Stretch - Creation | Week 1

Watching my daughter Amelia's gymnastics unfold in our living room evokes a deep sense of awe and wonder at our capacity for growth. This episode takes you through a journey of spiritual stretching and growth that parallels the physical feats of Olympic athletes. As we share awe-inspiring stories of faith that push the boundaries, you'll find yourself preparing for the greater things God has in store, much like an athlete gears up for the grand competition. It's about embracing the transformation designed for us, which we often celebrate with raised hands in worship—a stretch towards the heavens, signifying our readiness for His plans.

The path from glory to glory isn't one we walk alone, and this episode serves as a reminder of our collective vocation towards reconciliation and renewal. Easter brings with it stories of liberation and joy, like those at Mercy House, and moments of surrender that we experienced on Good Friday, which are shared in moving detail. And as we delve into the lives touched by the outreach in Havana, Cuba, the episode becomes a testament to the power of faith in the face of adversity. The narratives woven here are not just personal victories but an invitation to partake in the divine freedom and abundance that awaits us all.

Drawing this episode to a close, I extend an invitation to our Spring Family Day, a time for our community to come together in fellowship and celebration. We cap things off with a prayer blessing, a moment of reflection, and a call to action—be it embracing transformation, fostering reconciliation, or stepping into a new chapter of faith. This conversation is a heartfelt embrace for anyone looking to stretch their spiritual limbs and grow into the fullness of what life with faith has to offer. Join us and be inspired to reach beyond the familiar, towards a life abundant in grace and love.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Amen, praise the Lord. The question for us today is how is God stretching you? So, celeste and I, we have three kids and our youngest one, her name is Amelia, and Amelia is a ninja, because Amelia will do cartwheels and things right through the house and almost kick you in the face nearly every day. And she'll just be coming across and she's one of these flexy people that'll just be doing a round off or doing a cartwheel or doing a back bend into a split and there's always feet flying past my face. I'm like Amelia and she's like Dad. Did you see? Did you see what I was doing? I was like, yes, baby, you almost kicked me in the face. No, but there's something amazing about that. Right, it's the stretchy, flexy kind of people. And you see these parkour guys behind me doing all they're doing and I am baffled that they're doing this beyond the age of 20, because how is it possible? How is it possible? You know, we think about the Olympics coming up this summer and all these different people doing all this stuff, and you're just kind of flabbergasted by the stretch and all that they're doing and all they're able to do with their flexibility. It's amazing, especially as you get a little bit older and you can't do anything. It makes it very difficult to have any sympathy for flexing people, but it's amazing the stretch they're able to do. And you think about stretching. You think about how good it feels to get up in the morning and do that stretch. How do you people know what I'm talking about? In fact, let's do it for just a moment Both hands stretch all the way up, all the way up. Okay, now you know what it feels like to lift your hands in worship. This is just like this, the same thing, all right, with your hands up. Now here's what you do Hands up, and you're going to look over your shoulder to see if your neighbor is watching you. Oh no, they're not. They're not watching you. So the reason they're not watching you is because you can do this all the time Stretch up, worship the Lord. It's a good thing.

Speaker 1: 1:52

Hey, we've been talking about, from the beginning of the year, this idea of stretch and how God has given this as a word for us, about how he wants to stretch us in our faith, stretch us in what we're doing, stretch us to the next place, which is beyond where we are right now, and we know what that means we talked about how you stretch to prepare yourself to do something difficult. So you see, these people that are stretching before, let's say, they run a flight of stairs or maybe they're doing bleachers. If you ever were in athletics in school and your coach is like we're doing bleachers today and you're like, let's go, I'm so pumped up for bleachers, that was your response, right, every time? No, no, that was not your response. And the reason is because you know the pain of doing it Now. It's great because it prepares you for what real sport you're doing or prepares you for the next thing. But, man, you better get out there and do a little bit of stretching, because if you don't, you'll know about it tomorrow. How do people know what I'm talking about? And you might be able to survive that day. You're like I am bulletproof. I ran all these bleachers, I don't even hurt. And the next day your body's like you don't get to move. Today you don't get to because you didn't stretch, because you didn't prepare yourself for the journey ahead of you.

Speaker 1: 3:06

And you think about this spiritually as we're talking about how God wants to stretch us in this season. He wants to take us to the new level, take us to the new place. How is God stretching you? And stretching is not always the most fun, is it? Because stretching means that something difficult is coming. Maybe it's something you're going through right now is difficult and you need to be stretched because he's calling you beyond where you are right now. See, god has a plan for you that's bigger than your plan for your life. How many people know that? He has plans beyond what you have in mind, what you have in store for your own life? He has plans for you that are beyond those things. So he wants to take you from where you are. He wants to stretch you and use you for his glory, beyond your plans for your own life. That's how much he loves you. That's how much he values you. He wants to see you go beyond what is the normal, beyond what is the average. He sees you beyond those things. So today we're going to talk a little bit about that what it means to be going beyond and to stretch in our faith. After God, amen.

Speaker 1: 4:17

If we haven't met, my name is Jay, celeste and I. It's such a blessing for us to be here and part of this team and leading here at Cornerstone. We are blessed because we see ourselves very much as people who are broken, in need of a savior. We know that none of us is perfect. None of us have arrived. All of us are still walking after Jesus and that's what we use.

Speaker 1: 4:37

This imagery of following like the disciples is that we see ourselves on that path. We see ourselves as walking after Christ. We see ourselves as those who are following him. We literally want to be more like Jesus and we know that's not an easy thing. That is an ambitious thing to do. It means that none of us can stop. You can't get to a place and you're like I've arrived as a Christian, I don't have to go anymore Because Jesus will leave you behind. You gotta keep on going where Jesus has taken you to go. None of us has arrived. Until you meet him face to face, you're not finished. So be more like Jesus, amen.

Speaker 1: 5:14

So today we're looking at this idea of stretch If you have your Bible, your tablet, your phone, we'll continue in that endeavor today and looking to 2 Corinthians 3. Picks up here in verse 17 of chapter 3. It says Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, and we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image, from one degree of glory to another or from glory to glory. It says, for this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. Lord, we pray over your word today. We pray that you would breathe upon it, make it alive in us and transformative, that we would become more into your image. We pray In Jesus' name, amen.

Speaker 1: 6:04

Now we're looking at this idea of stretch and we're thinking about these athletes preparing for something difficult and how they'll go through this great stretching routine before they go after it, because they're going to really press it to the limit and it's really going to take them to the next place. And we talked about the same idea as it goes to being on a journey how, if we're going to go and take a pack and go up a mountain to a greater location, then we're gonna need to do some preparation for that. We're gonna need to stretch, we're gonna need to get ready, we're gonna need to build up our endurance to make it happen. And if we don't do that, then we'll be on the path to the mountain and we'll never get to where we're supposed to be because we'll quit because we weren't ready.

Speaker 1: 6:43

How many people know what I'm talking about? You ever tried to start up a path but you didn't prepare yourself. And then you're winded after five minutes and you're like how far is the mountain? They're like the mountains. We're not even to the base of the mountain. The mountain starts like over there. You're like wait, is there a path? Is there a cable car? Will you carry me on your back? You know like that's not how it works, like God calls you to the next glory. He wants you to go to the next place, to the next endeavor. He's calling you up the mountain. But he can only do that if you're being prepared to do it. He can only do that if you're really drawing near to him every day, if you're really having that intimacy with him.

Speaker 1: 7:26

Think about that your preparation of getting in the word for yourself, getting in the word and drawing near to him in prayer, and I don't mean just the gimme, gimme. Help me, help me, help me prayer. We all pray that. Prayer. The Lord, what is your will for my life? Lord? Your kingdom come. Your will be done in me today. Lord, help me, give me favor with you, give me favor with others. Let me shine for you today. What about that prayer? And it prepares us, it stretches us, it gets us ready for what he wants to do in you and what he wants to do through you. And so we've been talking about this a little bit. And if we don't stretch, then what happens to us is we get broken. How many people ever been broken? It's happened to me.

Speaker 1: 8:17

You know, I used to be young and then I wasn't, and I still was trying to do CrossFit and I was doing CrossFit in Alexandria. We were doing it for a couple of years and we're getting really after it and going heavy with the weight and we're trying to go faster and heavier because we thought we were that much stronger Anybody else Okay. And so in doing so, we're trying to beat my personal record, trying to beat my person beside me who's lifting heavy, and so I'm going to do it too, and I'm throwing the weights up until my arm was like no, no, you're not, not anymore, not at all. And it no, you're not, not anymore, not at all. And I broke all the things messed up my shoulder, messed up my elbow. I couldn't even pick up my camera, and I'm someone who likes to take photos, photography. I couldn't even pick up my camera. It hurt so bad and I had to go through a year of physical therapy, of the doctor repairing me because I wasn't prepared or I was trying to do things in my own strength instead of being prepared and doing it the proper way.

Speaker 1: 9:09

And we think about that in our own spiritual life, about those. We want to be prepared for the things he has ahead for us. We want to be stretching, we want to be going after the next level, because that's a good thing. But we can't be doing it in our own strength or we'll get hurt and it'll take us completely out. So, friends, let's be those that go after him and we stretch in what he's calling us to do, not in our own ideas of greatness. So you can be holy and pious in your own right. And that's a bunch of garbage because it says it's like filthy rags compared to God's holiness. But if you draw near to God, he will make you holy. As you draw near to him, he will stretch you, he will iron you out, he will take you to the next place if you're willing to go, okay. So it continues here in this idea of thinking about stretching.

Speaker 1: 10:00

And I was talking with my wife, who is an amazing person, and I was talking to Celeste and I said, babe, what do you think is the thing that has stretched you the most in your life? Now, take this into account. She came out of a home that did not believe in Jesus. She was the one that brought her brothers to church. She's the one that pressed into God. She went to school of ministry and did that, and then she went to Paraguay as a missionary, then later to Bangladesh as a single female. This is all before we got married, before we served together. She did all of that.

Speaker 1: 10:32

In saying yes to God, she was somebody who was doing all these things with the courage and following God and obedience. It's a place that is. It's one of the poorest countries in the world. It's one of the most densely populated. It's a place where they don't value women's rights and these other things, and so she was going against all these things to say yes to God, and I was thinking about that. I was like man, that has to be it, or maybe it's when we said yes to God and she left her church family to join our church family and we got married. Maybe that was it, or maybe it was whenever, together, we said yes to God and we abandoned all the stuff that we had here in America to go and plant church in Europe. Or maybe it was the time that she arrived in Europe pregnant and then had to give birth to a child there and raise a child there, negotiating all that in French. Or maybe it was coming back pregnant from there and having a baby here and then taking that baby with other two toddlers and young kids to the Middle East to start churches there.

Speaker 1: 11:23

She said no, the most stretching thing for her was learning to shut her mouth when she wanted to say cutting things. And so I just started to pray for her. I was like Lord, the conviction of God upon my no, of course not. I was so convicted, so convicted Because of all the great things that she's done in obedience to God. And the thing that she said is the most challenging is to watch what you say. Think about all the things that we do in cutting others down. Think about the things that we speak are death and not life. Think about how we are those who try to suppress others or say gossip or evil garbage. And we need to shut our mouth and let the word of God work in us or we need to open our mouth and proclaim the glory of God and be the opposite and be a mouthpiece for him. And what, if that's really the challenge? It's interesting.

Speaker 1: 12:21

The kids and I we saw this piece of artwork the other day and it's the hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil art, and many people have seen this and it's pretty much stay out of it, right. It's like I don't hear nothing. I don't see nothing, I ain't gonna say anything. And these people did this because they wanted to live around the mafia and so they couldn't do anything. So therefore they no See as Christ followers. It's actually quite the opposite, like he calls us to open our ears and to hear what's going on, hear what he's speaking to us about.

Speaker 1: 12:55

He wants us to be those that open our eyes and see the glory of God at hand, see what he's doing in our community, see what he's doing in your family, see how he's working amongst us. That's what he wants us to do. He wants us to be those that open our mouth and speak the glory of God. Share your story, share your testimony. How does he overcome the blood of the land, the word of our testimony that we would be those that are willing to stretch, to stretch, to be used by God, to be challenged whenever we're about to say something wrong. And he challenges us so we don't say that. And then, instead, we speak life, we speak grace, we speak hope, we speak love the Lord, help us to stretch. Say it with me Stretch. You can understand why it would be so difficult. We pick up here. It says now, the Lord is the spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Praise the Lord, friends.

Speaker 1: 14:03

I think about freedom and I think about this idea of being chained down and a reel of chain being upon upon us, and how we are so very blessed to be free, how God has worked in and on our behalf to make us free. We are free from sin and free from destruction and free from our past. We are no longer held down by that junk. We are free. And it's not anything that you can do. You can't earn it. You can't buy your way out, you can't get rich enough and then give that money to God. It doesn't work like that. You can't earn your holiness. It's only through Jesus Christ, and Jesus is the only way, because he's the only one that was a holy sacrifice. He's the only one that could buy our freedom and he bought our freedom spiritually, for every single person, and he did it so we would no longer be chained down spiritually. That we have a future with God face to face. It's a powerful thing, it's a powerful idea. You think about that, think about your freedom in Christ and that we get to be those that interact with the spirit of the living God. I'm so very blessed, so very thankful.

Speaker 1: 15:13

The other day I happened to be at Mercy House this is right before Easter, it was our Easter outreach there and, man, these kids, they were ready. They were ready to be let go from being held back by the mighty arm of Josiah. He was keeping them from the candy eggs that were there in front of them and they were ready to rock. And so we got ready and it was like me and Gabe and Shiloh and a bunch of us and Rosie, and we poured out thousands of eggs on this grass and these kids were just electric. They were ready to go, they were jazzed up and we were waiting for the word from Christina and, as Christina said, ready, they were like rawr. They started to go, go and he let down the arm of glory and the kids bricked forth, ah, towards the candy, like they'd never had it before in their life.

Speaker 1: 16:02

Now you think about that kind of freedom. That's the kind of freedom that Christ has for you, that you're not held back anymore, but not just are you not held back, but that there are lots of blessings out in front of you. He has prepared for you All these blessings, and you don't have to fight the person beside you. There's more than enough blessings, way more sugar than your parents are going to let you have anyway. Right, there's going to be a parent tax. How many people know? Praise the Lord, parent tax, parent tax, praise God, I tax harder than the government. I'm sorry, children, that is mine. You are in the upper tax bracket. Here we go. I digress. When you think about that. You think about the concept of how many people.

Speaker 1: 16:47

On Good Friday they came and we had this amazing moment of these worship stations and people coming and thinking about the sacrifice of Jesus, thinking about the cross and taking their hearts to the Lord. It was a powerful, powerful time. Not just that, but there was a station where you would take and you would write your burdens upon these rocks and maybe it's people or maybe it's things or things you're stressing about and you take that and you place that at the foot of the cross. You're literally letting go of your burdens and giving them over to the Lord. See, friends, that's what I'm talking about. That we would experience that kind of freedom where it's not just free from sin and death and hell. Those are amazing. That is exactly what I'm talking about. But even as Christ followers, that we wouldn't carry the burden, we would give that burden over to Jesus, that we would walk in step with him.

Speaker 1: 17:37

A few weeks ago I was in Havana, cuba, and as I was there, I was speaking on that morning. That Sunday morning it was the same as Celeste was speaking. Here. We were talking about the triumphal entry of Jesus on Palm Sunday and on that day there in Cuba, it was a powerful thing because 14 people gave their life to Jesus Christ and it was amazing. It was amazing and a little different than where we do here. Here we have people bow their head and raise their hand and go back and talk with our prayer team. There they have people come to the front and turn around and look back at the congregation, like they're really making a decision and they're doing that and they welcome them into the body of Christ, and it was such a powerful thing. I thought about how, though they live underneath this oppression from government and other things that are there and poverty, they are spiritually free and, though that might have them for this moment, friends, they are going to be in the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, in his glory and in his presence, and they're going to get to be there completely free and not under any weight of any sin, in any kind of government. They're going to be completely free forever. It was a powerful, powerful time and I'll tell you this.

Speaker 1: 18:54

That afternoon we had an afternoon off and it was all so glorious. It was unrelated to this, but we got to drive around in 1950s cars from America and it was glorious also and very freeing, because as you sit behind the wheel of this car, you think about how cool you look Without a seatbelt on. It was very freeing, can I tell you, praise the Lord, say, stretch with me, stretch. We're called to be those that stretch and go after the next things of God. 2 Corinthians 3.18 says. It says and we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image, from one degree of glory to another or from glory to glory, for this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. Think about this unveiled.

Speaker 1: 19:50

It's doing a parallel, talking about the time when Moses was on the with God and he was. He was there with God, in God's presence, and so his face radiated with the glory of God amongst the people when he returned off the mountain. So bright was his face that they asked him to put a veil on his face so they could talk to him. Think about that. Think about that. They couldn't handle the glory of God, so there had to be a veil. And so, as it's writing to us here, it's talking about how there's no longer a veil that's between us and God. Last week, as we talked about Easter, we talked about how Jesus became the sacrifice from all people and when he gave his life for us. It says that the veil there was ripped into from the holy of holies to us and opened up the presence of God for all people, no longer being a veil, no longer being separated. We are connected directly to the spirit of God and see, the veil was never there to keep God inside that space. It was to protect us from being dead, because his holiness was too great for us. But now he's doing a work in us and through us, because Jesus had made a way for the sacrifice to be made for us. And so, therefore, we get to see the unveiling, we get to see the glory of God with us. That's why, in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit's poured out upon the church and it's indicated like fire, it's indicated as he pours himself out, that it's no longer just at a distance, but now the Spirit of God is in us and then, through us, unveiled and transformed.

Speaker 1: 21:25

Transformation means to become a new thing. It's to start and to grow into something else. It's to really stretch to that next place. See, transformation really means that you need to embrace change. And friends, I know that's not an easy thing, that's not even a fun word to say in church. That's like cussing, I'm like change. You're like, oh, you better watch your mouth. Church, that's like cussing, I'm like change. You're like, oh, you better watch your mouth. You guys know what I'm talking about, because change is not fun, change is not easy, and we don't change for change's sake. That's ridiculous. But what we do is we want to be transformed, to become something new in the image of God. Not a broken person, but a person who's healed. Not a person who stays in shame, but a person who's healed and freed of that. Not a broken person, but a person who's healed. Not a person who stays in shame, but a person who's healed and freed of that, for a person who continues on in the path of God. That they give to us as we're empowered by the Spirit of God Transformation, becoming something brand new.

Speaker 1: 22:24

And think about this. He says that he made us in the very image of God. We become the image and it's something of the degree of glory to glory. He made us in his image. It says that he created us that way. He breathed life into our lungs that way. He made us as creatives and he made us as people who are passionate and care. He made us as these kind of people. He made us in his image and now he's breathing into us anew that we would reflect the image of God, that we would understand what it is to reflect his glory.

Speaker 1: 22:59

Friends, that's what we're talking about. That's why we live this life, that's why we worship the Lord, that's why we say praise the Lord is that we're exalting his glory, because it's only his glory, he's the only one worth glorifying. There's a lot of cool things. I like sports and I like music and I like art and I like all this stuff. Guess what? All that stuff passes away. He is eternal. He is glorified. He is glorified.

Speaker 1: 23:26

And so, as we're holding on to Jesus, as we're following where he's leading us to go, we can't get off track. We can't go after the glitter. We have to stay after the glory. We have to hold on to him. He'll take us from this glory to the next glory. He'll take us from this level of understanding to the next level of understanding. He will uncork the lid that's on your life and bring brand new stuff to you, to take you to the next place, from glory to glory.

Speaker 1: 23:54

Think about this as we're headed from this life into eternity, we get to be in heaven with God. We think about that. How it's? There's nothing blocking us, there's no more pain, there's no more hatred, there's no more brokenness. It's only wholeness and healing. It's all whole because we are in the presence of the almighty God. We get to feel his glory firsthand, the glory of God, friends. That's what it's about. That's why we're willing to embrace change. That's why we're willing to be transformed is so that we can experience the glory of God in a new, in a transformative way, a new level from glory to glory. That the Lord be praised, amen.

Speaker 1: 24:46

We continue here. We see this idea of stretch. It picks up here in 2 Corinthians 5. So we'll move two chapters and it says, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. A new creation.

Speaker 1: 25:03

We talk about this and the struggle that's there inside of us. As we say I'm dead to sin, I'm alive in Christ, we become a new creation. That's what we do in faith. By saying, jesus, I believe you are who you say you are. I place my faith and trust in you. And once we've made that declaration, we become a new life in Christ, a new creation. And see, that's great, because what it means is that we're going to be dead to all those old pathways, all those old things. Now we have to be intentional to live differently for God. How many people know what I'm talking about? Because the old person will try to reach up out of the grave and grab onto your ankles and pull you back and some of us turn around and start walking back. That, friends, we wouldn't do that. That. We would become a new creation, walk and stay in that same way and live the things of God. A new creation living after the things of God. It's a powerful idea.

Speaker 1: 25:58

It continues on here. It says all this from God who, through Christ, reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, god reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Now being reconciled is an interesting idea. We don't use it very often, unless maybe you're an auditor or you're someone running the books and you reconcile it. But that's exactly what it means. It means to bring back into right standing.

Speaker 1: 26:38

And so for us, there was no way for us to reconnect to the Father. There was brokenness in the garden whenever we, as mankind, decided to sin against God, and that brokenness has followed through with us from that time till this. And so that brokenness is in us and there's no way for us to earn our way to a holy God. And so it says that Jesus himself becomes the one that pays the price. He reconciled us. He brought us back into relationship. It's him that did that work on our behalf. He's the one that came and got us. He. He came and got you. He came and got me. We're a long ways.

Speaker 1: 27:19

It says while we were still dead in our trespasses means when we were still in our sin, when we were still breaking God's heart, he still loved us. He still came and got us. It says whenever we still were broken, whenever we still had anger, when we still had hatred, he still loved us. He still made a way to come and get us, to reconcile us, to bring us back into relationship with the Father Friends. This is a powerful idea because not just that, but he gives us the same message of reconciliation. He calls us to be those. He entrusts us with that message. Now, think about that. Think about how he's entrusting you with the message of reconciliation. What does it mean? Does it mean that you can save anybody? No, you can't. I'm sorry, I can't save you either, but you know what I can do is point you to the guy that can, because I'd be like, hey, this thing that I experienced I got reconciled, I got brought back into a relationship with the living God. Let me show you where it's at. Let me introduce you to Jesus. He's the one that can save you. He's the one that can open up the doors in your life. He's the one you've been looking for, friends. He's the only answer. It continues here. It says, therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, god making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God For our sake. He made him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that we might, in him, become the righteousness of God. He calls us ambassadors, ambassadors.

Speaker 1: 29:08

A few weeks ago, when I was in Havana, we were driving around in those old cars on that afternoon on Sunday and they took us to this older part of town which was like the bougie part of town. They had taken all of these mansions and they'd stole them away from the elite and they essentially resold them to different governments and let them be their embassy, and so we would drive by and it's just another really pretty bougie house and you couldn't really tell what embassy it was, because you're kind of going by fast and the plaque is kind of old. But the only way you could tell what embassy it was is what the big flag was. That's over the top of the building and see that's what indicated who you belonged to was what flag was over you. And so, as we drove place by place, we'd be like, oh, this place is Nicaragua and this place is Panama, and this place is that country and this is Egypt and this one's that? Because we could see the flag clearly displayed of who they belonged to, who were they an ambassador of?

Speaker 1: 30:01

And in your life, what does it say over your life? When people see you, what do you display? What are you bringing the message of? What are you representing? Are you an ambassador of Christ or not? There's an old song I said his banner over me is love, friends. That's the kind of thing that I want to be. I want to be the love of God. I want to live in a way that reflects his glory.

Speaker 1: 30:26

That I want to live in a way to be more like Jesus Doesn't mean I have it all figured out. I could tell you that I haven't. My family could tell you that I don't always get it right, but that we would go and we would repent and we would bring that and say I'm sorry, Forgive me. We want to be more like Jesus. I want to be an ambassador of the King. I want to represent His glory. That's what he calls us to be ambassadors for him. He's the one that puts on us righteousness.

Speaker 1: 30:59

Think about that Righteousness, that we, in our character, are somehow righteous, and we only are because of the work of Christ in us, the work of the Spirit of God in us, and it's only by his work that we're called righteous. Scripture will tell us who is righteous. Meaning of themselves, no, not one, but friends in Christ, in embracing his work through us, in stretching to the next place that we would be considered righteous as we walk in step with him. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. We look back here and we understand this idea of stretch. God is calling us to be those that stretch, that go to that next place. Friends, that's what he has for you. He has a future that's bigger and beyond anything that you think of. He wants to stretch your life. He wants to stretch your faith. Will you say yes to God? Will you be used by him? Will you go from this glory to that glory? Will you hold on to Jesus? Friends, let's be stretched in him. Say it with me one more time Stretch the Lord, be praised.

Speaker 1: 32:12

Today is an opportunity for you as well. Maybe you've never made a decision to follow Jesus. Today is that day where you get to make a decision that will change your life forever. Each one of us has had to answer that question have you embraced Jesus? No one can answer it for you. It's your question to answer.

Speaker 1: 32:33

See, I believe Jesus is who he says he is, that he came into this world as the son of God and abandoned all glory to live a holy life as a sacrifice for all people for all time. And he took on the weight, the sin of the world, your mistakes and my mistakes, our sin. He took it on himself, though he did nothing wrong. He took it on himself and he paid for it upon the cross, and that's why the symbol of the cross is so powerful for us. The symbol of the cross is transformative. It's challenging because it's a place where I should be paying for my mistakes, but I'm not, because Jesus took my place and, friends, he took your place as well, and upon the cross he paid for all the sin of the world. And when we place our faith and trust in him, we start a new relationship with Jesus. The Apostle Paul, writing to the church at Rome says it like this because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. With the heart one believes and is justified. With the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Speaker 1: 33:56

Friends, today is your day of decision. It's your opportunity to ask Christ into your heart and life. If you're online this morning, if you just prepare your heart for what God wants to do in your life, if you're here in the room, if you just stand right where you're at, just bow your head because God wants to do something in some lives, today, maybe you're here and you never asked Christ into your life before. Today is your opportunity. In just a moment, I'm asking you to raise your hand and invite Christ into your heart and life. Or maybe you're here and you have made a decision in the past. Maybe it was when you were younger, maybe it was in a different season and since then you haven't been living for God and you need to recommit your life back to Christ. You're a prodigal and you need to come home to Christ. Friends, today is your opportunity as well to raise your hand to say yes, I want to invite Jesus into my heart and life as heads are bowed here in this room. If that's you under the sound of my voice this morning and you want to invite Christ into your heart and life, you just raise your hand right where you're at, say, pastor, remember me in this prayer today. See this hand and that hand and this hand Hands over there. Thank you Lord. Thank you Lord.

Speaker 1: 35:13

Four or five people making decision to follow Jesus. Thank you, jesus. Four or five people making a decision to follow Jesus. Thank you, jesus. Others making a decision Friends, I'm going to ask if you would just pray this prayer after me.

Speaker 1: 35:28

Lord, thank you for loving me.

Speaker 1: 35:30

Thank you for sending Jesus. I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe he rose again. Forgive me of my sins. I surrender my life to you. In Christ's name, I pray Amen, amen.

Speaker 1: 35:53

Friends, we rejoice with you making a decision for Jesus today. What a powerful, powerful decision man. That's you as well online. We want to put resources in your hand. Please message us. We want to drop you something. If you're here in the room, we have resources for you right by this prayer banner. We want to be able to connect with you, put things into your hands so you can be successful living for Jesus. It's a great day, friends, people giving their heart and life to Jesus. We're so very thankful, and for all of us that already call Christ our Savior, that we would be those that press into Him and stretch to the things he wants us to do.

Speaker 1: 36:31

Lord, we thank you so much for this Word. We thank you how you speak to us, lord, how you have spoken through your word to us and challenged us to be more like you. Lord, you call us to stretch, you call us to obey. Lord, you want to take us to that next level of glory, lord. You challenged us, lord, with the word of reconciliation, with telling people that there's a God who wants a relationship with them. Lord, of being an ambassador on your behalf, of taking that message of hope and love and forgiveness and freedom to others. So, lord, we ask, lord, as we come to this altar today, that you empower us by your spirit. Lord, pour yourself out upon us in a new way, lord, that we would experience your glory firsthand. We pray all this in the powerful name that is Jesus Christ, amen. We open up this altar to you today.

Speaker 2: 37:20

We are so grateful that you joined us today and we are excited. We are about to start our spring family day. If you're watching online, you still have time to get here. We're going to be having it until about three o'clock today, but I'm excited with perfect weather and I snuck out there right before service and saw the animals and they are the most precious things the petting zoo so you're going to want to stay for that. It's going to be a fun afternoon.

Speaker 1: 37:46

Miss Rosie's going to come in just a few minutes after we give the blessing and come up with some instructions. We're doing things a little bit different today, as we have events on both sides of the building and we'll be sitting in the back under the shade, so some instructions will come right after we give the blessing today to give you better instruction for yourselves and for your children. Before we do that, let me pray this blessing over us. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you. Lord, make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. Lord, lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Speaker 1: 38:24

Lord, I pray a blessing upon your church, your people, god, that you empower us by your spirit to live your love out to those around us. We pray all this in the powerful name that is Jesus Christ. Amen, amen. Know this. We love you. That is Jesus Christ, amen, amen. Know this. We love you very much here at Cornerstone. God bless you and join us for Spring Family Day.