DEC 30 2018 | Joy to the World S1E4 | Finding Joy in 2019

Sea Change Church · Joy to the World · "Finding Joy in 2019" Pastor Adam Stadtmiller · December 30, 2018
Automated transcript. Not reviewed for accuracy.

Good morning, church. There you are. Here I am. Hi, I'm Kimberly Davis. I work with the Women's Ministry here, and I want to invite all women of all generations to join us Tuesdays. We have a 9.30 study and a 5 o'clock study in the evening now. Praise the Lord. So we hope you'll join us this spring, this winter and spring. If you want sound Bible teaching and fellowship and accountability and support and lots of love and great fun, please come join us.

The scripture this morning is from the book of James, chapter 1, verses 1 through 4. James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 12 tribes who are dispersed abroad, greetings. Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

The word of the Lord. Thank you, Kimberly. Kimberly is going to be leading a trip to Israel that our church is taking, and I believe I'm going, and another staff member or two, perhaps. And we are going in May, and you will be getting information about that. If you want to go to the Holy Land with us, we are going with one of our missions partners that is in Israel. And we are not leading the trip, we are joining the trip, but it's going to be a lot of fun.

So that's going to be one of our adventures this year as we take a soul's adventure. And that is something that one of the themes of the year is adventure, and soul's adventure. We're not into adventurism, looking for the next high, but we're looking for living, like I said on Christmas Eve, from your soul. And what does it look like to live, not from your feelings, or your emotions, or your flesh, there's a lot of things, or even our own mind, that can control where we live from.

But living from our soul, and this is one of the things that the Bible speaks about regularly, is how to have a soul-based life. A spirit-based life. The scripture in Christ is about saving what? Souls. He renews your mind, he does all these things, he crucified the flesh, but it's your soul that is saved. And we want to live from a place of the soul. So we're going to talk about that in the new year, and we want to take an adventure.

I want to encourage and basically do my best to give tools as a staff to help you run with the pack. And the pack is us. We want to work together as a team to harvest other people's hope and their joy, to be with them in their disappointments and their struggles. And so this is coming up, and we're super excited about it. But right now, I'm finishing a series on joy. I've said over and over again for five weeks that I believe that joy is the most endangered emotion in the world.

If you look in the newspaper, you see rage. You see the word rage used often. We see anger. We see some happiness. There's a fair amount of happiness, and I have contended through this entire series that you can buy a six-pack of happiness. But joy is a component that comes from the soul that the scripture is clear that you cannot create. You can just set the table for, but it is bestowed upon you, and it is bestowed to your heart and your soul.

So the scripture does it. It speaks about your mouth speaking of joy and different joy manifestations. But the dwelling place of joy is your heart and your soul. And the scripture, in a synonymous parallelism in the Old Testament, uses the heart and the soul combined. We're talking about how to live from a place of your soul and a place of overwhelming joy. And so I guess one of the questions I would ask is, without, you know, just more rhetorically, without an answer for coming back, but who do you know that is truly joyful?

Do you know someone that when you see them, they walk into a room, and they light up the room from a deeper place? And the question is, are you that person most of the time? Is that the person that you want to be or strive to be? And when we look at the scripture, we see that there is this component of joy that is meant to be effervescent, that is meant to be overwhelming, that bubbles up in the midst of even difficult times.

And we see that hope is oftentimes the long road that joy travels upon before it reaches its destination. And so we want to have a church, we want to have a group of people who live from their souls. And one of the things I think that kills joy these days is this Western search for purpose and place in the world. There's a book called Man's Search for Meaning. And if you read it, it was written in the 1970s from a Holocaust survivor who spoke about the ability to have meaning.

And how do you find meaning when you are a prisoner in a death camp? And is it possible to find meaning in this place? And is meaning something deeper than just where you find yourself? I said, if you look into your notes, here it says, few things sell like discontent. I've been very aware recently, especially in the Western Christian world, and as the new Christian books come out. Usually I'll read older books and I read new books, but there are a lot of new books.

And about 10 years ago, a wave of books came out that were very encouraging to the church. But if you go through, and I don't want to mention what they are, but if you go through and you begin to read the reviews, what I found is that I read the books is that they were very parental. They were telling you what you should do and how you haven't measured up. And there was a sense of there's this great purpose and you're not doing it, and you need to get your act together.

And some of the reviews, even as I went through yesterday, and looked at some of the Christian bestsellers of the day of 10 years ago, there was words like butt kicking. You know, there's this idea that if you really need to get motivated, you read this. And as I went and read these books and I looked through them, I realized that there was a very heavy-handed homage or a nod to, you are not where you need to be. If you get your act together, and perhaps through this formula, or you begin, we use words like live on mission, or these different things.

If you can get these things implemented in your life, if you can get these in place, then you will have the peace. Then you will have the fulfillment. Then you will have the peace. Then you will have the joy. One of the most modern words we have these days is purpose. And that oftentimes speaks to this need within us to have to feel like we are doing something meaningful. And so this book, Man's Search for Meaning, speaks about this.

And it was very interesting to me as I read through it. But I began to realize how susceptible we are to buy things that market upon our discontent. I believe that you can monetize discontent. And here's, if you look in the notes, I put much of today's secular, secular for sure, and Christian culture is based on monetizing your discontent. You are not what you need to be yet. You haven't quite reached it. You should be.

I say, and I don't want to use hyperbole, 40%, I'd say 40% of the conversations where people come to me and they want to speak about faith with me, which happens a lot, two to three people, you know, ping me a week. I would say 40% of those conversations have to do about what is my life about? Can I find purpose? What should I be doing? I'm not measuring up. I had one this week and somebody said, I want to be a better Christian.

I'm not a good enough Christian. If you read the scripture, the scripture is clear that you can't be a good Christian. There is no one good, not even one. And all of our righteousness, all of our worth, all of our holiness, everything comes in Christ. That's the scripture. There is nothing you can do. Now, if you read the book of James, and I'm in the book of James, this doesn't mean that we are now released from having to live in love, to live in good works, and to do these things.

But the, I think the golden carrot that is put out in front of you, that if you can just get to this place where you feel like, I am doing something meaningful in the world. I am in the center of God's will, which is a word, a word that I often, that I personally can't find in scripture, because I believe that once you are in God, there is no center to God's eternal love for you. And that no matter what you do, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, and you don't have to find a specific purpose in order to give you all the things that Christ promises you for free.

And so I have, over and over again, I would say probably one of my core messages, one of my core messages as a pastor, is to release people from the burden of feeling that they have to be something more than they are. But at the same time, be able to challenge them to be all that Christ has called us scripturally to be. And one of the best ways to do that is as a group and together in community. You know, Shakespeare says this, and I love this quote, I found it this week.

It says, My crown is in my heart, not my head. Not decked with diamonds and Indian stones, nor to be seen. My crown is called content. A crown that seldom kings enjoy. Contentment. Contentment. I would say contentment is another commodity that is very difficult to find in a world that continues to monetize discontent. To monetize that you don't have what you need. You aren't where you should be. You are not measuring up.

You are looking at something else. To be, or to feel this sense of worth. This is what the scripture promises. That Christ says that I love you as you are. Why? Because you're you, because I created you. And I want to be in deep relationship with you. As somebody said to me this week, I don't feel like I'm a good enough Christian. I need to do more to be a better Christian. I should. And I said, stop. Let's not use the word should.

I said, one thing we want to do is build a more intimate relationship with Jesus. I said, if the goal of your life is to know that you are a beloved daughter or son of God, the entirety of your life is put to the purpose of knowing how much God accepts you. In a Romans 8 type of understanding. That there is nothing that can separate you from the love of God. You are okay the way that you are. But hey, let's go do some amazing things together.

But you are perfect the way you are. Because when God sees you, God the Father sees you in Christ. He sees you through the filter of Christ. So when God sees you, the Father, he looks at you. But Christ stands in the way. As a translucent filter. That when God sees you, he sees everything that Christ is if you are in Christ. And there's nothing you can do to add to that picture. There is no place, no purpose, no thing that will give you those things that Christ promises.

And so one of the goals that I am trying to put forth. Or one of the, I would say plans. It's not really a goal for me. But it's a plan. Is to build contentment into my life. To want less. And if you want to have more joy in your life, want less. One of the best. I mean, this is so practical. And really, we want to be pragmatic and practical in our faith here. I think one of my goals is to be the most pragmatic or practical churches in the world.

That you walk out of here and on Thursday, on Saturday of next week, you are still harvesting from things that you have gotten from this corner. From these messages. And one of the ways that will increase joy in your life. And it's very simple. Decrease your wants. I have to say. Your want list is completely up to you. No one is in charge of your want list other than you. You are in charge of your want list. What do you want?

It's funny. I'll tell you what I want. I'll tell you one of the things I want. It's true. How much do you want them, I guess? I want just a couple acres. Not far from the ocean. So I can ride my horse with a surfboard on. I don't know how I'm going to get the surfboard on the horse. But there will be. I've looked at San Luis Obispo. Too expensive. Alevian Hayen. Too expensive. I don't know where it's going to be. But the water is always going to be way too cold if I get there.

But nonetheless, I want a little farm. I want alpaca. I want some alpaca. So my wife, because she harvests the alpaca wool. And she spins it and all those crafty things that she does. I want a few goats. I wouldn't mind a baby pig. White farmhouse. Open floor plan, right? Farm, kitchen, sink. Far away from people. No internet access. Yes. You know, just so I can go escape and be in this perfect world. It was so interesting because I went online and I was looking at Instagram of this celebrity.

And he's one of the people in the Infinity Wars. And there's about 12 million people in there, so you probably won't find it. And he's in there and he actually has what I want. He has my thing. He's on a farm and he's got a little baby goat with him and the whole thing. And I don't know if he's next to the ocean, but I'm like, man, I really want that, you know. But then I began to go a little deeper and see some of the things that are happening, circling.

And I thought, you know what? You can have everything you want, but it doesn't mean your life's going to go great. And I began to tell myself, you know, I just need to back off on my wants. And so if you want to have more joy in your life, if you want to have more contentment, I want to encourage you to decrease your wants. Contentment is, it's interesting, as I've been seeking contentment for two years now, contentment is a very different fuel than adrenaline.

And if you are an adrenaline junkie, and I was definitely an adrenaline junkie, to slow down and to not look for the next high. And this is why I want to talk about a soul's adventure, which is not adventurism. Which is not the next jump out of a plane, but hey, if you want to jump out of a plane, go do it. Like, go have fun. Like, surf big waves, ride an alpaca, I don't know, whatever you want to do. Like, go do it.

But we're not about adventurism. And as I have sought contentment, I have found that it slows you down and burns a fuel for your life that is so different, but less exciting. I have to say, contentment is not exciting. But it's what all of us want, right? Like, doesn't everyone want to be content? Contentment. But ultimately, when you have contentment, I have had some moments. Let's not say complete, but I've had, actually, I'm getting to the point where I have seasons now.

Like, multiple days. Let's just say I've strung it out to multiple days. Of contentment. And in the midst of it, I just get antsy. I don't know about you, if you've ever had contentment, but it's just like there's this deeper peace, and it's slow, and it doesn't have that same urge to move to the next thing. And I want to say I'm trying to learn how to live in contentment. What I find is contentment doesn't oftentimes feel like purpose.

When you're jumping out of a plane, or you're doing something big, or the next project, you feel like you have meaning. What I am trying to do, personally, is to be at a place where no one is applauding what I'm doing, where I haven't climbed the next mountain, where I can sit in Christ. Not be stagnant, but sit in Christ, and find that I feel just as satisfied as when I'm having to paint that next canvas, or whatever that is in life.

That is what Christ calls us to, and to have that inner soul's life and journey. When James speaks about it, and I use James on purpose, because James talks about having this ability to live in joy, to live from a place of peace and contentment, but also to be able to do stuff. So not to be stagnant. And what I'm not saying is be stagnant. We have to live an adventurous life caring for other people. But he gives a culturally defiant rallying cry.

To those that would choose joy over a manifested purpose. And I believe that's what many of us in the Christian culture are being called to do. Figure out what God wants you to do. If you can just figure it out. God has this little secret. It's called your purpose. And he's going to hide it from you. And you've got to go look around like you're playing hide and seek with God. But once you figure it out, you are going to be so blessed.

You are going to feel so peaceful. You are going to feel like you have so much worth in your life. I've got to say, the Bible promises all of that without finding that magical thing. Read the Bible. Simple. So James comes across counter-culturally here. And he says, even in the midst of really difficult times, really hard times, where you are struggling, where life is bad, consider it joy. I mean, who says that? It's such a foolish thing to say.

You're not going to fill arenas saying that message. But he says three things here. He gives a culturally defined rallying cry to those who would choose joy over a manifested purpose. And what I mean by that is you seeking to find that thing that gives you worth. And only you will know if you don't feel worth in your heart. And only you will know if you keep asking this question, what is the next thing? What is my life all about?

What am I supposed to do? Should I turn right? Should I turn left? When the scripture says, all things work together for good for those that love God and are called according to his purpose. Or you read in Psalm 16 or Proverbs 16 where it says, man makes his plans, but God determines his steps. That no matter what you plan, God is going to determine the course of your life. That he is the great, I would say, puppet master, for lack of a better word, in the sky.

Who can masterfully craft your life to where it's supposed to go. That even if you make the wrong decision over and over again with a pure heart before God, God can take you to the place that you're supposed to be. I'm always concerned, what if I choose the wrong purpose? What if I find this purpose and I'm in it? And then 20 years down the road I think that was the wrong purpose. Whoops. Have you ever known anybody that's done that?

That terrifies me. What I'd rather do is just sit before God every day in deep relationships. And so James speaks about three things here that talks about how to have joy when perhaps things aren't going your way. And then going into the new year, I want to look at these three things. And the first is this, exist where you are. We saw that in a quote from Walt Whitman last week during Christmas Eve. Walt Whitman says when he's asking in one of his poems, what is life all about?

One of the things he says, to exist, to be where you are, to have identity, to just exist. When was the last time you just existed in the moment and tried to feel deeply in the moment? How much of the time are you thinking about what I should be, what's next, what do I want, what don't I have, what mistakes have I made? You've heard the quote that we oftentimes crucify ourselves between fear of the future and regret of the past.

How do you live in a moment? Like even now as you're sitting in the pew, you're sitting here, how do you live fully, vivaciously from your soul in this moment? Not thinking about the Charger game starts at 125. Well, you don't watch Chargers anymore, but nonetheless. Exist where you are is the first thing. The second is change your perception. Perception. Perception really is up to you. You are the only one, like your contentment list or your want list, that you can change that.

You can also change your perception. What does this all mean? He is saying, consider it joy. When many trials come, when bad things happen, consider it joy. That's a perception issue. And I say, when things come to you, what do you immediately do with them? Winston Churchill said in a quote, I'm reading the book, Walk with Destiny, I believe is the title of it right now. It's phenomenal. And he says, when things are the most challenging and most difficult, I become the most optimistic.

That's just a perception. The harder things get. Queen Victoria said, when things are at their worst, I become my best and the most calm. No, it's the petty things in life that really get to me. I just say, when something comes to you, you are the keeper of your perception. No one keeps your perception for you. What does this mean? Is this an opportunity? James and Jesus and the scripture says that every challenge is an opportunity.

And every challenge has the ability to become glory. Change your perception and three is endure. We'll get into these three. We'll come in for a landing. First, in verse one, we want to dig into this scripture. I love how James sees himself. James was well known in the church. James had a position. If he would have walked into a Christian meeting place, heads might have turned. There were people who were trying to create a star culture.

Paul speaks about this. He says, you know, it's not about me. It's not about Apollos. There's always been a desire by people to uplift other people for one reason or another. And James doesn't want to do anything to exist outside of an identity that sees himself as a servant. I want to say, if you start from the base place of your perception of yourself, and not a negative place, like I'm lowly, I'm no good, I'm not worthwhile.

But I am a servant of Christ. And knowing that you are a servant of the master, knowing that you are a servant of a father who loves you, you will begin to see life with a different perspective. The idea that I should be, I should have been, if I wouldn't have, begins from this place that you don't measure up. James takes it right back to where you start from. You know, one of the things I've always said, and I say to the staff all the time, that, you know, if, you know, I kind of just see pastors as, you know, janitors that preach.

You know, I've always said, if you can't clean the toilets, you know, you shouldn't be up preaching. It's like, I just feel like we're here to serve the church and celebrity culture within the church. Few things bother me as much as celebrity culture in the church. Celebrity culture in general. He says that in verse 1, James, a bondservant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. I mean, look, if you're going to be a servant of anyone, I was reading the Proverbs this week, and it says, a servant that is well-loved will eventually become a son.

I think is how the proverb goes. If you are going to be a servant of anybody, don't you want to be a servant of God the Father and Jesus? And to see yourself as a servant? You know, it's, I love, I listen to Dave Ramsey. We have financial peace here, and people always ask him, Dave, how you doing? What does he say? Better than I deserve. I just love that perspective. It's not like, hey, you know, I'm just lowly nothing.

I'm not saying we go to that place. That is too easy to build that narrative in your head, right? The negative narrative. But to say, I'm a bondservant of Christ, a God the Father, I'm a child of God. To get up every day and say, I'm a child of God. But your starting place, your perception of who you are matters. And I guess what I would say is one of the tools, and here's just a simple, easy, practical tool, is every day, and a friend told me this, and I did it for a long period, I'm not doing it currently now.

But he says, every day I get out of my bed, I get on my knees, and the first thing I say is, I am a beloved child of God. And he starts his day from that base place. What a great place to start. And so I guess the first thing is exist where you are. He's saying, I'm just a servant, but I'm going to exist where I am. To live from that place. Not looking for the next place of purpose, the next place of meaning, but to exist where you are.

You know, there's a thing in surfing, it's called, it's called mind surfing. I don't know if you know what it is, but if you're a surfer, whenever you're on the beach, see the key when you surf, is you want to be on the face of the wave, right? Like you don't want to be in the whitewash, or in the tube. But you don't want to be in the whitewash really, because there's a lot of chaos there, and you get knocked off your board.

You want to be on the smooth part, the face. The problem is, with waves that aren't very good, they break in front of each other, and the whitewash, the whitewater breaks in front of you, and you can't get around it. And so that's called a section. And you don't want to surf places that section a lot. You want to surf places that have a long face, that you can ride it for like, you know, 30 seconds, a minute, and just, you know, express your creativity right there on the face of the wave.

Well, one of the things in mind surfing is when you're on the beach, you kind of feel like you can make every single section. I don't know if this is true. You sit there, and like the waves are always better when you mind surf, than actually in real, you're sitting there, and you're like, oh, I would have made that. And the waves are like, there's no way you would have made that. And then there's a barrel. It was like 100 yards down, you're like, I would have been in that barrel.

I would have done that. That's called mind surfing. And you tend to create this incredible existential understanding of how things could be if you were just out there. The reality is if you went out there, you wouldn't catch anything because it's completely closed out. You know, you'd get hammered on the reef, whatever the story is. Well, the same thing is with us. Are you constantly mind surfing how things would be?

You know, if something just changed, if that thing just changed in your life, it would be so much better. I want to say nothing will rob your joy quicker than mind surfing your life. We are so good at building beautiful realities where we are the star of the story. The Bible is about existing where you are and making it matter in that moment. To learn how to settle down and exist in the moment is the first thing, and him saying, I'm a bond servant.

The second is change your perception. Change your perception. Verse 2 says, consider it pure joy. The Greek meaning there is to deem ye. Now, I like that. Deem ye. If you look at the word, deem ye. It means that you are in the position to act upon and filter whatever comes your way. That it isn't you ask somebody else for their opinion on what's happening in your life, but you have the ability when something happens in your life, you are in charge of filtering what is actually happening.

And you have the ability to deem it the worst catastrophic thing you've ever experienced, or to minimize it, or to consider it pure joy. Let's say the Bible is very clear that God is in charge of everything, but we still have the ability to make a tremendous difference within our own lives and within the lives of others. And so with this word, he says, deem ye. Consider it pure joy. Or another usage of the word is to cast a heavy vote.

This thing happened in my life, and I'm going to tell you that God is going to work this out for good. That God is going to change this for the better. You have the ability, deem ye. And I would say that the reason you deem things a certain way is not just because of some fluffy work up a good positive approach. It's because of the truth of God's word. And when you begin to understand the truth of God's word, and how much God loves you, and you make God's word a part of every day, and you begin to understand it, all of a sudden you will start deeming things, you will start judging things with a different perception.

You will change the judiciary of your mind. You will change the judiciary of your heart and your soul. That when something comes your way, you can say, God is going to change this. God is going to do it. I want to consider this joy because God is in the midst of it. Once again, you have the ability. The first thing was exist where you are. The second is change your perception. And the third with joy, because we know that joy does not always come right away.

The joy has to ride upon hope before oftentimes it gets to its long, far away destination. He talks to us to endure. Verse 3. And let endurance, that means to endure, to sit with difficulty, to struggle with it, to not escape. We are so good as a culture at escapism. To sit with difficulty, to endure, and let it have its perfect result. So that you may be perfect and complete. That's twice the use of the word perfect and complete.

That means that you have a fullness, that you are not lacking, that it says you are lacking in nothing. Now this is a factory. I mean, I don't like giving spiritual algorithms that I make up, but on occasion the Bible will give you an algorithm to find completeness in your mind, your soul, and your spirit. And one of the factories to bring joy and completeness, because so many of us are lacking a full complement of all God's peace, joy, and these different things.

One of the factories is the ability to endure. To endure. And I say for marriages, this is a huge word. Or in difficult relationships, or with a sickness, or whatever it is, this idea, the ability to endure. To not pull the eject cord. Remember, Dick Cotton married 70 years in this church. He passed away last year, a year and a half ago. I was sitting with him at lunch, we were talking about marriage, he said, the best way to stay married is to stay married.

After 70 years. That's good advice for somebody who's been married 70 years. To endure. You know, the Greek word endure here is actually using a feminine pronunciation, which is so interesting. There's a feminine use of the word of endurance. When you think about women and the things that they endure, especially if you think about, we have Drea having a baby, enduring, you know, I think God made pregnancy, it's not four days, you know, it's nine months, it's enduring, it shows a long road that's difficult, that gets harder and harder, and then a very difficult season at the end until the joy comes.

I think that God does things like that on purpose. Romans says that if you look at the creation, it'll speak about God, that once we endure, joy comes. And I always say, we have a culture that wants to vacate. We have a culture that wants to remove, and what we see in this scripture is that if you endure, it is through endurance, it'll complete a work in you. That enduring in something, going through the hard times, look what it says, look at the promise here.

I mean, this is such an amazing promise. You could, you could feast on this verse for a week and let endurance. So, you're not creating it. If you endure, endurance will start to do something within you. Do you see that? You endure, but then endurance does something on its own. You are letting endurance do something. Is there something you're ready to give up? Are you ready to quit something? God would say hope and then let endurance have a work in you because as you endure, a miraculous work will begin to happen with you.

An outward act will begin to be forced upon you through the endurance and endurance becomes anthropomorphic, having a work in you, becoming alive in you. And let it have its what? Its perfect result. God says that when endurance works in you and we endure, the result will be perfect. Now, I can't explain that in an imperfect world. But God says the result of endurance will be perfect. So, you've been struggling. You've been waiting for that season or that time and when, God, when, when, when?

God says, hold on to hope that joy might come because endurance is having a perfect result in you. So that what? He says it again that you may be perfect, complete, and lacking in nothing. That's why I struggle so much with the world and Christian culture when they, when they monetize your discontent because they know it sells. They know that if they can promise you a book or an algorithm or some way or seven tips to whatever it is, then we can promise you this thing that you'll buy it because we all want worth and the hardest thing to do is to accept that I'm a child of God and to live in the truth of that.

If you're coming for a landing, few people understand the value of that endurance. In conclusion, joy, as it says on your notes, is the byproduct of a life lived outward and cannot be found by amassing of temporal pleasures. Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel Prize winning Indian poet from the 18, early 1900s, said, I slept and dreamt that life was joy and I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.

I like ending on that because this entire series has really set the course for 2019. We want to be a church that gives you roads to go work with our missionaries, with our partners, to give you actual access to the poor that you can go and serve others because we believe that if you're going to have joy, it never happens with self-focus. If you do not want to have joy, focus on yourself all the time. If you want to have joy, turn your eyes outside and bless others and we pray that 2019 will be that year for you.

Amen? Let's stand. We'll have Chris come forward. Ask the prayer team to come forward. As the band plays before we close the service, if you need prayer, if you want to finish this year with a prayer of hope or a prayer of thanksgiving, we ask that you would come forward for that. Kai, would you mind coming forward? I don't know, there's my mom. Mom, would you come forward? Welcome back, mom, from surgery. Good to have you.

Yay. I'm going to put you on the prayer team up here, mom. If you need prayer, we want to pray for you today. Chris, if you'd play, we want to extend your hands. We want to bless you. Lord Jesus, in a world of discontent, we want to exist in you. And in this moment, God, I bless those that are here, God, to be free from the concern of having to produce, to be something more than a beloved child of God. And we bless you with hope and joy and peace and all the things Christ promises.

And we send you out into 2019 to exist, to not worry about making a meaning of life, but instead giving richly to others, caring for others. God, we bless this congregation. We pray you would increase it in 2019 and that us as a pack can run into everything you've called us to be. So we bless you now and we send you out in the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.