Be Still And Know

You can love Jesus, serve hard, and still feel empty if you never slow down long enough to hear Him. On Mother’s Day, we share moving stories from a missions trip to Iceland, where local churches unite, a women’s conference opens doors, and several women respond to the gospel. One testimony comes from a 17-year-old who has carried anxiety and depression for years and describes what shifts when she finally makes her own decision to follow Jesus. It’s a reminder that faith can’t be borrowed, and peace is not just a personality trait, it’s a gift from God.

Then we get painfully practical about modern life: busyness is always available, and it can quietly crowd out prayer, Bible reading, church community, and the ability to hear God clearly. We build the message on Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God,” and we walk through Luke 10 with Mary and Martha. Martha opens the door for Jesus but gets distracted with serving, while Mary sits at His feet and chooses what cannot be taken away. The question lands close to home: have we invited Jesus in, yet missed Him by staying busy in the other room?

We break “being still” into real steps you can practice: it’s a choice, it requires intentional action, and it means relinquishing control. We also offer a clear invitation to salvation and practical next steps for anyone who wants to follow Jesus, get a Bible, and find a Bible-believing church. If this encourages you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the message.

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Transcript

Mother’s Day Welcome And Missions

Celeste Brown 0:00

Well, good morning. Well, I just want to say that God is moving. And I'm so excited that you are here today on Mother's Day. God is moving in your life. God is moving in your family. God is moving in your church. He's moving in your community. And he is moving all over the world. And I am grateful that you are here today. We had a team that went to Iceland and we just returned about a week and a half ago. And we saw God do some amazing things through his children while we were there. And we went overseas to help assist the local churches. There's about 10 Christian churches that are together in unity. And we held a women's conference while we were there. And we just went to be Jesus' hands extended. That's what we were there to do. We were there just to serve. And sometimes you just need to know that you're not alone on this journey following after Jesus. How many of you know that? Sometimes you feel like maybe you're the only one in your family who is serving the Lord. And so when we go overseas and we assist missionaries, that's what we're doing is we're letting them know you are not alone, but you have a body of believers who are standing with you, and we are here to help you with whatever you need. And so that's what we went to do. We are part of an Inspire Women's Conference. We were there to support the work of the missionary and the local churches. And we were there to reach more people with the love of Jesus. It's a lot of work. It's a lot of work to tell people about the Lord. And we were there just to help them and to assist them. You know, God can use anyone who is willing and available. Anyone. All you have to do is say yes. That's it. If you're willing, God will use you. So our team came, we took about seven suitcases outside of our own. So you can imagine five women with 12 large suitcases, five carry-ons and purses. I didn't even get a picture of the luggage I should have. Um, but we went, we did it, we managed. My goal was to bring everybody back alive. That was my goal. And we succeeded, so I did very well. Um, but we brought a lot of resources. Sometimes when you're living overseas, you don't have access to stuff. And you just take stores like Michael's for granted. And so if you're gonna have a women's conference, you want to do it well. And so what we did was we filled those seven suitcases with everything needed. We brought balloon arches, we brought columns to make the stage look nice. We brought flowers and crafts for the kids' ministry, we brought Bibles, we brought everything you could think of. We brought it with us in those suitcases, and we just came ready to serve and work and pray for everyone. And that's what we were doing. We wanted to do whatever needed to be done. We were gonna jump in and be the hands and feet of Jesus extended there in Iceland. Um, we prayed every day leading up to this trip for many, many weeks. We had a text going across the ladies, and every day we'd put something up that we were targeting to pray for, and then we were just believing that God was gonna move when we got there. On

Salvation Stories From Iceland

Celeste Brown 2:57

Friday night, um, I was asked to share a message that night on salvation. And we had um they had been praying that people would invite their friends or a family member who did not know the Lord. And so that's what I did. I went up and spoke about who God is, and um it was amazing. At the very end of the message, I gave uh a response for people to make a decision if they wanted to follow after Jesus, and we saw five women raise their hands and say that they wanted to serve the Lord from that day forward. And um, it's a miracle. In fact, three of those women went to the prayer room after the altar call and they actually got their first Bible. I don't know, you've you've been raised maybe in the church, and so Bibles just always been in your home. But imagine if for the first time as an adult you've been handed the word of God, the living word of God, and you get to read it for yourself. Something changes, something happens, you're different. And one of the young girls who raised their hand, she was a 17-year-old girl, and she actually came up for prayer. And this young girl was raised in the church. Um, she came to the altar with her mom, and I saw her mom just crying. How many praying mamas out there? Oh, don't be afraid. You're praying, you're believing because we're praying for the lost to come home this year. This was a praying mama. She actually serves very faithfully, faithfully in her local church there in Iceland, and her daughter came up, and her daughter wanted to receive Jesus into her heart, and she asked me to pray for her, and I did. Afterwards, she went and received a Bible, and the next day she filled out a card. And I want to just read to you what God is doing around the world. Because when you give to kingdom builders, when you give to people going on trips, you are an extension of what the Lord is doing. And so I want you to hear this testimony this morning. She said, I'm 17 years old and I was raised in a Christian family, but I had never made a decision for myself. I've been struggling with anxiety for years, and I've been depressed since I was 13. It's too young. Too young. I was walking in here, my heart felt very heavy, and I didn't think anything would change, but it did. It was like I saw the light at the end of my dark tunnel. It was like Jesus had been waiting. I ended up leaving with a smile on my face and tears in my eyes, and my heart didn't feel as heavy with Jesus now by my side. You see, this young lady's destiny had been changed forever. She came back the next morning and um she gave me a big hug and she was smiling. Carla was actually in the prayer room when she came in. Her countenance had changed because she was there with Jesus, and that's what it's all about. On Sunday, we went um to a city outside of the Capitol called Celphis, and Barb had the privilege of speaking there at the church, and she shared an amazing message on the power of words. And I have to tell you that the missionaries who were with us, Scott and Crystal, they've been here many times. They were just sitting there, the entire message, just going, This is so from God right now. This message is so from God. And I can see people in the seats in the church, they were attentive, they were listening, they were drawing in on every word that was being spoken. In fact, the worship team that helped us with the women's conference, they used to be a band that just played all over in bars everywhere. And they all found Jesus and they became a worship team. So they'd only been a worship team for one year. One year. And they were walking this through together. These three beautiful ladies were walking this through together, and they started just singing worship songs. And so they were invited to sing at the conference. Well, they two of those three attended the Sunday morning service. And Barb began to speak on the power of the spoken word, and the main lady from that worship team, she was just sobbing uncontrollably. And afterwards, the missionary and I, Crystal and I, went over to pray for her, and she was just crying and crying and crying. And she wrote this as we were headed out on the plane. She said, I'm so very grateful for this wonderful weekend where I had the privilege to serve with you and all these wonderful people. I can't really describe how God's kindness is, and I can't put any words on how he's sculpting me into this better version of myself and how he's leading me to all these beautiful and kind people. It's beyond my understanding. I'm so grateful for your prayers today. God healed something in me today and touched the heart of my husband at the same time. For the first time, he was actually thinking of going forward for prayer. How many of you know that's a miracle right there? It says that this is a big step for him. I know God's working on him and pulling the layers off of him one by one. God is moving. And I want to thank you to the five ladies who are the four ladies and myself who went to Iceland. Thank you, Carla. Thank you, Angie, Barb, and Laura. You ladies are amazing. I brought you back healthy and whole and fed, and you did amazing. And um I just want to let you know, you just have to say yes. That's it. This church believes in missions. We believe in speaking the word of God, not just here in our community, but all over the world. And so be ready because there's always opportunities to go. You just have to be willing to say yes. Amen. Amen.

Honoring Mothers And All Women

Celeste Brown 8:56

Well, happy Mother's Day. What a day. Happy Mother's Day. I have to say, I know the number one thing every mother wants on Mother's Day that is a follower of Jesus, and that is I want my kids to come to church with me, and I pray that they are here with you today. That's all every mama wants. Just come to church with me today. So welcome. I'm so glad that you are here. I am grateful for every lady that is in the room today, everyone that's in the room. Whether you're a mother, whether you're a stepmother, whether you're an aunt, whether you're a grandmother, whether you're a neighbor, whether you're a friend, whether you're a teacher, you play an important role in people's lives. You do. You pray, you lead, you direct, you keep things in order, you guide those in your sphere of influence. And so this morning, I want to say happy Mother's Day to each one of you. It is a thankless job. But without you, I do not know where the world would be. And so I want to say thank you this morning. I know Mother's Day can be a very sensitive day. It is a day where people have missed their mom. Maybe she's no longer here with you. Maybe you are longing to be a mom and God has not given you your child yet. Maybe you have stepped into a home where you instantly became a mom. Whatever the situation, I want to tell you that you are seen and you are loved. And this morning I want to tell you happy Mother's Day. Well, welcome to Cornerstone. We are so grateful that you are here. Our desire is that you would be more like Jesus in every way. We want to love God and make disciples and reach the world. And about a week ago, we um jumped off into life groups. I pray that you are being a part of at least one, two, five, ten. I'm just gonna give you a number. But I want you to be involved in something. And if you're not, I have a feeling after today's message you will sign up for something. But God is ready to speak, and this is how I know, because God gave me this message probably about three weeks ago. And um, then VJ comes up and just preach the whole thing. So get ready, because when God speaks, he continually says it over and over. So you if you have an opportunity to take notes, you better take notes. If you have your phone, the only way you can open it is just to pull a note page out. I'll let your neighbor look over just to make sure you're not on anything else. And uh we're gonna dive in this morning, amen.

Be Still And Know Theme

Celeste Brown 11:41

This morning we're gonna talk about be still and know. Be still and know. It says in scripture in Psalm 46, 10, be still and know that I am God. That's it. Be still and know that I am God. You see, we live in a culture that is constantly busy and moving. We're always on the go. We can find things to do at any time of any day. There's something to do. We can keep ourselves so busy. Often I find myself saying this, and I don't know if you're with me on this, this is what I say. If I can just get through this week, I'll have a little more time. Anybody relate to that? If I could just make it till Saturday, I I think I'm gonna be okay. Only to find out that I begin filling the open week next week with things to come. It never ends. In fact, that busyness can begin to crowd our time and our relationship with the Lord. All of a sudden, we're not hearing God clearly, we're not reading the word, we're not even spending time in prayer. Instead, we're just asking other people to pray for us. Ouch. And we're not even in the house of God anymore. We find ourselves missing one week, two weeks, three weeks. Busyness has taken over, and we begin to justify the busyness. I have to get this done. I have to. Oh, it's just for a season. That season will be over soon, and then I can go back to what I want to do. Or if I do not do it, no one else will. You see, to be still is not to give you permission to do nothing. All right, so we're gonna just erase that off the table. It is not giving you permission to be lazy. What it is, is being still is giving you the opportunity to lay everything down, to surrender, and to recognize that He is the one and only victorious God. That's it. It is a call to cease everything for a moment and meditate on him. It allows you to tune everything else out and listen. To trust his voice more than your own. That's worth repeating. To be still is to learn to trust his voice more than your own. There's

Mary And Martha In Real Life

Celeste Brown 14:58

a great example in the Bible on being still, and it is that of two sisters. I did not grow up with a sister, so I have to view this story through my own children because I have two daughters who are sisters, or a lot of friends who have sisters. But it's hard for me to view this story in my own life because I had all brothers. So the story would look a little bit different. But there's two sisters in the Bible, their names are Mary and Martha. And if you have your Bible, you can open it with me to Luke 10. We're gonna start in verse 38, and I'm gonna read you just a little story on these two women. Says starting in 10. Now, as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. And she had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me. But the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha. Oh, when Jesus says your name twice, you're in trouble. I'm just gonna say that. There's this joke that I used to always say because every time God was talking to men in the Bible, he said their name twice. Abraham, Abraham, Moses, Moses. You'll you'll see if you read the word. So right here he says, Martha, Martha, and I'm like, oh, she's in trouble. You are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion which will not be taken away from her. So who do you identify with? There is a distinction between the way that the two women have chosen to posture themselves. You have Mary who is sitting at the feet of Jesus, and you have Martha, who is so busy running around trying to get things done. And I have to tell you, and I'm gonna be very honest with you this morning, that I have spent many, many seasons being Martha. Many. In fact, if you were to ask my family, where do you would you find your mom most of the time in the house? I can tell you right now what they would say. They will not say that you find me in front of the TV, they would not say that you would find me upstairs in my room. They would say that they find me in the kitchen. Because what am I doing in the kitchen? Huh. Many things. I am cooking, I am cleaning, I the laundry room happens to be right to the side of my kitchen, which makes it worse. So then I'm doing a load of laundry, transferring it to the dryer. I got a lot of things going on in that kitchen. And very few times do I actually sit on the couch. How many of you can relate to this? Maybe you don't want to because of where I'm gonna go. But I want to tell you this. We have some great couches in my house, and there's a lot of times I hear my family saying, Mom, mom, just come sit with us. We're gonna put this show on, we're gonna watch this movie. And I'm like, just give me a minute or an hour or an hour and a half. I got a few things I gotta do right now. I gotta do the dishes, I gotta put the food away, but don't worry about me, I'm good over here in the kitchen by myself. And I never take up the offer to just go sit on the couch. Because I know what happens when I sit on the couch. It doesn't matter how I sit on the couch. If I sit like this, or if I sit like this, every single time I am on that couch, I end up like this. Or like this. How many of you can relate? It's those seasons of being a Martha. And I I even tell myself sometimes, I'll say, Man, I should just go sit down. But do I really want to deal with this mess later? And then I just keep cleaning. Because I'm a doer, and that I just relate to Martha so much. So as I'm sharing this message with you today, I want you to know that I am preaching to myself. And I'm gonna have to play this back to myself tomorrow when I try to stand in the kitchen, okay? Psalm 46, 10. Be still and know that I am God. The importance of laying everything down and surrendering and recognizing that He is the one and the only victorious God, it does something inside of you. It changes you. You're never the same. You

Stillness Is A Daily Choice

Celeste Brown 20:17

see, number one, to be still is a choice. It's a choice. You make choices every day. Yet this choice to be still seems to be so hard for many of us. It's hard. I know. It's that choice to set time aside each day to be with your creator. It's a choice. You see, amazing things happen when we choose to be still and to be in his presence. We learn that we don't have to do all the talking. It's a miracle. You actually can be with Jesus in the presence of Jesus and not have to do all the talking. You can listen and you can hear what he has to say to you. In fact, if we pause long enough, you will hear him speak back to you. When we listen more, we learn more. Many of us love the sound of our own voice. But when we learn to just be quiet and listen, we will hear him speak to us. When we take time to be still and we make that choice, our thoughts are cleared, and we can make room for wisdom, love, and peace to grow inside of us. Sometimes he will only answer us through quiet moments of reflection. So if you're here this morning and you feel like You have not been hearing the voice of God, you have to quiet yourself and be still. You see, being still is a choice. And Mary and Martha, these two sisters, they had a choice to make when Jesus came to visit. Martha made a choice to be busy. And she was distracted with serving. I want to tell you this very clearly: that serving is not bad. It's not bad. In fact, the church doesn't function without people serving. But in that moment of this story, Martha chose serving over being still. I want that to sink in for a moment. She had Jesus, who at this point in the Bible in life, many things have been happening around Jesus: healings, miracles, signs and wonders, big crowds following him. And he comes into this home of his friends. They're his friends. Mary and Martha were his friends. And he comes into the home, and like any good hostess, she would have had him sit down. She would make sure he has what he needs. And the disciples are with him, and he begins to speak. Well, it seems like common sense that if Jesus is in the room, you should stay where he is. But Martha, in her season of busyness, decides that that's not where she wants to be. And so she gets up and she hurries into the kitchen that we all know way too much of. And she decides to start doing all sorts of things. She made herself so busy and worked up that rather than listening and learning and being refreshed in his presence, she went and just created a big old drama in the other room. I know you are not familiar with drama, so I'm gonna lay it out for you. She was in there complaining. Verse 38 is very clear. It says that Martha is the one who opened her home to Jesus. And that right there just speaks so much to me. She's the one who opened the door and invited Jesus in. So if you invite somebody over to your house, do you bring them in and give them a hug and say, It's so good to see you? Have a seat. I'll see you on your way out. And you leave. Think about it. This is what she did. She brought him in, and not just him, but everyone that was with him, and they all begin to listen to what was about to be spoken, and she walked out of the room. To be still is a choice. It's a choice. Be still and know.

Stillness Takes Intentional Action

Celeste Brown 25:48

Number two, to be still requires action. You have to be present. It's one thing to say that you're gonna do it, and it's another thing to actually do it. I bet you can relate to that. It requires intentionality. You do it on purpose and you do it by design. It doesn't happen by accident. You don't just choose to be still on accident. Otherwise, you're probably sleeping at that point. Right? It's like me sitting on the couch. I'm just out. But every day you set aside time to be still, and then you have to follow through with it. I'm sure there are other things in your life that you plan and you follow through with. But for some reason, when it comes to being still in the presence of the living God, it's hard. And so you have to take action. It should be the highest priority on your list. Mary took action to be where Jesus was when he entered into that home. Martha lets him in, he sits down. And Mary, even though her and Martha are sisters, they got a lot of sister things that they probably don't even have to speak any words. It's just a look, and you know what you're trying to say to each other. She just ignored her sister. And she came straight over here, and it says that she sat at the feet of Jesus. Well, I don't know how much closer you can get unless you're gonna sit on his lap. But she got right there at his feet and she just knelt there and she was ready. She was not gonna miss the opportunity because he was in the room. She didn't hesitate. In fact, I believe that she was very familiar with this routine. And this is what I mean by this. I believe that she was so in tune with being in the presence of God that when Jesus walked into the room, she knew right where to go. It was familiar to her. She's been in those still moments with God day after day after day. If we desire to know God, we have to make space for Him. I tell you this all the time. I love praying for you. But you gotta make an effort to do something as well. We can pray heaven down on your situation, but you also have to take action to see it happen. And you've got to create space to be with the Lord. It takes action. If you want to hear from Him, you must spend time with Him. It requires action. If you have a friend who is always passing information on to you secondhand, wouldn't you rather just hear it from the source? So don't let us always be the mouthpiece for what God is trying to tell you. Go to the source. We love to present the Word of God to you, but every single day you gotta make a choice and take action to be in the Word and to pray. To be still and to listen and let God speak to you directly. Be still and know. Number

Stillness Means Relinquishing Control

Celeste Brown 29:22

three, to be still relinquishes control. Oh, this is a hard one. This is a hard one. People ask me if I love to fly, and I love flying on airplanes. I will tell you this. There's many reasons why I love to fly, because number one, I'm going somewhere adventurous. But the reason I love to fly is because I'm not in control of anything. I cannot fly the plane, thank the Lord. And I can't feed my kids. So if we're on an international flight, hey, you just gotta wait till the food comes. They're not letting me back there. I can't do anything for you. So if you didn't bring any snacks, you're on your own. You're thirsty? I don't know, push the button, see what they'll bring you. I am not in control on this plane. So you know what I do on that plane? I sleep. And people are like, Did you get any sleep? Absolutely. How long was that flight? Ten hours? I slept, probably eight and a half. The other 90 minutes I was eating and drinking. I am not in control. There's something so freeing about not being in control. There's something about it. When it's not on you to make it happen and you just get to leave it there, oh, there's something about it. Take me there. That's where I want to be. I want to be right there. And being still relinquishes control. It helps you to put your trust in the Lord. You know why? When you're still and you're in his presence, you cannot work your way out of anything. You cannot try to fix something by yourself when you're in the presence of the living God. You don't have time to be solving people's problems or the world's. And you're definitely, definitely, when you're being still and you're in the presence of God, you are not gonna tell him what to do. Hmm, because some of us like our own voice more than we should. And we want to tell God what to do. But when you're being still and you relinquish control, you're not telling him anything. Instead, you're laying everything down, you're surrendering, and you're recognizing that he is the one and only victorious God. The weights are lifted off of you. You realize that the one who created the heavens and the earth knows what to do more than your solution. And we begin to move out of the way and just let him do what he needs to do. You relinquish control. You see, in the stillness, we realize that he is all we need. That's it. He's all we need. Isaiah 26, 3 says, You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. What we do today determines what our tomorrow will look like. You see, Mary sat at Jesus' feet, and Martha ran around really busy. So when Jesus comes into the home, Mary gets up from his feet and she feels refreshed. She feels new. She feels like she can just float. She's in the presence of the Lord, and all things have been made new. And he is spiritually giving her everything she needs. And she can walk right out of that house knowing that he has her back on everything. But then you have Martha. She doesn't walk away refreshed, but she walks away completely overwhelmed. And instead of staying in the room where Jesus was, she decided to go and do her own thing. And she's in there complaining and trying to do all this work that was not meant for one person. Hello. And she's frustrated with her sister. That's her sister. Come on. There's got to be like an unconditional love there. She's over there just stewing with anger and frustration, glaring at her, probably, while her sister's just there in the presence of the Lord. Martha's over here just making a big old scene. She's probably moving the dishes around really loud, clanging things. In fact, I honestly can picture Jesus chuckle a couple times, like, just come in the room. Just come in the room. If you just come in the room with me, everything would be better. And she missed the entire visit with her guest. We

Missing Jesus By Staying Busy

Celeste Brown 34:26

open our hearts to Jesus and we let him in. Yet so often we miss the miracle of just being with him because we get distracted by doing so much. What if the best thing that we can do for ourselves is just to be in his presence? That means we have to slow down. So when my family says, hey, why don't you come into the room with us? It means I have to make the choice to say, okay. And I'll probably say it with an attitude for a little bit. Okay. And then I'll walk over there. And I have to learn to just sit and wait and be in his presence. And not so consume by doing, but actually just receiving. It's hard. But it's necessary. And Martha missed an amazing opportunity of being with the Lord. It's to slow down. It's to sit. It's to wait. It's to listen. It's to speak with and to be with God. And relinquish all control. To be still and know. I'm going to invite the worship team to come and join me. I'm going to read a psalm as they come. It's Psalm 37, verses 7 through 9. It says, be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices. Refrain from anger and forsake wrath. Fret not yourself. It tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off. But those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. Be still and know. I'm

Invitation To Follow Jesus

Celeste Brown 36:52

going to have all of you stand with me right now, and I just want to share for a moment. Maybe you've come to church today, you've been invited by somebody. It's an honor to have you here. But I want to make sure that everybody that is within the sound of my voice in the building or online has the opportunity to really know God. And there is a God who's created you, who loves you, who has amazing plans for you, who knows you best more than anybody else in this entire world. He knows you best. And his desire is to walk with you every step of your journey here on this earth. And maybe you grew up in a church, maybe you didn't. Maybe you've actually never read the word of God, but maybe you're sitting here today and you feel something inside of your spirit. That is God speaking to you. Maybe when you walked in, there's a peace that you can't explain. That's the Lord. Maybe there's a joy, maybe there's something that makes you want to smile. That's the Lord. And he's just moving in your midst. There's a God who sent his only son, Jesus Christ, who died on a cross for you. The stories are true. It's not just in the Bible, but it's historical. You can read it anywhere. But it actually took place. And this Jesus who died for you, he died to save you. So that when you end your life here on earth and your time is done, because our life is but a vapor, you have the opportunity to go to heaven for eternity with him. Heaven was created for you, hell was not. And so this morning, if you're here, I want to give you the opportunity to follow after Jesus and to get to know him a little more. It says in Romans chapter 10, verses 9 and 10 Because if you can, 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. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. And just as I read that testimony at the beginning of my message, this young 17-year-old girl, she wasn't saved because her mom was a leader in the church. She had to make the decision on her own that she was going to follow after Jesus. So if you're here today, I'm going to ask everyone just to close their eyes out of respect for their neighbor. But if you're here and you want to make a decision to follow after the Lord and to have all of your sins forgiven and to feel the weight of the world be lifted off of your shoulders, I'm going to ask you just to slip up a hand and I want to pray with you. Amen. Yeah, I see your hand, I see your hand, I see your hand, I see your hand, I see your hand, I see your hand, I see your hand. Amen. Amen. I'm going to ask everybody in the room to pray this prayer together and repeat after me. God, thank you for loving me. 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. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. So there was a lot of people that raised their hands, so I'm just really excited because you probably have a praying mama in your row right now. Um, you need to tell her after this service. Um, but I do want to tell you that if you do not have the word of God, if you don't have a physical Bible, we want to give you one. Um, so let us know because you need the word of God, because this is just the start of something amazing in your life. And there's a QR code, you can scan it, and uh we can get you every resource you need, but we want to make sure that you're successful in following after Jesus. If you are not part of a church, you need to find one. You need to get into a Bible-believing church. If you live near us, come and join us every Sunday, 9 and 11. We'd love to have you. If you do not live nearby and you need help finding one, let us know. We will direct you to some amazing churches near your community. But I want to tell you this: it's Mother's Day, and there's a lot of things that we could pray for. And I know that a lot of people maybe have a need, but this morning I I want to do two things.

Praying Over Moms And Making Space

Celeste Brown 41:26

Number one, if you're here with your mom, I want to ask that you would pray for her. This can be a little intimidating because sometimes maybe you don't pray. It's fine. But bring your mama up here and let her know that she is loved. Being a mom is a very thankless job. Maybe there's a woman here that is sitting by herself. Her kids are not here. Just grab her, bring her, tell her God loves you, so do I. Let's go. You're not gonna be by yourself this morning. And bring her up to this altar and just speak life over them. Pray for strength, pray for an anointing, pray for everything that their hands do, that God would bless it. And then I want you to begin to learn to be still in his presence. So when you leave today, if you're somebody who writes a calendar and you do things by a calendar, you better put it in your calendar. Be still and know. Be still and know. Every day, find a time, plug it in. And you need to make the choice, you need to take action, and you need to relinquish all control over to him. So, Father, this morning, I thank you for what you're doing. I thank you for this beautiful day that you have made. And I ask right now, Lord, for every woman in this place that your presence would be upon her. Pray that you would touch her and you would speak life to her. I pray that she would feel loved. So we just pray for just a holy moment this morning. A moment where you are just letting your spirit rest upon us. Give peace, give joy. God, we thank you for your goodness. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. I want to invite you to this altar this morning and bring someone that is a lady near you. Just bring her up and begin to pray over her.

SPEAKER_00 43:23

What a great message. We're to encourage today by Pastor Celeste and her message for us. I know I was.

Celeste Brown 43:29

Happy Mother's Day again as you head out. We have a gift for you. Um, so make sure that you grab one. We want you to know that you are loved. And I pray that you feel honored today and that you have an amazing day.

Final Blessing And Mother’s Day Gift

SPEAKER_00 43:42

Before you go out to whatever restaurant you're going to, I want to pray a blessing over us. The Lord bless you and keep 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. Lord, I pray a blessing upon your church, your people. Lord, you would empower us by your spirit to live your love out to those around us. Pray all this in the powerful name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Know this. We love you very much here at Cornerstone. God bless you and happy Mother's Day.