back to indexAll Church Retreat Praise and Prayer
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For those of you who are in the back hanging out, 00:02:59.440 |
please begin making your way towards the front 00:03:02.440 |
and take seats near the front as much as possible. 00:03:13.440 |
if you're already registered, go ahead and make your way over. 00:03:16.440 |
We're going to give people just some extra time 00:03:29.440 |
But again, for those of you guys who can hear me on the outside, 00:44:06.440 |
Lord, we know that when you envision and picture your people, 00:44:10.440 |
you see people who are longing for you with everything that they have, 00:44:14.440 |
with all of their might, with all their mind and their soul. 00:44:18.440 |
And I pray, Father God, that we as a church would be a people 00:44:22.440 |
who is not embarrassed of you, but rather with full vulnerability, 00:44:27.440 |
seeking you with every ounce of energy we have. 00:44:30.440 |
I pray, Father God, that if any of us are just weary, 00:44:35.440 |
perhaps we lack confidence because we failed too many times, 00:44:39.440 |
help us just to recognize that none of that matters 00:44:42.440 |
because you deserve our worship in any moment. 00:44:45.440 |
Whether we feel strong or we feel weak, we recognize, Lord God, 00:44:51.440 |
it is always a blessing to be in your presence. 00:44:54.440 |
For, God, being in your presence is restoration, 00:45:00.440 |
And so I pray, Father God, no matter what state we're in, 00:45:03.440 |
no matter what baggage we come to this place, 00:45:10.440 |
And, Lord, I pray, Father Lord, that as we do that, 00:45:13.440 |
we would recognize to us the sweetest joys is with you. 00:45:16.440 |
So, Lord, even as we sing these songs and we lift up these prayers, 00:45:20.440 |
I pray that it would be the desire of our heart to meet you intimately. 00:45:24.440 |
We thank you, Lord, it's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. 00:45:29.440 |
As we continue with worship through song, you may remain seated. 00:45:33.440 |
And just as we have prayed about seeking and desiring the Lord together, 00:45:37.440 |
let us sing the song, "As the deer panteth for the water, 00:46:00.440 |
♪ As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after thee. ♪ 00:46:13.440 |
♪ You alone are my heart's desire, and I long to worship thee. ♪ 00:46:29.440 |
♪ You're my friend and you are my brother, even though you are a king. ♪ 00:46:47.440 |
♪ I love you more than any other, so much more than anything. ♪ 00:47:03.440 |
♪ You alone are my strength, my shield. To you alone may my spirit lead. ♪ 00:47:21.440 |
♪ You alone are my heart's desire, and I long to worship thee. ♪ 00:47:42.440 |
♪ I want you more than gold or silver, only you can satisfy. ♪ 00:47:58.440 |
♪ You alone are the real joy-giver and the apple of my eye. ♪ 00:48:15.440 |
♪ You alone are my strength, my shield. To you alone may my spirit lead. ♪ 00:48:33.440 |
♪ You alone are my heart's desire, and I long to worship thee. ♪ 00:48:49.440 |
♪ You alone are my strength, my shield. To you alone may my spirit lead. ♪ 00:49:07.440 |
♪ You alone are my heart's desire, and I long to worship thee. ♪ 00:49:35.440 |
So at this time we are going to transition into a different format of prayer. 00:49:41.440 |
I'm going to ask Pastor Nate to come up and he's going to represent us in a topic, just praying for our ready hearts. 00:49:50.440 |
Because of the nature of the topic of the retreat, we're going to be given a lot of exhortation and even practical exhortation of what to do about our relationships. 00:50:00.440 |
So we want to be praying over, let's see, Pastor Nate are you here? 00:50:10.440 |
He's going to be leading us in praying over, just making sure that our hearts are ready to obey and follow those exhortations. 00:50:16.440 |
So as he prays, please just follow along in your hearts when we pray together. 00:50:26.440 |
And Lord, we so often take your words and we treat them as rules. 00:50:33.440 |
Things that we're just supposed to follow along, but God we sing a song to you right now. 00:50:47.440 |
Would you cause in us, Lord, a great obedience that comes because of our great love for you. 00:50:53.440 |
Father, we take a moment tonight to look out at all the things that we've been following. 00:51:03.440 |
And God, we take this night to declare our obedience to you alone. 00:51:15.440 |
Father, there is no other God in our lives but you. 00:51:48.440 |
Because we can't do this apart from your help. 00:51:52.440 |
Spirit, we ask you to come inside and work your work. 00:52:18.440 |
We're so prone, God, to take our eyes off of you. 00:52:21.440 |
And so, Lord, let this happen not as we force humility upon 00:52:25.440 |
ourselves, that we want to just cut ourselves down and force 00:52:30.440 |
But, God, that we would truly see you as you are. 00:52:33.440 |
God, we would remember that all creation bows down before you. 00:52:37.440 |
All creation, God, adores you, listens to you. 00:52:46.440 |
And, Lord, we no longer want to be like that. 00:52:59.440 |
And we want God to be something that we leave declaring with joy 00:53:06.440 |
Lord, we're going to hear some hard stuff this retreat. 00:53:10.440 |
And so, God, when we hear from your word and it tells us to 00:53:13.440 |
reconcile, that you have given to us the ministry of 00:53:16.440 |
reconciliation, I pray, that we would go and obey. 00:53:20.440 |
Father, would this place be a place filled with people who 00:53:25.440 |
desire truly to live in reconciliation with others, 00:53:28.440 |
that we might extend the love that you've shown to us to 00:53:32.440 |
And so, God, we want you to really be honored and glorified 00:53:41.440 |
And so, Lord, we lay these things down before you. 00:53:55.440 |
And as you know, again, we're going to be doing a lot of 00:53:58.440 |
But the focal point is for us to hear the exhortation from the 00:54:02.440 |
So, Elder James, please come and pray for boldness and conviction 00:54:11.440 |
Lord, we thank you, Lord God, for Professor John Street as we 00:54:18.440 |
delve into this topic of biblical reconciliation. 00:54:26.440 |
there is so much confusion with this idea of reconciliation. 00:54:32.440 |
There is man who is trying to reconcile with man on their own 00:54:38.440 |
without you, which we know it is completely impossible, Lord. 00:54:43.440 |
And so, Lord, as children of God who have truth, Father, 00:54:50.440 |
as we are being molded and shaped by it, Lord, 00:54:54.440 |
as we have our minds and our hearts ready and fertile to 00:55:02.440 |
to learn to be attentive but to also apply, Lord, 00:55:08.440 |
to apply these messages in our lives, to show the world, 00:55:18.440 |
And so as we adorn the gospel message in our individual lives, 00:55:24.440 |
help us, Lord God, as a church to stand strong in particularly 00:55:37.440 |
We pray that you would give him conviction and boldness in his 00:55:42.440 |
We pray that we know that he has an ongoing teaching ministry. 00:55:52.440 |
help us, Lord God, to receive him as family because that's 00:55:56.440 |
We pray all these things in the name of your son. 00:56:01.440 |
And as a final topic, Elder Joe, if you would come up. 00:56:04.440 |
You know, again, there's a lot of times for us to join in small 00:56:11.440 |
they're having a retreat of their own with lessons and things 00:56:14.440 |
So just desiring God to bless everything and make things 00:56:18.440 |
Make sure as Elder Joe prays, let's join our hearts to lift 00:56:26.440 |
Father, thank you, Lord, for you said in 2 Peter that you've 00:56:39.440 |
You've given us even this time to gather as the body of Christ 00:56:45.440 |
And I thank you, Lord God, that I see so many brothers and 00:56:49.440 |
sisters here who have come out to fellowship, 00:56:55.440 |
to encourage one another, and to learn from your word. 00:57:00.440 |
I pray, Lord God, that it may be such a fruitful few days, 00:57:05.440 |
That our hearts, Lord God, may be knit together and stitched 00:57:10.440 |
That our love for one another may continue to grow. 00:57:17.440 |
that our minds may be ready, that our hearts may be ready to 00:57:21.440 |
receive your word and to apply its truth in our lives. 00:57:25.440 |
Lord, it may be somewhat, as many other retreats have gone 00:57:32.440 |
but I pray, Lord God, that our spiritual minds may be engaged. 00:57:36.440 |
Lord God, that we can glean much from your word. 00:57:39.440 |
That the blessings, Lord God, that you continue to pour out to 00:57:45.440 |
It's just so amazing, Lord God, that you're faithful, 00:57:53.440 |
But I pray, Lord God, that the times with Dr. Shreve may be 00:57:58.440 |
We pray for the times of small groups together, Lord God, 00:58:01.440 |
in our discussions, in the practical applications, 00:58:05.440 |
how we think through just to live our lives according to your 00:58:12.440 |
Lord, that you strengthen us, that you give us time to 00:58:14.440 |
fruitful discussion, true fellowship in the midst of our 00:58:19.440 |
brothers and sisters sharing together our lives. 00:58:23.440 |
We pray, Lord God, as well for even just our children, 00:58:30.440 |
We know, Lord God, that there are many and continuing to grow 00:58:36.440 |
And I pray, Lord God, for all those who are assisting and 00:58:39.440 |
volunteering and teaching, that you give them wisdom, 00:58:49.440 |
that the gospel may be clear, that many of these children may 00:58:56.440 |
But ultimately, Lord God, we're just so thankful again that 00:59:03.440 |
as we have this extended time to fellowship and get to know one 00:59:10.440 |
that the people, Lord God, around us that we may not know, 00:59:13.440 |
that we may be bold and meet each other, Lord God, 00:59:17.440 |
as we share in this fellowship together as one body. 00:59:22.440 |
So I pray, Lord God, again, that you really stitch our hearts 00:59:25.440 |
together this next few days, that it may be all for your glory. 00:59:35.440 |
So before we conclude the evening by joining our voices 00:59:38.440 |
for one final song, I'm going to invite Pastor Peter to come. 00:59:41.440 |
And just an encouragement as we approach the weekend. 01:00:06.440 |
All right, so I was asked to give a brief encouragement as we 01:00:15.440 |
I'm not sure if we're going to be able to do this again. 01:00:19.440 |
So Jason obviously had been working like this is his full 01:00:26.440 |
like every little thing that's going on requires a lot of work 01:00:32.440 |
just getting this site with the children, with snacks, 01:00:41.440 |
And so anybody who's ever served in any capacity at retreat, 01:00:57.440 |
you don't know where it's going, how come no one told us this, 01:00:59.440 |
no one told us that, we ask you to suck it up. 01:01:03.440 |
Because there's a lot of work being done behind the scene. 01:01:10.440 |
it may be a little bit more difficult just to get anything done. 01:01:13.440 |
Just to get, you know, we need to get people from here to that room. 01:01:17.440 |
That in and of itself is a -- it requires a lot of work. 01:01:22.440 |
And thank the people who are serving behind the scene who have come 01:01:25.440 |
earlier, who's, you know, missing sessions so that they can go help with the 01:01:30.440 |
children, all of these things that are happening all at once. 01:01:38.440 |
I'm not sure if we're going to be able to do an all-church retreat after this 01:01:43.440 |
So let's try to milk this as much as possible so that we can years later look 01:01:47.440 |
back and say, remember when we had our last summer retreat and how great it 01:01:51.440 |
So make sure that we have all our memories, you know, do the best that we can 01:01:56.440 |
to make the best that we can for this retreat. 01:01:59.440 |
One of the things that I wanted to encourage our church with is, as you guys 01:02:05.440 |
It's been growing for many years, but we're probably growing at a faster rate 01:02:12.440 |
Just -- I think right before the pandemic, we were hitting somewhere around high 01:02:21.440 |
Our last Sunday was the largest attendance, physical attendance, outside of the 01:02:27.440 |
So we have some people who still haven't joined us yet, but we've had 776, I 01:02:31.440 |
think, and that's the largest number that we had physically. 01:02:35.440 |
And this is with a lot of the college students who are not here, so we're 01:02:38.440 |
expecting sometime in September and October that usually is our biggest 01:02:42.440 |
attendance because of the college students who are coming in town. 01:02:47.440 |
So we've actually added a couple hundred during the pandemic. 01:02:50.440 |
And we don't think that this is going to slow down. 01:02:53.440 |
And so in one sense it's exciting because God is bringing all different kinds of 01:02:58.440 |
people to church and adding to the community. 01:03:01.440 |
But at the same time, whenever the church grows, especially as it is growing now, 01:03:05.440 |
there is a sense of anxiousness that comes over the staff and for all of us 01:03:10.440 |
because when the church grows, when there is spiritual activity, there's always a 01:03:16.440 |
Satan is actively working, like the Bible says, like a roaring lion seeking 01:03:22.440 |
And when there is fruit being born, there will always be spiritual attack. 01:03:26.440 |
And what I've seen through the years, where the attack typically comes from is 01:03:33.440 |
As much as we are concerned about what's going on in the government and 01:03:36.440 |
California, and I know people have talked about moving to Texas and maybe we can 01:03:44.440 |
But usually when there is attack, it happens within the church. 01:03:50.440 |
And so there's -- and usually the way it happens is through relational problems. 01:03:55.440 |
You have certain things that you've kind of held grudge against people or maybe 01:03:58.440 |
certain people rubbed you the wrong way or maybe certain people said something 01:04:02.440 |
insensitive to you and then you kind of hold that in and then all of a sudden you 01:04:06.440 |
get stressed and certain opportunities comes and then the fractures begin to 01:04:13.440 |
And that's typically how Satan has worked and that's what I've seen through the 01:04:17.440 |
And so the way that the church gets attacked is through relationships. 01:04:21.440 |
And I'm pretty sure that if you've been in church for a while, you can attest to 01:04:26.440 |
If you've been into other churches, you know, the greatest memories that you 01:04:29.440 |
have of churches is also with people, but also the most painful things that we 01:04:36.440 |
And so this topic that we're covering through this retreat, I think it's coming 01:04:40.440 |
at a very timely time because our church is growing that we can easily just kind of 01:04:46.440 |
find a few people that we're close with and then stiff arm everybody else. 01:04:51.440 |
Especially those of you who have been at church for a while, you can get in the 01:04:54.440 |
habit because you've made close friends at church already. 01:04:57.440 |
And so I have my friends, so all these new people that are coming, that's the 01:05:05.440 |
And then you can kind of huddle and then you get in the habit of church where you 01:05:08.440 |
have a few people that you've gotten to, like, that's your community, but you 01:05:12.440 |
don't want anybody else inside your community. 01:05:14.440 |
And you've made a country club within the church. 01:05:17.440 |
And so we need to make sure that we avoid that trap, that whether we are 600, 800, 01:05:23.440 |
or larger than that, that we really want to build a community where God is 01:05:30.440 |
And God cannot be honored in our lives if we have a personal agenda of just 01:05:35.440 |
having a few friends around us and we're not aware of what's going on spiritually 01:05:42.440 |
And so this retreat will serve a great deal for that, I think, effectively, if you 01:05:53.440 |
As we've been praying, Dr. Shree is going to be talking about reconciliation. 01:05:59.440 |
When people ask me what's the hardest thing about pastoring, and I think it's no 01:06:05.440 |
It's just that I have added pressure because I have to speak in front of you 01:06:08.440 |
regularly, and if I don't practice this, I will feel like a hypocrite, right? 01:06:20.440 |
And so the greatest challenge has always been throughout the years is loving 01:06:32.440 |
And I'm not going to tell you who you are, right? 01:06:35.440 |
And everybody has some people in their lives that it would be just easy. 01:06:39.440 |
Your life would be so much less stressful if those people weren't around. 01:06:44.440 |
But God places those people in our lives for a reason. 01:06:47.440 |
God said -- Jesus said that our primary identity as Christians is to practice the 01:06:53.440 |
love that he practiced with us, unconditional love, right? 01:06:57.440 |
Where he loves people who are hard to love, who are difficult to love, that we 01:07:00.440 |
don't want to love, people who have wronged us. 01:07:03.440 |
And so if we don't practice our Christianity there, then everything else we do is hypocrisy. 01:07:10.440 |
We can preach the gospel without practicing love. 01:07:16.440 |
You can even give your body to be burned in the flame if you do not practice love. 01:07:22.440 |
So at the core of what God calls us to do is to practice this agape love. 01:07:28.440 |
It is probably the most sanctifying thing that we can do because it really tears at the core of our being. 01:07:36.440 |
You cannot practice agape love if you retain your pride. 01:07:41.440 |
Nothing kills our pride more than practicing love with people who we don't want to practice love with, right? 01:07:48.440 |
Nothing is more sanctifying, but also there's nothing that builds a church more than when a church practices a 01:07:55.440 |
love that is not practiced outside of the church because they look at our church and they say, 01:08:02.440 |
How come they practice this kind of community that's so hard to build outside?" 01:08:11.440 |
So I want to encourage you, just like as we've been praying, just like the theme is going to be, that you don't leave 01:08:18.440 |
the retreat with a lot of themes, right, and a lot of, you know, teaching. 01:08:25.440 |
What specific things, what specific people is God convicting you to reconcile with, to practice this love with? 01:08:32.440 |
And so hopefully throughout the retreat that we may be able to do that, okay? 01:08:37.440 |
So let me give you some practical things to practice, okay? 01:08:41.440 |
First of all, while you are here, there's a reason why you have this lanyard or whatever you call this, okay, 01:08:51.440 |
If you're like me, you're not like -- I remember your face, but I probably asked some of you, 01:09:00.440 |
I asked you like four or five times, like, "Hey, nice to meet you." 01:09:07.440 |
So at some point, like I'm ashamed to ask because I don't want to offend you, 01:09:14.440 |
so my inclination is to avoid you so that I don't have to be awkward with you. 01:09:21.440 |
So there were long periods of our church growth where I was -- you know, it's because I met that person, 01:09:27.440 |
but I remember their name, so I'm going to walk this way, right? 01:09:30.440 |
I've come to the conclusion that I can't do that anymore, right? 01:09:35.440 |
It's better for me to offend you and to get to know you, even if it takes me four or five times, 01:09:40.440 |
than to avoid you because it causes more problems down the line. 01:09:50.440 |
If you don't remember, you know, just ask them. 01:09:54.440 |
So I'm going to ask you to do your best while you're here to break the ice. 01:09:59.440 |
You're not going to become best friends through two, three days of retreat, 01:10:03.440 |
but at least when you go back to church that you're not just walking by people, you know, 01:10:09.440 |
that you can say, hey, I remember you, or you can say, hey, we ate together, 01:10:12.440 |
or we were in a small group together, or, you know, or we just passed by 01:10:16.440 |
and happened to be in the same circle while we're talking, that next time you see them at church, 01:10:20.440 |
that you can ask them, what's your name again? 01:10:27.440 |
Because if the church is going to be built, we have to know each other. 01:10:36.440 |
If we get in the habit of forming our cliques and then we have 20 friends and everybody else I don't know 01:10:41.440 |
and I don't care to know, then the church is never going to change for you. 01:10:45.440 |
So do your best to get to know as many people as you can while you're here, even if it's awkward. 01:10:51.440 |
I give you permission in the name of the Lord to be awkward at this retreat. 01:10:57.440 |
Be as awkward with as many people as possible while you're here. 01:11:02.440 |
Be deliberate about building friendships while you're here. 01:11:05.440 |
You're not going to be friends with everybody, but in your small group, with other couples, 01:11:09.440 |
when you go out to eat, more than just small talk, if you get in the habit of just asking them, 01:11:22.440 |
And sometimes they'll give you just a general idea and sometimes they'll open up to you. 01:11:27.440 |
And so you don't have to do that with everybody, but with the people that you've been assigned, 01:11:32.440 |
do your best to really connect with them and not just to be in small group, not just to be in dinner, 01:11:36.440 |
but to really get to know that person so when you come back that you'll have prayer requests to pray for 01:11:42.440 |
So I'm going to encourage you to be able to do that. 01:11:52.440 |
We have one full day tomorrow, and so we deliberately packed the schedule during the day, 01:11:58.440 |
and then, again, Jason will probably go through more of that later on. 01:12:02.440 |
But what I say to be intentional is if you've been at church for a while and you already have a group of 01:12:08.440 |
friends, and I know that it would be great to revisit with friends and reconnect with friends. 01:12:14.440 |
I haven't been able to spend time with them like that. 01:12:17.440 |
You are surrounded by people who don't have that because our church is growing. 01:12:21.440 |
There's so many people who have only been at our church for a month, six months, a year, two years, 01:12:27.440 |
and so they don't have that kind of connection at church. 01:12:29.440 |
So I want, especially for those of you who have been at our church for a couple years or longer, 01:12:34.440 |
to be deliberate about people that you don't recognize. 01:12:38.440 |
If you see somebody wandering around and you feel like they don't fit in anywhere, you know, be hospitable. 01:12:44.440 |
That's one of the qualities that God calls leaders to be to have hospitality. 01:12:53.440 |
And along with that, those of you, especially those of you who are younger, okay, 01:12:59.440 |
and not to say that this doesn't affect older people, but those of you who are younger, you know, 01:13:05.440 |
you kind of remember retreats as a place to go hang out until 4 in the morning, you know what I mean, 01:13:10.440 |
have fun, play games, and then you wake up and you're halfway falling asleep through the next session, 01:13:15.440 |
but you make great friendships that way, right? 01:13:18.440 |
I'm not saying that, you know, like we have curfew at 10 o'clock, you should be home and sleeping, 01:13:26.440 |
I'm not -- there is no -- we don't have a timeline yet. 01:13:29.440 |
Obviously, the hotel has things that you don't want to disturb other people. 01:13:32.440 |
If you're in a hotel room, try not to make noise in the hotel rooms because there's guests next door. 01:13:37.440 |
We don't want them hating Christ because of you, okay? 01:13:41.440 |
So if you're going to make noise, try to do it in this room. 01:13:45.440 |
But at the same time, we want you to build friendships. 01:13:51.440 |
But our primary reason why we're here is to connect with God, right? 01:13:55.440 |
And so I want you guys to use your judgment, and if you have friends who are not using their judgment, 01:14:01.440 |
please help them use their judgment, right, and to sleep at a godly time, right? 01:14:08.440 |
And whatever godly means, you use your own judgment, but try to make that your priority, right? 01:14:14.440 |
And, again, we don't have a specific curfew, but try to be reasonable, okay? 01:14:24.440 |
And those of you who are a little bit older, try to stay up as long as you can, okay? 01:14:29.440 |
You're tempted to go in 9 o'clock and just go to sleep, okay? 01:14:38.440 |
So try to stay up and to connect with as many people as possible. 01:14:52.440 |
Dr. Street, I don't think is here yet, right? 01:14:56.440 |
We've already prayed for the -- you know, every once in a while when I do go to churches to speak, 01:15:02.440 |
the most awkward time for me is in between, you know, in between 01:15:07.440 |
because it depends on which church that I'm at, and I just kind of don't know what to do with myself, 01:15:14.440 |
And so I appreciate it when the people who are there, like, engage me. 01:15:19.440 |
They would ask me questions and just kind of engage them and let them know. 01:15:23.440 |
If you've heard something that was really encouraging, you don't have to sit there and, like, 01:15:27.440 |
and have one-to-one with Dr. Street and his wife, but just say thank you. 01:15:33.440 |
At the end of the retreat, that day would feel encouraged, right? 01:15:37.440 |
Even though they may be physically drained, oftentimes I go to churches where they're engaging, 01:15:41.440 |
and I come back more rejuvenated than when I first went. 01:15:44.440 |
And so I hope that that would be the experience for our speakers as well. 01:15:48.440 |
So while they're here, even though they're laboring for us at the end of the retreat, 01:15:52.440 |
that through our interaction, through us thanking them, engaging them, 01:15:56.440 |
that they would find encouragement through the time that we have here. 01:16:00.440 |
Again, this is something that I'd be encouraging all of us to do. 01:16:05.440 |
And then one final thing before I give this over to Jason. 01:16:10.440 |
The morning devotions that we have, Jason's going to tell us the timeline, 01:16:14.440 |
but again, if you go to sleep at a godly time, you're going to wake up at a godly hour, 01:16:23.440 |
You go to bed at an ungodly time, you're not going to wake up at an ungodly hour, 01:16:28.440 |
and you're going to have ungodly devotion, all right? 01:16:35.440 |
Get enough sleep. Some of you guys require less than others. 01:16:38.440 |
And especially those of you who are younger, you are sleeping with other people. 01:16:42.440 |
You're in a quad room, and you're like, "Oh, I'm a night owl," but the other three are not, right? 01:16:48.440 |
So be courteous to other people while you're there, 01:16:50.440 |
and then please try to come early in the morning, wherever you are, to prepare your hearts 01:16:56.440 |
so that that will set the tone for the rest of the day, right? 01:16:59.440 |
What you do in the morning is going to set the tone for what you're preparing for the rest of the day. 01:17:03.440 |
So if you don't prepare in the morning, you're probably going to have that attitude for the rest of the day. 01:17:09.440 |
So I want to highly encourage you to take that time seriously. 01:17:13.440 |
Make the most of the retreat that we have together, okay? 01:17:25.440 |
All right. Thank you, Pastor Peter, for those words of encouragement. 01:17:28.440 |
Speaking of morning devotions, guys, so this room will be open at 6.30 a.m. 01:17:34.440 |
Morning devotions start at 7 a.m., but it's open at 6.30 a.m. for you guys to come in. 01:17:40.440 |
Breakfast for the volunteers will be open at 7.45 a.m., 01:17:44.440 |
but for the rest of everybody else, it's 8 a.m. for you guys to come for breakfast. 01:17:48.440 |
One big announcement. We posted it on the bulletin, and we posted it on Facebook page as well. 01:17:53.440 |
I believe Sarah notified all the parents, but the nursery seats time tomorrow will extend into Q&A, 01:18:05.440 |
So parents, please plan accordingly to make sure after the Q&A session ends, 01:18:10.440 |
you guys hurry up and pick up your kids right after, okay? 01:18:15.440 |
The Oasis area, which is to my right, your left, do not enter that area. 01:18:22.440 |
That's another group that will be here over the same weekend. 01:18:25.440 |
We have from the Rancho Mirage area into the Celebrity Room, okay? 01:18:31.440 |
And speaking of that, looking around, my observation is that the hotel might be a little bit short-staffed, 01:18:39.440 |
plus due to some restrictions, they're not always going to be here constantly. 01:18:44.440 |
So if you guys notice, things are getting a bit messy, you know, like the bathrooms or the trash areas, 01:18:50.440 |
and especially where the snacks are, you know, just try to clean up after yourselves 01:18:55.440 |
and do everything in a very orderly fashion, especially the snacks area, you guys. 01:18:59.440 |
Don't ravage it. Just wait for one another. Just stand in line. 01:19:03.440 |
And we have plenty of snacks to go around, okay? 01:19:05.440 |
You guys don't have to worry about any shortages. 01:19:07.440 |
There's a Costco like a mile and a half from here. We'll always get more, okay? 01:19:14.440 |
We have hot water for the ramen right back there for you guys who really love Korean ramen. 01:19:23.440 |
Okay, for those of you staying at the Fairfield, please do check in if you haven't done so already. 01:19:30.440 |
But I do want to let you know that there's going to be a devotion room for you guys as well, 01:19:37.440 |
So if you guys--if it fills up fast, you guys can come here, 01:19:41.440 |
or you guys can do devotions in your room or the pool area or the common area in the Fairfield Hotel, okay? 01:19:50.440 |
Lastly, after Peter comes up and does a closing prayer, if all the small group leaders-- 01:19:57.440 |
if you are a small group leader and you're here, right after that ends, just please come up real quick. 01:20:03.440 |
For those of you who don't know who your small group leader is, 01:20:06.440 |
you guys can open the Facebook app or go onto the e-mails. 01:20:10.440 |
We've been sending tons of logistical e-mails, 01:20:13.440 |
and you guys can see or identify from their profile photo that we have for you guys, okay? 01:20:18.440 |
They'll be standing up here real quick for about-- 01:20:20.440 |
if you guys don't mind just standing around up here for the last few minutes afterwards, 01:20:34.440 |
Okay, so as the praise team comes up, let's all rise from our seats together. 01:20:39.440 |
Please join me in a word of prayer as we pray over our church as a whole, 01:20:43.440 |
and then we'll close off the evening with one song that we'll sing to the Lord. 01:20:52.440 |
Pastor Peter gave us this challenge and encouragement thinking about the growth of our church. 01:20:57.440 |
And, Lord, we know that you are our Heavenly Father, 01:21:01.440 |
and you see the church as your spiritual family with us being your children. 01:21:06.440 |
And so, God, I pray that we would see it as such a joy to be in your house, 01:21:12.440 |
and, God, the brothers and sisters that we have, we ought to love one another as you have loved us. 01:21:17.440 |
And so, God, with the application then being not just one thing, 01:21:21.440 |
but, God, in our hearts' attitude, help us, Lord, to edify and build each other up 01:21:26.440 |
with a kind of conviction, Lord, we are a part of the same household of God. 01:21:30.440 |
And so, Lord, we lift up our entire church to you, not just this weekend, 01:21:33.440 |
but for the years ahead as we grow, that we would grow in the right way, 01:21:37.440 |
Lord, that it would reflect truly your design. 01:21:39.440 |
We thank you, Lord, and lift this song up to you. It's in Christ's name. Amen. 01:22:25.440 |
Then through the darkness your loving kindness 01:24:03.440 |
Hallelujah, death has passed this free morning 01:24:28.440 |
Then came the morning that sealed the promise 01:24:57.440 |
Then came the morning that sealed the promise 01:25:44.440 |
Hallelujah, death has passed this free morning 01:26:12.440 |
Hallelujah, death has passed this free morning 01:26:58.440 |
Our God, we want to place all of our faith and our hope in you. 01:27:03.440 |
And Lord, we will pray, Father God, again for this weekend. 01:27:06.440 |
We pray that you would make the most of all the opportunities that we have. 01:27:11.440 |
And in so doing, Lord God, I truly honor you. 01:27:14.440 |
We thank you, God, it's in Christ, and we pray, amen. 01:27:17.440 |
All right, everybody, we hope that you have some godly rest at a godly time. 01:27:23.440 |
Small group leaders, please make sure that you come up here for a brief moment 01:27:27.440 |
so that we can make sure to introduce you guys. 01:27:31.440 |
So if the small group leaders could quickly come up. 01:27:36.440 |
For any of you guys who don't know which small group you belong to, 01:27:40.440 |
take a quick glance up here to see who they are. 01:27:49.440 |
I'm going to go through their names so that you guys-- 01:27:53.440 |
just in case you don't know what they look like. 01:27:58.440 |
On the left, we have Paul Pack, Mitchell Kim, Rachel Kang, Luke Kang, Sean Tang,