle and the bustle of the city. You like the sounds of the city. You like the crowds in the city. You like the smell of marijuana on the street corner I'm just kidding. You love the city, y'all. If you're a city person, put it over in the chat. Some of you are like, I don't know why you're making this so complicated, pastor. You're talking about water people and mountain people and city people. I'm a couch person. Maybe you're couch people, like put me on the couch, give me the remote control, wrap me up with a blanket, give me some popcorn to snack on, I'm a couch person. Where do you like to be? What's your favorite place to be? My favorite place to be is by streams of water. I'm a water, I'm a water person. So I love, I love that the Bible says a blessed person is like a tree planted by streams of water. Why don't we do this? Can we just go there together for a second? Maybe about 15 or 20 seconds. Can I take you to a stream of water? Would you just travel there with me for a moment, a stream of water?

We can all go there now. Oh my goodness. Oh, just enjoy it for a moment, a stream of water. How many of you are like, pastor, I gotta go to the bathroom now. How many of you, how many of you are like that, huh? Because streams of water, I think it's a beautiful picture that the psalmist gives us an image of a blessed life, one who is blessed and the imagery the psalmist chooses to use is this image of a tree planted by a stream, a tree finding its strength, finding its nourishment from a source called streams of water. And that tells me this, that the source really matters. Hey, can I just challenge you in 2026, can this be the year that we all stop looking for blessings from bad sources? You're expecting way too much from your relationships because your relationships are not the source of blessing. You're expecting way too much right now from your paycheck. Because as great as having a paycheck is, your paycheck is not the source of blessing. You're expecting way too much from social media because social media is not a source of blessings. You're expecting even way too much from yourself because even though you're awesome, even though you got great gifts and talents and skills and an amazing personality, even though you look all cute bundled up in your PJs

sitting there watching church with your family today, I can tell you, you're not the source of blessings. We gotta stop looking for blessings in all the wrong places. The Psalmist says, there is a source, a source of blessing, it's found in the streams of water. And yet so many of us, we are like the children of Israel whom God described like this through the prophet Jeremiah. God said, they have forsaken me, the spring of living water. God says, I'm a spring, a spring of living water. Jesus would later come on the scene and maybe you remember this story, his encounter with a Samaritan woman over in the New Testament. We call this story in the gospels, Jesus and the woman at the well. She's the woman at the well because she's thirsty and she's desperate. And she comes to a well, a source of water in the middle of the day and Jesus meets her there and Jesus exposes her real problem. Jesus says, hey, the reason you're so thirsty, the reason you're so desperate, the reason you're here at the well in the middle of the day is that you've been drinking water from all the wrong sources. And he points out that this woman has had many relationships and yet she's still empty. And then Jesus says this to her, look at it.

Jesus answered, everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them, Jesus says, will become in them a spring of water, welling up to eternal life. Jesus is saying, I'm the source, the source you've been looking for, the source for life, the source for nourishment, the source for blessing. It flows from me. We even see this imagery at the very beginning of time as we know it all the way back at a place called Eden, a place of divine perfection and ultimate blessing, a place where God dwelt with his creation. And even in that place, the Bible says a river watering the garden. In other words, nourishing the garden, the source for the garden. and a river flowed from Eden. Who was in Eden? Well, God was, God was. And so the point is that the water wasn't the source, but God was the source and the water flows from the source. I think that's the point the psalmist is trying to make. He's using this common language that's found all throughout the Bible, this imagery that paints a picture for us, that there is a source that bestows a blessing and the blessing flows from the source. The blessed life, listen,

your best year will begin with the source. And by the way, that same river flowing from Eden in the beginning of your Bible in Genesis chapter two, we find it flowing again at the end of your Bible in the book of Revelation. I wish y'all were in the room right now, because I'm sure some of you would be shouting and losing your mind when I read this next verse. It gets me so fired up. John gets a revelation of heaven and he writes this. He says, then the angel showed me, look at it, the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal flowing where? From the throne of God and of the Lamb. There is a river y'all that flows from the throne of God. I need you to see it. There's a source and the source is good. And the source gives life and the source brings blessings. It's not about the circumstances of your year. As much as I hope that your circumstances are great, it's about the source and whatever the tree needs, the source provides it. All I have needed, your hand has provided. God has everything you need for your best year. Everything. I didn't say God is gonna give you everything you want for your best year, because how many of you know some things in our life that we want that we don't need? It's day 21 of 21 days of prayer and fasting.

You know what I want right now? I want a little Debbie zebra cake. That's what I want. The two pack. Hello, that's what I want. Put it over the chat. If you've been fasting, what is it that you want today on day 21? What do you want? What do you want? Because here's the thing. Here's the thing. We have a lot of wants that we don't need. A lot of wants that we don't need, but the source provides everything the tree needs. And I'm just gonna be honest with you. Listen, lean in. I know we're not together in the room. I can't reach out and touch you, but if I could, I would, because I would take you by the hands and say to you, maybe that's the reason you're struggling so much to obey God and do what he says is that you're struggling to believe that the source really has everything you need. We just let that sink in. I've prayed for this sacred holy moment we're having together right now. I've prayed that the Holy Spirit of God would speak to your heart right now,

wherever you're joining us from, no matter what's happening in the background, doesn't matter the distractions that are happening, just listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to your life right now. Is there something in your life that you're holding onto because you're treating it like the source and you're afraid to give it up because you're afraid if you give it up that God won't have for you everything that you need. I heard about this couple in our church. I'm so proud of them, a young couple about to get married. And they decided as we stepped into these 21 days of prayer and fasting, they decided that they wanted to start their marriage off honoring God in the best way possible. And they sought the Lord. And both of them had struggled with addiction to vaping. And they decided during these 21 days of prayer and fasting that they would give up their vape, believing that God would meet every need they have. And I believe today on day 21, that they'll discover God is the one who meets every need. And I'm praying in Jesus name that that addiction is broken off of their life, that they are set free from it and that God meets every need because he's the source, not the vape, not the vape. Hey, this is why some of us struggle

with the idea of tithing. We talk about that often in our church, growing in our generosity and trusting God with the first fruits, the first 10% of what God has given us, that's called a tithe. And some of us, we don't tithe because we don't really believe that God could make it up to us, that God would meet every need we have. Some of us, we don't volunteer. on a team, because we think this, we think we're too busy. So we have too much to do. And we're not sure if we gave God an hour or two a week on one of our Water's Edge Church teams that God could fill that and come back alongside and meet us at our point of busyness in our life. We don't trust the source. We don't trust the source. I'll give you a little silly example about myself since I'm kind of picking on you. I'll pick on me for a moment. At the start of these 21 days, I told you, I gave up my love, my passion for Diet Coke. In fact, I'll just confess this to you. I had developed this need before preaching to crack open a cold Diet Coke and drink about half of it before each service. I love it. Oh my goodness.

Some of y'all are judging me right now, but there ain't nothing in the world like that little taste of aspartame on the tip of your tongue on a cold Diet Coke. I'm telling you, it's awesome. And so I found myself feeling like I needed that Diet Coke before I preached. And then sometimes I'll do some teaching for our staff or videos or something else during the week. And I found myself every time I got up to speak, feeling this need, like, oh man, I need to go to that Diet Coke. I need a hit of that Diet Coke. That's what it became for me. And I started to feel very convicted about it. In fact, the reason I gave it up at the start of these 21 days of prayer and fasting is I felt like the Lord was saying to my heart, you're relying on that Diet Coke more than you're relying on my Holy Spirit. You're relying on that Diet Coke to be your source. And I'm your source. And today's day 21, and I'm preaching this sermon, and your boy ain't had no Diet Coke. And I think I'm doing all right. Because you know why? Because there's a source that's greater than the caffeine. There's a source called the Holy Spirit that fills us up. And he's a source of our blessing. If you would just learn to lean in to the source.

I'm saying today, there's a source that can meet all your needs. The Bible says it like this. I love this. The streams of God are filled with water. That means there is no shortage in the streams of God. There's no lack. There's no short supply. There's no drought, no scarcity, no deficiency, no inadequacy. There's no need, no want, no absence, no emptiness. There's a river flowing and it is full, and it has everything you need. You can trust him. You can trust him. There's a source, a blessing that will make this your best year. You don't have to worry about the source. Years ago, I bought my first boat. I've told some of you this story before. It's pretty funny. I knew about boating because Tabitha's parents had a boat. And it was a boat on a lake a couple of hours away. And we enjoyed using that boat on the lake. But I wanted a boat here where we live for the river. And so I bought my first boat, and I was so excited about the maiden voyage on this boat. It got the kids all loaded up and a few friends. And we went to the boat ramp and backed the trailer in and put the boat in the water.

It's gonna be our first ride in the boat on the river. And y'all, can I tell you, I'm a little embarrassed to say it, but within the first five minutes of that boat ride, and this is no exaggeration, the first five minutes, I hadn't even been on the water, y'all, for five minutes, and I ran that boat aground. That's true. I sure did. I sure did. And that was the day I discovered that boating on the river and boating on the lake are very different. Now, some of y'all don't know what I mean by that, but on the river, you gotta worry about tides. On the river, you gotta worry about channels. On the river, you gotta worry about sandbars. You got a lot to worry about on the river, but not in the river of God. Listen to me. God's river is full all the time. God's river is flowing all the time. God's river is safe for you to jump in all the time. God's river's got everything you need for your life all the time. In fact, I'll say it like this. You don't have to worry about the river, but you do have to stay close and connected to it. The stream of God, that's not your responsibility,

but staying close and connected to it is. And honestly, that's really how I wanna end the sermon because as good and faithful and abundant and trustworthy as the source is, listen to me, you'll only ever have your best year if you stay close. close and connected to it. I love the specificity the psalmist used. Look at it again. He says the blessed person is like a tree planted where? By streams of water. By streams of water. That little preposition tells me this, that you gotta stay close by and connected to the source if you're gonna be blessed this year. You can't be some tree planted off in the distance. You can't be a tree over here doing your own thing while the stream's over there running freely. You can't be far off from the stream. You gotta be a tree planted by the stream, close by the stream, connected to the stream. Close and connected. May those words settle in your heart today. Put them over in the chat if you're tracking with me today. Write them in there. Close and connected. I wanna be close and connected. The same imagery of this tree by a stream is used by the prophet Jeremiah. We looked at this verse together last week.

The Bible says this, but blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted where? By the water that sends out its roots where? By the stream. It does not fear when heat comes. His leaves are always green. It has no worries. If you're sitting with somebody today, look at them and say, no worries, no worries. If you're sitting with some kids, say hakuna matata. No worries. In a year of drought, it never fails to bear fruit. Why? Because it's close and it's connected to the source. And I wonder today, what would 2026 look like if you joined me and just made the decision, God, this is the year. This is the year I'm gonna get closer to you in every area of my life. Every area of my life. God, this is the year. What if that was the filter you use for every decision, for every reaction or action, for every purchase, for every thought, for every amount of time you invest, for every word you speak. What if the filter was this? Am I getting closer to the stream or further away from it?

Because the blessings in the stream. And if I know the blessings in the stream because the stream flows from the source, what if I just decided that I'm gonna make every choice this year using the filter that I wanna be close to the stream, not far away from it. I just so want our church to start this year with a hunger for God, a desire to be closer. I wanna be near God to you. I wanna be holy. God, like you're holy. I wanna have fruit in my life. Like we talked about last week, the fruit of the spirit. I wanna have it developed in my life. I wanna be in the flow of the river that comes from the source because that's where the blessing is. So I don't wanna do anything that would take me further away from the stream. I wanna be close, planted, not far away. I wanna be connected. I love the imagery, the imagery that Jeremiah uses of the roots. They're being sent out, connected to the source. I want my roots to stay connected, the roots of my life to stay connected to God. If this is gonna be your best year yet, you've gotta be intentional. Like that tree being planted is intentional. You gotta be intentional to stay close to God,

to have roots that are connected to him. In fact, I love the scripture. I believe it's a promise for your life and mine today. The Bible says this, come near to God and he'll come near to you. Come near to him and he'll come near to you. And that's the key for your best year. Pastor, how do I have my best year? Simple, come near to God. Remember where we started this series four weeks ago, our first Sunday in church together to kick off 2026. And I said, it'll be your best year if you make it your best year spiritually. And I still believe it. It'll be your best year if you come near to God, because the moment you come near to him, listen to me, he's coming near to you. Ooh, that's happening right now. That's happening right now, literally all over the world. As you lean in to the voice of the Holy Spirit drawing you to himself, you come near to him. He's coming near to you, and His nearness overrides any trouble. His nearness is better than any material blessing. His nearness right now brings a peace that passes all understanding. His nearness is what makes it your best year. It's not about your circumstances, friends. It's about the source. Now, I know today there are a bunch of you

who maybe are new to church or new to faith. There are a bunch of you today who, because you were at home on a Sunday, started clicking along, and God set up a miraculous set of circumstances to have you log in to listen to this message and to engage in this experience. And something's happened in these last few moments where you hadn't been able to click off. You hadn't been able to pay attention to anything else. It's the Holy Spirit, He has your attention now. And for all of us, we're probably wondering, well, how, how do I come near? How do I stay close and connected in 2026? If you're asking that question today, I wanna answer it. I wanna give you seven ways. Seven, don't worry, don't worry. We're gonna go through them real fast, okay? Seven, seven ways in 2026 that you can be close and connected. And by the way, these aren't all the ways, and this isn't a spiritual checklist. This isn't a list where you start checking off the boxes and say, well, I did that, so God, you gotta bless me. That's not how it works. This is a relationship with God. So there are no check boxes, but there are ways that the Bible tells us we come near to Him, that we stay close and connected with Him.

And I wanna give you those seven ways, because listen, just like the tree is intentionally planted by the streams of water, you gotta start living your life this year. Intentional, trying to be connected. Seven ways to do it. Let me give them to you if you wanna be close and connected. Write them down and consider them for your life, because I bet God wants to use one of these to speak to your heart today. Here's the first one, worship. Worship connects me to God's presence. The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people. What we did a few moments ago when we lifted our voices and worshiped, oh, I hope you didn't just watch. I hope you engaged. I hope you lifted your hands in worship because God's worthy of it. Whether you're in a room with people worshiping around you or whether you're watching on a little tiny device called an iPhone, it doesn't matter. Did you worship? Because He's worthy of your worship. It's how we draw close to God. Here's a second way. You want this to be your best year? Use your gifts in service to Him and to others. When we serve God, we draw close to Him.

I'll tell you why, because God has uniquely gifted you. He's given you skills, talents, abilities. He's given you a spiritual gift. We'll help you discover that spiritual gift in the growth track. I hope you'll do the growth track in 2026 so you can discover your gift and use it to serve others because it's how you stay close and connected. Maybe you've never thought about this one, number three, but evangelism, which is just a fancy term that means sharing your faith, telling others about Jesus, it's a great way to stay connected and close to Jesus. You're like, how does that work? Why does that connect me more to Jesus? I'll tell you why, because the number one thing on the heart and mind of Jesus today are His lost kids. Yeah, people that don't know Jesus is the number one thing He's thinking about. It's always His number one, people far from Him. So if you wanna get close to His heart, then reach those who are far from Him because they're number one on His heart. I'll give you a few more ways. Giving is a way to stay close and connected. And I'm not saying that today because we need more of your money. I'm telling you, you are an incredibly generous church. If you're just jumping on and you're like, hey, what's this Water's Edge Church about? I'll tell you something, you are dialed in right now

with a whole bunch of people who are incredibly generous. And it's how we stay close and connected to God because it connects us to who God is. You know who God is? God is love and God is a giver. The Bible says, for God so loved the world that He gave. So when you love others and give, you're connected to the very heart of who God is. Few more, if you want this to be your best year, stay close and connected by prioritizing the Word because the Word, the Bible connects us and keeps us close to God. We're a church that stands on the Word of God. It's a light for our path. It's a lamp for our feet. And we need it. We need it every Sunday. We need it every day. So stay connected to the Word. Two more. Groups. is keep you close and connected. If you want 2026 to be your best year, you better get a group. I'm telling you, it might actually be the number one factor that determines how close and connected you stay to the source this year is the group you surround yourself with. We say it like this, everybody needs a group. You weren't meant to do life alone.

You need to get out of a row and into a circle. You need to get out of your house and out of your people and your family and get around some other people once a week or once a month. And you need to be challenged to stay close and connected. By the way, group season kicks off today. Today, you can join a group. Here's the last one. It's so special to us on this weekend. And that is that prayer keeps you close and connected. This is prayer and worship weekend. We gathered together as a church on Friday night and Saturday morning, we prayed, we worshiped. We're gathering today online all over the world to pray and to worship because you'll never taste the water if you don't spend time talking to the source. So I wanna challenge you to get in proximity to the stream by prayer. Prayer, it's one of the most powerful ways to connect and be close to God. Talk to God and listen to his voice and do it all day, every day. Being constant communication with the creator. In fact, today, I told you we're gonna end our service in a very special way as we wrap up our 21 days, as we bring your best year series to a grand finale as we conclude our prayer and worship weekend. We're gonna end this service with a song of worship and a time of prayer.

And here's what I wanna invite you to do. Watching from home, wherever you are around the globe today, I wanna invite you to focus in on these final few moments to not be distracted by the things that are happening around you, but allow this song that we're about to sing to really, truly minister to you. In fact, I'd love you to get out that notes page or if you're a person who keeps a journal, maybe grab your journal. And I'd love while we worship together, which was number one from that list, I would love if you would do number seven from that list as well, and that is pray. Would you pray while we worship? Would you seek the Lord? Would you ask him a question like this? God, what are you saying to me? Would you say something to him like this? God, I wanna stay close to you, the source. Show me how. And then listen for his voice, listen. And while we worship, don't just watch, but pray. You can worship along right there from home as well. And then we have a special opportunity for you during this next song. We would love to pray with you and pray for you. So maybe as you step into 2026, maybe there's a need you're facing. Maybe there's a fear.

Maybe there's some anxiety. Maybe there's a sickness. Maybe there's, maybe you just feel spiritually far from God and you wanna be close to him and you would love somebody to pray with you. We're a church that comes alongside, puts our arms around you and helps to bear the burden, helps to carry the load. We wanna pray for you during this season of your life. So all you have to do during this next song, if you'd like somebody to pray for you, if you're at WEC online, just click the button asking for prayer. And if you're watching on YouTube, just jump over there in the chat and follow the link. We would be honored to pray with you and for you during this next song. And can I just tell you whether you click the button or go follow the link, can I just tell you this, that as we sing this song together, I want you to know, I love you and I'm praying for you. And my greatest prayer isn't about the circumstances that you're facing in 2026. My greatest prayer for you is that you would stay close and connected to the source. Would you do this? Would you bow your heads and close your eyes? The service is almost over, but stay with us now to the very end.

Would you engage in this moment of prayer with us? Open your heart to the Holy Spirit to move in your life. Worship with us. Come close to the source with me. And the first prayer I'd like to. I pray is for any of you who do not currently have a relationship with Jesus. He loves you so much. He has a plan for your life. He is the source of blessing for your life. And he offers to you today a free gift called salvation. And all you have to do is call out to him and believe in him. And he'll save you today. He'll connect you with God the Father. He'll forgive you of your sin. He'll give you a life and meaning and purpose like you've never had before. I'd like to lead you first in that prayer. And then I'll lead all of us in a prayer coming close to Jesus today, the source. God, today I ask for every person giving their heart and life to you. And if that's you today, pray a prayer like this from your heart and really mean it. Say, Jesus, I wanna know you. I want my sin forgiven by you. And I wanna live my life for you. So come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Pray that and really mean it.

Be my Lord and Savior. God, thank you that you're saving people, literally all over the world today. You're saving people who call upon you. You're transforming their lives. Thank you for new life found in Jesus. And now for all of us, would you just pray? Maybe use your own words to say, God, I wanna be close to you this year. I wanna come close. I wanna be connected to you. God, I pray that for every person joining us today, would you help us all to take a step towards you, to be planted in the rich fertile soil close to the stream that connects us to the source, the source of blessing that'll make this our best year. We take these moments now, we worship you, we talk to you and we listen for your voice. God, we wanna experience you. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh

♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh