(00:00):
Well, good morning, church, and it is a great day to be in the house of the Lord. Can I get an amen? Uh, with that one, it is a great day. Couple reasons specifically today. Uh, number one, today is our annual tailgate party out on the front lawn. For all of you old school people, that is dinner on the grounds, all right? Uh, that is what that is today. Just a great chance for us to fellowship and hang out together and be together. And quite honestly, it is a great day to visit all of your tents with food, all right, for myself. So that's a great day. Secondly, it's a great day today because this one specifically today, we are actually here to break ground on our next worship facility here at Burnt Hickory. Yeah, come on. It's exciting. It's exciting, it's exciting. Listen, not just about the building, but because this has a chance for the next generations to be reached for Jesus, all right?

(00:57):
It really does. And hey, speaking of generations today, uh, we've got a lot of kind of g - special guests down here on the front. I'll let you meet all of them later, all right, that are part of the building and construction teams, part of a lot of our, our roots is Burnt Hickory. But there is one particular person here that I just want us to appreciate today, and that is in 1973, Mr. Reverend Buddy Crowder started this church and today his wife, Ms. Crowder, is with us today. Would you just wave at us, Ms. Crowder? Thank you for being here today. Oh man, it is so special, uh, for you to be in the house with us on this day. Thirdly, special day today, because on this day every year, uh, we pause and we have a little family conversation on what is church, all right?

(01:49):
And why do we do church? And why is church important? And here's why we do this, a couple reasons. Number one, because over 500 of you have joined this place in the last year, all right? In just one year, 500 of you have joined this place. We baptized over 258 people, uh, in the last 12 months, which is so cool, all right, to celebrate. And we really wanna be on the same page, all right? We wanna be on the same page, moving in the same direction. And so we pause on this day and we talk about the why behind church, the what behind church. And really, I'm gonna tell you, at the end of the day, all right, at the end of the day, I'm gonna ask every single one of us to reconsider what church is to us and our commitment to it. All right?

(02:38):
So listen, if you have to leave during the invitation today, you're either gonna get baptized or join the church, all right? Somebody's gonna ask you that, all right? I'm just kidding, but listen, stay in there today. Look, if you got a copy of scripture, turn with me to Acts chapter 20 today. Acts chapter 20, we're gonna launch from there, and then right after that, we're gonna land in Matthew chapter 16. Today's gonna feel a little bit different. It's not exegetical today. We're not gonna walk through one big text today because I want us to see what is God's heart for the church today and what is church. And then obviously on the backside of it today, I want every one of us walking out here knowing today that we are the church, all right? Acts chapter 20 is the very backside of Acts. Now, if you remember, right, we did like 27 weeks last year in the book of Acts, and we landed towards the backside in this little passage right here that after church, after Paul has planted all of his churches on his missionary journeys, after the church in Jerusalem has grown, he pulls in these church leaders and he gives us this one verse that has so much emotion to it and it has so much closure to it.

(03:49):
He's speaking to church leaders after all has been said about the churches. Listen to what Paul says in Acts chapter 20, verse 28. He says this to the church leaders. He says, "Keep watch over yourselves." Now that's a great message for people like myself that that is our primary goal, is to keep ourselves accountable. But secondly, he says, keep watch over yourselves and all of the flock. Now look, that's you guys, all right? That's who he's talking about, the flock, which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. And here's what he tells them. He says, "Be shepherds of the church of God." In other words, a shepherd sometimes is loving, sometimes he has to take that stick and do a little business, right? He says, "Be shepherds of the church of God." Here's the point I want to make today though, the biggest point of this, watch this, "Which he," that's taught that's Jesus, right?

(04:39):
"Which Jesus bought with his own blood. "Now, I want us to see this because there's so much emotion in it. In this particular moment, there are so many people on this side of the church here in Acts that love God, that love the church, that wanna serve the church, but then there's so much persecution on this side. He's encouraging these church leaders and looking into their lives and he's saying," Listen, be shepherds, guide the church, love the church, serve the church because... "Remember the backside? Because Jesus, what did it say? Jesus bought the church with his blood. Now have you ever thought about this before? Have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus didn't just serve the church? Jesus bought the church. Jesus is the reason for the church. And let me lean into it a little bit more because this is what Paul's saying.He's looking at these leaders and he's saying," Listen, because Jesus bought it, because Jesus is the epitome of the starter of the church, it literally means, listen to me, church matters.

(05:45):
"That's what it means. And it's very bottom line here. It means it matters so much that Jesus bought it and paid for the family. That's us, right? The family of God. He bought it. He paid for it. He established it. He made it. He ordained it. Therefore, here it is. Here's where the rubber meets the road. Therefore, we don't get to make the determination of its worth. You see where I'm stepping, right? You see a lot of us, our feeling is, is that I'm the one that determines what church is worth to me. No, Jesus did. Our determination is if I will walk in obedience to that and if I will honor what it is that Christ shed his blood for, and that is the body of Christ. Now look, I know, I know when I say that. I know when I say that Christ blood bought, bought the church and started...

(06:48):
I know that, man, there's many of us, just like, just a second ago, there's many of us who are like," Amen, pastor, that's right. "Man, I'm with you in that. But I also know on the other side of it, some of you are like," Ah, I don't know if I'm quite there yet, Matt. I don't know if I'm quite bought in quite as much as you're talking about. "Man, man, I realize that, that some of you aren't quite there. Many of you, just to be as honest as I can, many of you, you're new to this whole church thing, right? You're new to it, like 500 of you. Welcome to the party, right? Many of you, not only are new to it, but many of you are just back in it. Listen, I'm, I'm no fool. I know that there are a large portion of you who at one point in your life, you got burned pretty bad by the church.

(07:31):
You did, and I get it. And there's hurt there. In my office, people use the word church hurt because it's a real deal because people take advantage, people do crazy things. The body of Christ is not perfect. I realize there's another group of you that are just kind of a little bit, I don't know, skeptical of it. A, a, a lot of you have been taught to keep the church at arm's length. For some of you, you're just kind of a little bit indifferent to it and, and literally you're just here to keep her off your back. Can I get an amen? Don't do it. Don't do it, right? Don't do it.

(08:02):
For some of you, they're just indifferent. And I understand because of all that, and not to mention because of the American church, there seems to be this consumerism that has, that has just crept in to make church something that's just all about my needs and my wants. And as long as you're meeting my needs and singing the songs I like and preaching how I want to and your kids' ministry is this, I'll hang in there. So I understand the reality is if you combine all that together, the, the, the problem is, is that I'm just not sure that our mindset as a whole is the same mindset that Jesus had when he established the church, which leads me to say this today. I just wanna lovingly point out, it's kind of an annual reminder for some of you, I wanna lovingly point out what is God's desire for church.

(08:53):
What is it for? What does it mean? Let me put my full thesis on the table though, because this is the launching point for us. Put it as a principle in your notes if you wanna write it down. Here it is. It's this. It's that God, and this will clear a lot of things up for a lot of us. God never called you just to consume the service of a church. God called you to commit to a family. All right? I'm gonna use that to launch this morning because what God's saying in this is something that I think if we can get a hold of it and if we can let it just kinda seep into our soul a little bit, it'll change the ballgame for us because what God is saying is, is that, that we just don't attend church. God's desire for us is to belong and be the church.

(09:39):
That's God's desire. Now here's what that means. That means that the church is not a spectator sport, right? That's what it means. So man, I don't know if I'm buying you. Let me see if I can clear this up. Last night in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, all right? You know I was gonna go there just for a minute. Last night, last night, there was 85,000 plus brothers and sisters in desperate need of exercise watching 22 men that just needed a break in that place. Yesterday was a full, full day of spectator sports. But listen to me, Sunday is not. Sunday is not. Why? Because church was never meant to be a spectator sport. Church was meant to be a family. Church was meant to be a body of believers. Church was meant to be a meeting of people that get together, that have a common confession, a common theme, a common purpose, a common sanctification and salvation and a moment that we all get together and we reach the world together.

(10:51):
That's church. Now, I know this is not news for some of you, but I wanna show you Jesus actually in his first mention of what church is. In Matthew chapter 16, Jesus actually mentions church for the first time in his whole ministry career, all right? Matthew 16 is a extremely popular passage. We use it to teach a lot of scripture. Since this is the first time he mentions church, we need to take it because from this point on, it launches us into a theological principle called the first mentioned principle, all right? And that means that every other time that this is mentioned, we need to take it, the church, in light of what Jesus says right here. Let me read it to you and I'll show you what I mean. Matthew 16:13. It says this, "When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked the disciples, who do people say that the son of man is?" They reply, "Well, some say John the Baptist and others say Elijah and others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

(11:48):
But what about you?" Jesus asked. "Who do you say that I am? "Simon Peter answered," You are the Messiah, the son of the living God. "And Jesus replied," Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my father in heaven. "You say," Matt, what does this have to do with church? "Watch the last verse. "And I tell you," Jesus says, watch this, and I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock, I will build my church and the gates of Hayd's will not overcome it. "Now let me see if I can explain this to you because here's what's happening. Jesus has got his boys. They're right here standing in front of this place at Caesarea Philippi that was actually known for its demonic activity. They're literally looking at Jesus and they're, they're having this conversation.

(12:42):
Jesus looks at him and he's like," Hey, who are people saying that I am? Who are people describing me as? "And they kind of give him a few words and then Peter throw... Jesus throws it back to Peter and he's like," Well, what about you, Peter? Who do you say that I am? "And Peter steps up and he says," You're the Messiah. You're the one that we've been looking for. You're the savior of the world, the one that we need to give everything over to. "And then Jesus looks at him and goes," Bless you, Peter. Bless you because it's on that truth, all right? It's on that proclamation that I am the Messiah, "Jesus says," That I will build my church. "And then he looks over at Peter. He doesn't ordain Peter as this leader of all the church of all times. He looks at him and says," Hey, Peter, I am the rock that all of this is gonna be built on, but you, Peter, you are a small rock and all of us are small rocks that are gonna come together and be called out and work together under the guise and umbrella that he is the Messiah and we are going to be the church.

(13:44):
And as a result, the church will always exist and never fail. "That's what Jesus is saying right here. This is the foundation of the church. Actually, even when you take the word church in Greek, I do this every year just to point it out to you. It's the word ecclesia in Greek, and it's actually a compound word of two words. If you look at the word ecclesia, it literally is two words, ec meaning out of, and clayo meaning to call. Now, when you pop those two together, it gives us the literal definition of church, and that is that we are the called out body of Christ. So when we follow that, it takes the consumerism out of it. It takes the, the showmanship out of it. It takes the visiting and conference theme out of it because you are the church. Have you ever thought about that?

(14:42):
You and me and all of us that are in Christ, we're the church. Now, obviously, the church gathers. Obviously, we're under this umbrella that we call Burn Hickory, right? Obviously, we are now meeting together. Churches have been doing what we're doing now since the beginning of the book of Acts. I get that. They've actually been building places since about 150 AD to gather in, to worship in, to wor - to, to have a moment of discipleship in so that they can launch. But listen to me, it is less about a place and more about all of us being part of a called out people walking together in the mission of God to reach the world. That's church. And here's the thing, that changes the ballgame when it comes to this idea of, well, I'm just gonna pop in and pop out, doesn't it? Because it's hard to be the called out.

(15:35):
That's our mindset. Now, now I can feel the tension in the room. It's like, I don't even matter. I don't think I'm buying it. I don't think I'm buying it. And hey, kudos for you for thinking, right? But if you don't believe me, listen to Paul just for a few minutes, because I wanna show you Paul's description of the first churches. Let's look at his description of the Corinthian church. In one Corinthians one, watch what Paul says. This is way more than just the introduction to the book of Corinthians that we always skip. Watch what Paul says right here. One Corinthians one: one. It says, Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and by a brother Sothins. Watch what he says. To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours grace and peace to you from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

(16:32):
Did, did you catch the description? Look at the descriptor words here. What does it say? Paul describes the church as gathered, right? Look at it right there. We're, we're gathered together to the church in Corinth. They're gathered locally into this place called Corinth. What are they? They're being sanctified. That's the next words there. That means they're being freed from sin. They're working to become more like Jesus together. There's a, there's a fellowship among them. Keep going. It says they're being called out to what? To be holy. That's separate, that's not in the culture that is leeching into them. They're being more and more like Jesus. And not only are they gathered as part of this local body in Corinth, they're also part of the what? The big C church. Those everywhere who call on the name of the Lord. Listen, that's church. Church is not a conference.

(17:21):
It's not an event. It's not a deal. It is a called out, a symbol, accountable body that is moving together, walking to reach the world. That's church. We say," Well, Matt, the Corinthian church had a lot of problems. "Okay. Let's look at the church at Thessalonica, okay? I get it. I get it again. L- let's look at them for a minute. W- watch what it says about them. One Thessalonians one: one, it says Paul, Silas and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians and God, the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Watch this. Watch the description. We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father, here's the description. See if we match it. Your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, your endurance inspired by hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.

(18:11):
Do you see it? The church is a body of believers that are faithful people called working together, present, loving, enduring, hopeful, laboring. Is that us? Or is church something we just pop in and out of? I hope you're feeling where I'm stepping, right? Because this is church. In fact, remember the whole book of Acts? We saw this after week, after week, after week, after week that the church was us, the small rocks being built on the big rock Jesus and his messiahship and what he wants to do in us, to which most of us go, okay, man, I'm with you. I got it. I agree with that in concept. But what does that mean for me? Here's what that means for us. It means that... And this is where it gets personal. It means that there's this assumption in the New Testament, and there should be this assumption in today that every single person that claims Jesus as their savior should belong, regularly assemble with and serve as the church.

(19:19):
That's what it means. I- in fact, write this second principle down. Here's what the New Testament's saying. The New Testament does not give us the option to love Jesus and ignore his family, the church. He doesn't give us the option. Why? Because by definition, it can't. If we are the church, the called out body. Wh- which, by the way, what you'll begin to notice if you really key in on scripture is, is this is the reason that the Bible doesn't necessarily give some stark command that you need to go to church. Have you ever thought about that, right? I get it usually about once a year by some sparky college student that's living in sin that wants to make some justification. They'll come to me and say," Hey, hey, Pastor Matt, the Bible doesn't tell me I need to go to church. "I'm like," You're right, brother, because you should be the church.

(20:13):
"Have you ever thought about that? Church is not an event. It's a group of people assembled together to be discipled and to reach the world. Now, we commonly gather here at a place called Burn Hickory to be fueled and gathered and more and more and more in love with him to go do that. But the Bible over and over and over again describes the church. It's written to the church. Every letter in the New Testament is written to the church. We can argue he can reach later, but it's written the revelation of God. The two chapters is spoken to churches. It's written to church leaders for church circulation about how to be the church. Why? Because the church is what? Acts 28, 20:28. The church is what Jesus bought with the spot. I just want you to feel that this morning because I just have this feeling that our culture is leaking away from the idea of that the church is the body of Jesus.

(21:10):
It's the body of Jesus left on this earth to represent him, but yet do we treat it like that? Or is the church just kind of pushed together with every other event that we've committed to in our lives and whatever is left over, we offer to the body of Christ? Let me give you seven, just what I would just kind of call foundational biblical truths about church this week that maybe you can just kind of hold onto through this week. Or maybe even if somebody challenges you about church, you can use these. We've already mentioned a couple of them. I just want to put them in a linear order for you. Number one, I just want to remind you that it was Jesus that started the church. It's Jesus. Have you ever thought about this, that man didn't dream up church? Have you ever though about the fact that it wasn't like some guys sitting in a back office somewhere that went, "Hey, how do we ruin everybody Sunday morning?" Right?

(22:02):
No. It was Jesus. Man didn't dream it up. In fact, we just read the verse in Matthew 16:18 where Jesus literally said, "I," what did he say? "I will build my church and the gates of Haydes will not overcome it. "Also, have you ever thought about that Jesus only started one organization while he was on this planet and it was the church? You know, you know what that means? You know what that means? I'm about to step on you a little bit. You know what that means? That means that Jesus did not start your sports team, or for some of you, your sports ball team, right? He didn't do it. Jesus didn't start that. Man started that. Jesus didn't start your workplace. Man started that. Jesus started the church. One organization, that means that unlike every other organization, the church is not a man-made activity.

(22:55):
It's a God-ordained activity. Secondly, not only does Jesus start the church, Jesus deeply loves the church, deeply loves the church. We've already looked at it that he shed his blood for it, but look at how Paul says it, and he loves it with faults and all. Ephesians 5:25, Paul says," Husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church and did what? "And gave himself up for her. Uh, in other words, Paul says that Jesus loved the church so much that he gave himself for it. He died for it. And when you, and when you think about this, now look, don't take it the wrong way, but Jesus didn't die for whatever team that's on your jersey. He died for the people in the teams, obviously. He didn't die for your sports club. He didn't buy for your company. He died for his bride, the church.

(23:45):
The church. Now, and here's the deal. Here's the deal. You can say whatever you want to about me as a person. And look, a lot of you do. And some of it is really funny, all right?

(23:57):
But you don't talk about my bride, right? That's like fighting words right there. But why do we not see that with Jesus? How do we operate with just flippancy when it comes to the bride of Christ, the church? And how in the world can we claim to love a God that we can't see when we don't love the body of Christ that we can't see? Now I get it. Does it have faults? Oh yeah, it's got faults, especially this one, but we're doing our best. Jesus started the church. Jesus loved the church. Write this down. These are quick. Number three, Jesus speaks to the church. He speaks to the church. You know what that means? When you read the New Testament, you will see over and over and over again, it is at moments like this that things happen in the body of Christ where God supernaturally does a work in people's lives.

(24:50):
Say, man, is that the only way I can hear from God? No, there was an organization that tried that for a while, but it didn't work. But it's a primary way because God speaks through his church, which is number four. Write it down. Not only does God speak to the church, he speaks through the church. He speaks through people like myself. He speaks through people like other pastors, like other life group leaders, like other worship leaders that when we're gathered together, that we take the word of God, that we've agonized over all week long saying, God, just give me a message for these people. And God begins to move in our lives and move in our hearts. This is why almost every week somebody says, Matt, I just feel like you were reading my mail this week. I just feel like you may follow me around this week.

(25:32):
I got news for you. I don't do that, number one. But number two, that's God. That's him speaking into your soul. That's him meeting you right where he is. And he does it so much. He does it through pastors, through teachers, through worship leaders, through when we're shoulder to shoulder, singing our guts out for the king of kings, listening to the word being divided over us. But I get it. There's this idea of man, this is a different time. It's a different day. I can do it at home. I can, I can get a podcast. I can read a book. I can watch a reel because my attention's only four minutes. I mean, all, all that, right? And I get it. All that is valuable. It really is, but it doesn't take the place of hearing the word proclaimed over you. Here's why. Here's what I promise you.

(26:16):
You will always shy away from your struggles and you will always pause it when it gets up in your feels.

(26:23):
You will, but it's hard to do at church because it's a long way to walk out of this place when you get convicted. He speaks through the church. Number five though, those are personal. Let's get kind of corporate. Number five, the church is the light of the world to reach a dark world. The church is a light. You realize that we do church. We are part of the church. We operate as the church, not just for ourselves, but to reach people. And this is logical. Why? Because when the God gets a hold of our lives, when we respond to the word of God, what does the called out body do? The called out body moves into action together, works together, shoulder to shoulder, with accountability, with encouragement on this side, and we walk together to reach the world for Jesus. And listen, you can't do that if you don't belong.

(27:19):
Have you ever though to yourself," Man, I just wish I could invit him to church. "You're like," Oh, wait, maybe in three weeks when we actually are part of it, right? "It doesn't work like that. You see, culture says come to church. Jesus says belong. Culture says," Come to be. "Jesus says," Be known. "Culture says," Pop in, pop out. "Jesus says," Be active and accountable and be on the mention, "which, which listen, not only is there no mention in the New Testament of an individual that is not part of the body, there's also no mention in the New Testament of an individual that just sneaks in and out of the church and is not known by people in the church. I know that one just got up on some of you because your main goal is to sneak in, sneak out and not be known.

(28:07):
Listen, that's not belonging. That's not being a part of the body. They didn't do that. In fact, watch a couple of these verses here. When Peter preached at Pentecost in Acts 2:41, it says," Those who accepted his message, they were baptized and about 3,000 of them were what? Were added to their number that day. "What does that mean? Somebody knew them. Somebody was accountable for them. They belonged in Acts five when the disciples were healing. Acts 5:14, it says," Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were what? Added to their number. "What does that mean? That means people knew their name. It means they became a part of something bigger than themselves. They submitted their lives to something bigger than themselves. The understanding was that to be added to the Lord was to be added to the church, to be added to the church meant that I was added to the Lord and I am now together moving in a direction with them.

(29:01):
Also, listen to this last one out of Hebrews 13. It seems really self-serving for myself as a pastor when I read it on the front end, but it's really scary on the back end. Watch this. Hebrews 13:17, it says," Have confidence in your leaders and to submit to their authority. "You're like," Oh yeah, Matt, that's why you're reading that one. "Oh, but watch this because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Now look, that keeps me up at night. That keeps me up. Why? Because how in the world can I, as a pastor shepherd, can the rest of the shepherds of our church, how in the world can we give an account for people that are just flipping and we don't even know them? That's what it's talking about. This is basically saying that biblically minded people are not following the cultural mandate to just go visit church.

(29:52):
It's saying become a part of a church and walk out the body of Christ. 'Cause you are the church. The question hit a couple years ago when I was teaching on church that I've just kind of slide in at least every now and then. And it's this question right here, would I wanna be a part of a church or could a church even exist if it had my level of belonging? You ever though about that?

(30:21):
Now, for some of you, listen, let me just say kudos to y'all because this place thrives because we got faithful brothers and sisters in this church that love Jesus, that love this body, that serve in this body. Man, from 1973 till today, we have had faithful saints that have walked together, that have cared for people, that have walked out their faith together. You are accountable, you are being discipled, you are walking together, you are serving, you are nurtured here, you are walking and honoring God here. But for others of us, it's just way different. Maybe our mindset of just, I just go to church. Hear me out in this. I, I don't say any of this because I just wanna build some massive monstrosity of a church. I say all this because here's what, God wants this for you. I stood with a family yesterday, it's Scottish right, that lost a three month old little boy, almost like that.

(31:22):
I'm gonna tell you that I have watched what the body of Christ has done in that family's life because they are plugged in and making a difference here and known. And I've also watched it other times where people are not known. And I can tell you this family, you don't wanna be in the unknown category when that happens.

(31:45):
Which leads me to number six. You can't love the shepherd, Jesus. Why ignoring the flock? The church. You just can't do it. It just means that something inside of you is spiritually missing it. And I'm begging you today to attach yourself to a local church. Why? Because God has just created us to move in this interdependent, interlocking, woven dependency. And unless you're part of deep community of Jesus, you just don't get it. So here's my bag of you this morning. Plant in some local church. Some church. Listen to me. If you're visiting for the first or second time, hey, welcome today, but give me a moment with the family just for a minute. Okay, listen, listen for the rest of you, for the rest of you.

(32:39):
If you're going here, this needs to be your church. This needs to be your church. Say, man, that's pretty bold. I get it. I get it. I get it. But, but here's what I'm saying in that. You need to belong somewhere. You need to stick somewhere and you need to make somewhere your family to love God, serve Jesus and work in this community together. And look, you can't do it when you're over here on Monday and you're over here next week and you're at this church over here and you're hitting online over here and you're taking the women's ministry over here and the kids' ministry over here and the men's ministry over here and you like to worship over there, but that pastor over there, he can really speak. You just can't do it. You're just a consumer at that point. What I'm begging it is this, and I, and look, I'll speak for the rest of the pastors in this community because we're great friends, we love each other.

(33:25):
I'll just say this, make one of them your home so that you can belong and you can make a difference. Why? Because church is not just somewhere we attend, it's somewhere we belong. Here's the last one though, because church is not only just important for us today. Church, listen to me. Church holds the power to impact the generations to come. It does. Do, do you realize parents that your kids are watching you? I know you do. You've seen it from the time you were little. They're watching you. And every week and every month and every year that goes by, your kids are deciding what church is worth based on your commitment parents to how you're walking it. And here's my fear. We are always one generation away from this just becoming an absolute secondary thought. So listen parents, my motivation in this is for you personally, but my second motivation is this.

(34:38):
If we're gonna reach this world, if we're gonna reach the next generations, which is what today's about, we're gonna do it by discipling our kids into the fact that they are the church. So what's the ask this morning? The ask this morning is for me and for you to plant myself in a local church and belong.

(35:02):
To which I would just ask, what's keeping you from it? What's keeping you from it? Listen, I'm telling you, is this place perfect? No. Actually, you're probably led by one of the most imperfect people in it. But I'll say this, as long as I'm here and as long as the other brothers and sisters that serve here, that are here right now, we are gonna do everything we can to walk in the name of Jesus and to love this community well. And if that's you, plant yourself here. Plant yourself here. The highest calling is not to go to church. It's to belong and be the church. Let me finish with this verse. Psalm 92 verse 12. Literally says, the righteous will flourish like a palm tree and they will grow like the cedar of Lebanon. Seems kind of weird, but let me explain it. Look, we don't usually use this word flourish a lot, but it, but it's a great image of growth and vitality and health and moving in a direction.

(36:08):
The symbolism of the palm means victory. It's when Jesus rode in to Jerusalem, they put palm trees ahead of him to, to symbolize the victory in his life. The cedar was this fragrant offering. It's a, it's a strong wood, but watch what it says.

(36:26):
It says who's gonna flourish? Watch it. Again, verse 12, the righteous will flourish like a palm tree. They will grow like the cedar of Lebanon. Who's gonna flourish? Watch. Planted in the house of the Lord. They will flourish in the courts of God. They will still bear fruit in old age. Can I get an amen? Right? They will stay fresh and green, proclaiming the Lord is upright. He is my rock and there is no wickedness in him. What does that mean? It's just showing us those that are planted in the house of the Lord, those that are planted in the house of the Lord. Look at this image of fulfilled and making a difference filled with joy. Many of us, and actually our culture doesn't use this language, right? Most of our culture uses the language of withered or alone or struggling, relationally hurting, not knowing which end is up, right?

(37:28):
But those that are planted will what? Flourish.

(37:35):
Let me ask you this morning though. Are you planted? Not, not are you here, but are you planted? Is the roots beginning to go into the soil to receive the goodness of God, to show the fruit of God to others? Listen, church is not a destination to attend. It's a posture of who we are. So here's the plea this morning. Will you plant and belong? Will you plant and belong? Now for some of you, you're like, yes, this is where I am. Man, I'm just gonna say from the bottom of this pastor's heart, thank you. Thank you. You are flourishing and it's seen by me, by this church, but most often by God. For some of you though, listen, you've been a member here maybe since 1986. I don't know. But have you ever really belonged? Belonged. For some of you, your step today is to say, Hey Lord Jesus, I'm in.

(38:47):
Let's do this. For some of you today, your next step is to join this church. Just to be honest, hey, you've been dating for so long, you can't even remember how long it's been. It's time to have the DTR, determine the relationship, right?

(39:02):
Some of you today, you need to join this church and put a pole in the ground and say, this is where we will be. For some of you today, you need to be baptized. Some of you need to give your life to Jesus today. Just a second, we're gonna have an invitation song. I'm gonna be standing right over here by the next step spanner. And here's what I want to encourage you this morning. Whatever your next step is, take it. You can jump on the app today and you can just fill out the form that you wanna join this church and we'll follow up tomorrow. You can jump on the app and just say, "Hey man, I want somebody to talk to me about baptism or salvation or, and, and we will reach out as fast as possible." Or you can walk over here to the next step banner and just say, "Hey Matt, I need Jesus.

(39:45):
I need this to be my home. What do I need to do?" But out of all that this morning, I'm just gonna ask you this, what do you need to do to belong? Because I got news for you. We got work to do. There's 100,000 people within five miles of this church that God has called us to reach and we're gonna do it.