Shownotes
In this New Year's sermon, Dr. Gregg Marutzky reflects on the passing of 2025 and emphasizes embracing the new year with renewed dreams and a steadfast faith in God. He highlights the importance of dreaming spiritual dreams, moving past one's history, and focusing on a future with God. The sermon incorporates an inspiring poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson, calls for personal resolutions, and discusses Jacob's Ladder as a metaphor for the divine connection with humanity. Emphasizing the significance of commitment to the church, spirituality, and personal growth, Dr. Marutzky encourages listeners to renew their devotion to God's promises, reflect on personal and collective pasts, and look forward to a year of grace, sacrifice, and community involvement.
00:00 New Year Greetings and Reflections
00:14 Welcoming Pablo and Nicole
00:45 Embracing New Year Sermons
01:14 Dreaming Spiritual Dreams
01:52 Letting Go of the Past
02:28 Inspirational Poem by Lord Tennyson
05:09 New Beginnings and Resolutions
06:46 Common New Year's Resolutions
11:14 Jacob's Ladder: A Sacred Space
12:47 God's Promises to Jacob
23:48 Reflecting on God's Promises
24:02 Exciting Plans for the Community
24:42 Embracing Imperfection in the Church
26:41 Sacred Spaces and Family Traditions
29:04 New Year's Resolutions and Commitments
40:01 Lessons Learned and Apologies
45:07 Core Beliefs and Final Blessings
Transcripts
Happy New Year Church.
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:Happy New Year.
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:2026.
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:I don't know where 2025 went.
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:It sure went fast.
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:If it, if you're like
me, it went too fast.
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:It is over.
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:It's great to have Pablo
and Nicole back with us.
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:Amen.
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:We love you very much.
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:We're proud of you.
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:We're inspired by you.
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:You left a great legacy here.
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:And, uh, just we hope you
come back when you're done.
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:Amen.
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:And I've been overseas.
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:I know what that's like.
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:It's a different world, gives
you perspective, it humbles you.
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:It's a whole different culture.
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:And so, uh, we'll be praying
for you and we look forward to
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:hearing more and more good news.
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:Well, today I like preaching New
Year's sermon because I like living
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:sort of with a stop and a start.
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:Yes.
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:Oh, to put some things behind
me and then to go forward.
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:I like to dream.
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:The title of the lesson
today is say, new year.
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:Same God, but it's also
New Year, new Dreams.
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:Same God.
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:Amen.
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:And I think we need to dream as people.
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:If we don't dream as people,
we're gonna be stagnant.
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:We're gonna let the circumstances
of our life affect us too deeply.
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:You've got to have that vision.
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:As Hebrews 12 said, Jesus with the
joy set before him endured the cross.
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:You've gotta have joy set before you.
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:And it can't be just temporary.
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:It can't be the next vacation.
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:It can't be the next weekend.
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:It can't be your team
winning because they may not.
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:They may not.
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:And so I want us to
dream spiritual dreams.
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:I want us to be able to.
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:Say goodbye to 2025 and
more than just:
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:I want you to be able to
say goodbye to your past.
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:You can't live in your
past coming from a doctor.
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:Don't look behind.
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:You're gonna trip going ahead.
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:Don't look behind.
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:There's baggage back there.
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:You need to cut off so you
can fly and you can get above
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:the circumstances of the past.
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:You've gotta be able
to heal from the past.
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:You've gotta be able to look forward
and be focused and have dreams.
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:I love this poem by Lord Tennis, and
I read a bunch of of poems this week.
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:I wanted to inspire myself.
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:I wanted to inspire you, and
I read a bunch of sad poems.
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:I read a bunch of garbage.
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:A lot of people think
they're poets out there.
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:Don't believe much of what
you read on the internet.
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:All right.
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:I searched and searched.
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:I asked for the best poems and it
took me a lot of time and energy
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:to find this one, and I like it.
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:I like it a lot.
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:All right, Lord Alfred Tenon ring
out wild bells to the wild sky.
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:The flying cloud, the frosty light,
the year is dying in the night.
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:Ring out wild bells and let them die.
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:Ring out the old ring in the new ring.
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:Happy bells across the snow.
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:The year is going.
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:Let him go.
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:Ring out the false ring in the true,
ring out the grief that SAPs the mind.
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:For those that here we see no more
ring out, the feud of rich and poor.
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:Ring and redress to all mankind.
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:Ring out a slowly dying cause.
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:And ancient forms of party strife
ring in the noer modes of life.
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:With sweeter manners and
pure loss ring out the want.
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:The care, the sin, the faithless
coldness of the times wr out.
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:Wr out my mournful rhymes, but ring
the Fuller Menstrual Inn, wring
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:out false pride in place and blood.
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:The civic slander and the spite ring
in the love of truth and right ring
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:in common love of good ring out.
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:Old shapes of foul disease wr out the
narrowing lust of gold ring out thousands
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:wars of old ringing in thousand years of
peace ringing in the valid man and free.
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:The larger heart, the kindler
hand wring out the darkness of
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:the land ring in the Christ.
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:That is to be.
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:That's my theme today.
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:Wr out the old and wr in the new,
wr out the bad and wr in the good.
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:I mean, wr out the past and
ring in the future, wr out the
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:sadness and the sickness and ring
in the health and the gladness.
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:Amen.
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:I mean, let's let this be a new beginning.
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:That's why I love school and I'm
not gonna go to school anymore.
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:I think 25 years of graduate school's
enough, whatever it was, 12 years
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:before that, 13, I don't know, whatever.
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:I'm done.
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:But what's good about school
is I always went semesters.
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:So I had a, a fall.
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:And a spring or winter, they'd call
out spring, but it was really winter
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:in the places I lived and then summer.
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:But I let that semester system be a start
and a stop, a time to reflect, a time to
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:review, a time to repent, a time to even
regret, and a time to refresh and renew.
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:And revive and go forward.
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:That's right.
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:And so this week is a good
time for us to do that.
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:Some of us still we're.
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:We're on vacation.
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:You haven't had to go back to work.
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:Tomorrow may be the day.
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:I'm so sorry.
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:All right.
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:I mean, we're taking our
grandkids to the airport.
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:I'm gonna savor today and tomorrow.
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:Two more days of vacation.
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:Amen.
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:All right.
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:I, I'm cheering for myself.
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:I know you didn't get into that.
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:All right.
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:But then it's back to work.
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:It's back to work.
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:But after I leave them at the airport,
I'm gonna really focus and I hope
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:this lesson can help you as well.
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:Amen.
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:Americans, we make resolutions.
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:In fact, it says, studies show
that about 60% of Americans
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:make New Year's resolution.
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:And what do we make resolutions about?
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:Well, let me, let me, uh, uh, share
with you some statistics of what
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:those, what we make resolutions about.
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:We make resolutions to drink less alcohol.
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:Okay?
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:And then for some of
it's for health reasons.
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:We don't drink any alcohol.
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:There's nothing wrong with that, and
even for religious regions, we don't.
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:Now, Paul said Timothy because he had
a, a, a bad stomach to drink a little
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:alcohol, so it's okay to drink a little,
but if you don't need it, don't drink it.
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:All right.
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:I, I used to drink a little, now
I don't drink at all because I
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:have two professional license and
I don't want to ever lose those.
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:License.
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:Took, took too much work to get 'em.
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:Yeah.
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:And even though I'm a big guy and
I think that, you know, I can maybe
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:handle some, I'm not gonna even test it.
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:Get a better education.
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:Well do that if you need to.
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:All right.
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:Everybody needs to be a lifelong learner.
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:I mean, life passes you by the studies
show right now that you'll not have
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:one career your whole lifetime.
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:Wow.
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:That now, it used to be you'd
have at least two careers.
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:Now it's four.
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:Wow.
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:All right.
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:So you're gonna have to
be a lifelong learner.
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:You're gonna have to
continue to evolve it.
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:It maybe you're a digital, uh,
native and you know all about
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:the internet and all that.
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:Well, guess what?
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:AI's come along and
there's a lot more to do.
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:Learn.
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:You gotta just keep growing
and learning and changing.
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:You need professional development.
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:I'm so proud of Steve Stevenson.
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:He's gonna start grad school this
semester to get his master's in theology,
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:and the four guy's probably gonna have
to have me as one of his professors.
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:Amen.
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:He better be nice.
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:All right.
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:Get a better job, get fit.
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:Let's all work on that.
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:Lose weight.
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:Well, that's been a lifelong journey.
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:I'm gonna be really skinny in heaven.
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:Amen.
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:Manage debt.
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:Get out from under debt.
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:That's just a burden.
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:Manage stress.
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:Do things every day.
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:Even this ring in and ring out.
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:Ring in the good.
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:Ring out the bad.
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:Right.
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:Ring in the new year.
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:Wring out the old year.
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:I mean, these breathing
exercise, I do 'em all the time.
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:Do they work?
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:Sometimes?
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:Yes, but sometimes it's good enough.
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:All right.
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:Manage your strength.
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:Quit smoking.
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:Oh, I pray you'd already did that.
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:All right, so quick vaping.
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:All right.
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:Reduce and quit nibbling.
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:I know what they got out there.
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:All right.
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:And I drive down 55,
the huge cannabis store.
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:All right, reduce, reuse, recycle.
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:Amen.
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:Californian wrote this, amen.
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:Save money, take a trip, volunteer.
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:Get a new car if you need one.
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:Don't waste your money if you don't.
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:But the sad thing is after one
month, that 60 goes down to 50.
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:Two months, those that 60 goes down
to 40, only 10% of people that make
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:New Year's resolutions keep 'em.
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:Wow.
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:10%.
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:But my attitude shoot for star.
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:Hey, you might hit a moon.
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:I'm gonna try to lose weight if I don't
lose a lot, at least I'll lose some.
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:That's right.
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:I may not get in great shape.
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:I might not be able to
lift what I did when I was.
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:In college, but I'll be stronger
to live a few more years.
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:Amen.
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:Amen.
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:So do what you can.
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:Do what you can.
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:Amen.
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:I went to school at Aing Christian
for my first doctorate for four years.
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:And right outside the Graduate
School of Theology, sometimes in
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:class you could look out the window
and see this, and it's a statue.
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:Somebody donated a bunch of money and one
of the professors of art, the at Abilene
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:Christian designed this and made it at
the bottom of it, there's a F, there's
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:a baptism where the students get BA can
get baptized, but this is Jacob's Ladder.
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:And as a former civil engineer, I would
just go out there and I'd be in awe.
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:Man, they, how is that still
standing with these Texas tornadoes?
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:I mean, I was just in awe of this 'cause
it looks like they're just floating
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:in space and there is bars in between
'em and steel and reinforcement and
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:rebar and all that kind of stuff.
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:But it's so beautiful and we're
gonna see the story today about
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:Jacob's Ladder because wherever
there's a portal to heaven.
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:Wherever there is a stairway to
heaven, that's a sacred space,
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:and this is in preparation for
moving back into our building.
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:We're gonna sanctify that place to
where it's a stairway to heaven.
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:Now, for all you old rockers, I know
that that has some flashbacks for you.
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:Okay.
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:Stairway to heaven, but we're
talking spiritual this morning.
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:All right.
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:There you go.
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:All right.
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:Jacob Slatter.
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:It's a great story.
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:Let's get into it.
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:Turn your Bibles over to Genesis
28 if you have 'em with you.
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:With you either in paper
form or electronic.
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:This is a great story and we're
gonna look at, first, we're
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:gonna look at God's promises.
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:That's what.
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:Lifts our eyes.
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:Lift your eyes above circumstances
and life and look to God.
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:We're gonna look at God's promises
because this year you can be in
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:the right place at the right time.
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:Haven't you looked at some people
who've won the lottery or got the, the
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:promotion or became the star of the show?
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:They were in the right
place at the right time.
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:Yeah, I want you to place
yourself in the right place at
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:the right time this year, right?
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:And then we're gonna
look at Jacob's dream.
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:And we want imitate his dream.
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:We want to be dreamers, and we wanna
be crazy good dreamers, not nightmares.
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:I want you to get rid of the nightmares.
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:Ring out the nightmares,
or ring in the dreams.
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:Amen.
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:Because what goes around comes around.
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:Jacob had had nightmares
because his name meant.
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:In a good way.
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:Wrestler in a bad way.
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:It meant deceiver.
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:All right?
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:And he was both, he wrestled with God.
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:He wanted blessings from God.
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:That's another story, and
we'll preach that one.
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:At some point.
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:He was a wrestler, held onto his faith.
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:He didn't give up.
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:Wrestlers are the most
tenacious, committed people.
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:It's the hardest sport I've ever done.
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:I mean it, I mean, I, I'm, I am in awe
of wrestlers and most of them, you can
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:tell they're wrestlers by their ears,
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:leave it there.
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:Don't go any further.
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:All right.
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:But they're tough people, so it's, it
means they're resilient and they know
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:their goals and they work for 'em.
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:But also it meant sometimes in
Jacob's case, he was a deceiver.
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:And then we're gonna look at the last
part, his resolution to be better.
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:'cause it can get better and better.
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:Some of us don't believe that today.
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:There's some people that have been a part
of the OC church for a while, and you're
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:down, you're worn out, you're tired.
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:Some of you're even negative,
and I'm a good listener.
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:I listen to it, you know,
I'm a, I'm a big boy.
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:Forehead of flint.
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:I can listen to good or bad, happy or
sad, you know, and I can even process it.
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:I can let it not draw me down, and
I'm determined to help us all to
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:dream again and believe that it.
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:Will get better.
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:That's a theme of my life.
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:It gets better and better.
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:Amen.
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:So look at, uh, yourself today.
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:It's always good to reflect and to review.
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:All right?
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:It's always good to think about things.
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:And as a Christian, what are our goals
gonna be as a church and as a person?
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:Are they the same as our fellow citizens?
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:Some of them, yeah.
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:But then we wanna have some
loftier ones want right?
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:Should I be looking at a different set
of values than most people around me?
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:Yeah, I hope so.
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:And are the results equal to the
importance of other Americans?
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:I hope our results and how what we want
to change make an eternal difference.
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:All right.
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:I love this verse in
Ecclesiastes seven, in verse 29.
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:It says this, only have I found the
wisest man of the world, Solomon eth.
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:God made mankind upright.
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:But men have gone in
search of many schemes.
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:Some of you want to get rich quick,
some of you wanna take the shortcut.
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:You don't want to put in the work.
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:Want to, don't want to
put up, put in the effort.
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:You know, one very wise
philosopher said that.
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:We are just a bundle of our habits.
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:William James, an 1800 psychologist
and some of his, uh, ideas have been
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:researched only recently, improvement.
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:True.
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:We are a bundle of habits, and
I'll take that one step back.
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:We're a bundle of our choices, right?
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:What choices we make.
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:Yes.
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:Decide our habits and our habits, decide
our behaviors and decide our life.
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:I got a great, uh, poem of prose, I
guess you'd call it from Paul Blakely,
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:one of the brothers up in Santa Clarita.
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:I'll share it with you
maybe in another sermon.
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:This beautiful, he wrote it to
me on January 1st, and uh, he'll
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:probably publish it, so I don't
want to steal his s thunder.
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:But it was just about the rain 'cause
it's been raining for several days.
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:One, one brother said it's been
raining for 24 straight days
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:here in Southern California.
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:I thought it quit for a while.
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:I mean, I guess he's sort of negative.
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:He thinks it's just kept
raining the whole time.
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:I don't know.
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:I thought it, it quit a
few days, but not Paul.
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:He likes the rain.
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:He says it's the Lord's rhythm and.
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:Syncopation of life and nature
because it does nourish the earth.
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:And Isaiah 58, 4 tells us that as the rain
and snow come down from heaven, so God's
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:word goes forth and bears fruit as well.
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:But what he said about the rain
was he decided to use a puddle,
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:a rain puddle as a metaphor.
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:And should he step forward into
the puddle and beyond, or should he
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:stay back as he contemplated this
new beginning, the new choices,
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:the new habits for this next year?
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:He wrote this beautiful prose about
whether I should step forward,
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:should I let my fears hold me
back, or should I go for it?
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:And I know he's a part of a new venture
and new, new business, and so that's
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:probably what he was wrestling with.
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:But we all do.
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:We have our fears for the future, the
fears for this year, but I wanna encourage
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:you to listen to God as Proverbs even
says the first couple of chapters,
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:that our ways are not the right ways.
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:God's ways are better than our
ways, and we often go the wrong
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:direction and learn the hard ways.
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:So let's.
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:Dreams.
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:Some new dreams.
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:Dreams for God this morning.
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:Amen.
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:Genesis 28, verse 10.
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:Read with me.
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:Jacob left Beersheba and set out for
heroin when he reached a certain place.
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:He stopped for the night because the sun
had set taking one of the stones there.
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:He put it under his head
and lay down to sleep.
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:I'm glad my pillow is not a stone.
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:How about you?
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:Yeah, he had a dream in which he
saw a stairway resting on the earth
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:with its top reaching into heaven,
and the angels of God were ascending
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:and descending Jacob's ladder.
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:What did this represent?
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:Jacob's Ladder represents a gate,
a place to get to heaven, a portal
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:to God, a sacred space, and the
intersection of the human and the divine.
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:Kathy's been taking the
television away from me lately.
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:It's sad, it's rough, but uh, you
know, there's a lot of football games.
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:She gave me a day to watch, you
know, the football games, but she's
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:been watching Stranger Things.
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:She wants to get caught up.
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:All right.
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:Yeah.
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:Some of you are wither on that
and you know, since I have to.
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:Can't watch what I want.
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:I've been watching with her and
you know, that was during COVID and
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:there's, yeah, it was just sort of
the passing of time thing to do and it
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:was a little scary, A little mystical
talking about porthole and stuff.
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:Porthole to evil.
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:This is port hose to good.
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:Alright.
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:Intersection of the human and the divine.
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:Not the evil and the human.
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:It's a stairway to heaven.
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:And guess what?
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:This is really God's
vision for the church.
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:Amen.
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:I mean, this is supposed to be the portal.
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:This is the sacred space.
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:Right now it's at the pack.
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:It's gonna be a 10 good year.
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:That needs to be the place we go to and
we bring our friends to, to get to heaven.
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:We get to heaven.
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:We help them get to heaven.
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:Amen.
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:Amen.
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:That's what this stairway to heaven,
this vision, this metaphor is all about.
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:It's awesome.
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:It's a great picture.
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:I like it.
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:I like it a lot.
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:All right.
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:I don't know why I'm on that this morning.
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:Genesis 28, verse 13.
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:There're above it.
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:It stood, stood the Lord
at the top of the ladder.
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:He said, I'm the Lord, the
God of and the of your Father,
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:Abraham, and the God of Isaac.
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:I will give you and your descendants,
the land on which you are lying.
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:Your descendants will be like the
dust of the earth, and you will
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:spread out to the west and to the
east, to the north, and to the south.
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:All peoples on earth will be blessed
through you and your offspring,
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:your children, your descendants.
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:I am with you and will watch over you.
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:What a great promise.
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:Wherever you go, I will
bring you back to this land.
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:Me, I will not leave you until I
have done what I have promised you.
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:Amen.
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:That's God's faithfulness.
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:God fulfills his promises.
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:If you've had doubts about God, if
you've been shaken in your faith,
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:if you've been discouraged this last
year, put it behind you, wr it out.
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:And ring in God's faithfulness,
ring in God's place.
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:Renew your prayer life.
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:Renew your hope and the goodness.
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:And the greatness of God
and the power of God.
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:Because look at these promises he
gave to Jacob this Mor that night, and
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:where did, when did he give it to him?
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:When did Mary and Joseph get
God's direction in their dreams?
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:You need to get good night's.
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:Sleeps all right.
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:Too often I take Tylenol
PM to get to sleep.
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:I'm, I'm going off of it 'cause I
want to have some spiritual dreams.
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:I don't just want to die at night
and then be revived in the morning.
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:Right?
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:I want to dream some spiritual dreams.
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:All right?
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:And see now that I planted that seed.
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:Do you think?
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:Do you think Dr.
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:Greg's right?
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:Will that happen?
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:Check me out.
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:All right.
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:I believe God's faithful.
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:I believe sometime you're
gonna get a dream from God.
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:All right.
472
:What were these promises
he gave to his people?
473
:A place for us, it's 10 Goodyear.
474
:I don't know about you, but
I'm pretty excited about it.
475
:I mean, we've had all these
committees going and people have been
476
:working hard and dreaming dreams.
477
:You know, Rusty's gonna
get his barbecue finally.
478
:All right?
479
:I mean, we're gonna have a coffee
shop, we're gonna have a tent with
480
:a coffee house and a coffee shop.
481
:We're gonna get all these artists
coming in there and playing.
482
:We're gonna have all this, these singles,
we're gonna have food there, Pablo.
483
:We're gonna have some good food there, you
know, a a little bit anyway, all right.
484
:We've, God's promised us a place.
485
:He's promised us to be
a nation and a people.
486
:Ron sent me something this morning
about one of the, the ancient,
487
:uh, spiritualist, one of the old
writers of spiritual formation.
488
:He wrote something and, and, and
I'm not sharing it with you 'cause
489
:it was sort of negative, you know,
it was about how he, this, this
490
:Catholic month loved the church.
491
:And hated the church and every, every
rhythm was he loved and he hated.
492
:I'm like, I'm not sure I
want to be in that church.
493
:But then I thought about my life.
494
:There's times when I've just loved
the miracles, loved the church,
495
:loved the victories, and there was
other times, oh, what is going on?
496
:God.
497
:Yeah.
498
:And so guys, it's okay to be conflicted.
499
:It's, it's okay to, to not be in
a perfect church 'cause you know
500
:there are no perfect churches.
501
:Yeah.
502
:And go out there and look.
503
:You won't find it.
504
:Well, I'm gonna look Okay.
505
:Go.
506
:You got free will.
507
:God gave it to you.
508
:That's right.
509
:We don't have bars around this church.
510
:You don't even know where we're
gonna meet unless you listen.
511
:You know.
512
:But we are a people.
513
:We are God's people.
514
:We're disciples.
515
:Jesus is the Lord of our life.
516
:And that's not ever changing.
517
:And I love that.
518
:I love, I love the church so much.
519
:I'm not going anywhere.
520
:God promises protection.
521
:Why to His people don't
wander from his people.
522
:'cause then you may be outside
God's protection and God
523
:also promises his present.
524
:With his people.
525
:These are great promises and they
all start with P and that took
526
:me a long time to come up with.
527
:I appreciate it.
528
:Please.
529
:Genesis 28, verse 16, when Jacob
awoke from his sleepy thought, surely
530
:the Lord's in this place, and I was
not aware of it, he was afraid and
531
:said, how awesome is this place?
532
:'cause all of a sudden his sin
hit him, all his deceptiveness.
533
:And all his garbage.
534
:This is none other than the house of God.
535
:This is the gate of heaven.
536
:We've gotta mark this place.
537
:People need to come here
so they can get to heaven.
538
:He felt early.
539
:The next morning, Jacob took the stone
he had placed under his head and he set
540
:up a pillar and he poured oil on it.
541
:On top of it, he, he gave an offering.
542
:He called that place Bethel, which
means house of El, house of God.
543
:Though the city used to be called laws,
you know, Jesus promised you and me,
544
:wherever two or three are gathered,
two or three sincere Christians,
545
:just takes a few of us for God to be
there for it to become sacred space.
546
:We try to have sacred space
around the dinner table at night.
547
:We always make everybody come around.
548
:Little Kenzie will come in our
room, Papa, you're late for dinner.
549
:Come to dinner.
550
:She loves to tell Papa what to do.
551
:You know, little kids get told
what to do all the time, man.
552
:They're gonna take advantage
of it when they can.
553
:And I say, yes, ma'am, I'm on my way.
554
:And I go, 'cause we can't pray until
everybody gets there and we hold hands.
555
:And before I had to, had to
entice her to hold my hand.
556
:Now I put my hand out, just
slaps her hand into it.
557
:Oh, I love it.
558
:That's gonna be my memories, you
know, holding hands with my little
559
:granddaughter and we pray and we take
turns praying it becomes sacred space.
560
:Good sacred space guys, Jacob
wanted to mark that place.
561
:He wanted to put down a marker.
562
:He wanted a boundary.
563
:He wanted a stake because he made a
resolution, a vow, a commitment to God.
564
:And so he's gonna lead us
now in what are our vows?
565
:What should they be for this next year?
566
:To God.
567
:All right,
568
:so when I slap my hand, my phone is gonna
call the hospital that I'm in danger and
569
:I have an emergency, so I gotta stop that,
570
:but it also gives me a chance
to see what my time is.
571
:All right.
572
:Got five minutes.
573
:I have to shut that off.
574
:'cause it, it goes to my daughter
and then she'll call verse 20.
575
:Did Jacob made a vow?
576
:Here's our New Year's resolutions folks.
577
:If God will be with me and we'll
watch over me on this journey.
578
:What was he doing?
579
:Going to find a wife.
580
:It's okay.
581
:That's right.
582
:You wanna find a wife this next year?
583
:You wanna find a husband?
584
:Do it All right.
585
:Come on.
586
:I mean,
587
:I found mine and then I converted her.
588
:All right.
589
:I probably wouldn't have one because
I'm not the most desirable guy.
590
:I'm not, thou I wasn't then, but
I, I got her when she was young
591
:and not as smart as she is now.
592
:My God,
593
:I shouldn't tell you my secrets.
594
:Then Jacob made a vow saying, if God
will be with me and watch over me on this
595
:journey, I, I am taking and will give
me food to eat, clothes to wear so that
596
:I return safely to my father's house.
597
:Then the Lord will be my God, and this
stone that I set up will be as a pillar.
598
:Will be God's house and
all that you give me.
599
:I will give you a 10th.
600
:That's a pretty good guide and a
pretty good template for our New
601
:Year's resolutions rather than sisters.
602
:He says three things he's gonna do
because God gave him this dream and
603
:this vision and this, this, this portal.
604
:This stairway to heaven.
605
:First, he renewed lordship.
606
:He tells us we need to renew our lordship.
607
:That Jesus is Lord.
608
:The Lord will be my God.
609
:The Lord will be my God.
610
:Say it with me.
611
:The Lord will be my God.
612
:You need to say it.
613
:Say it with me.
614
:The Lord will be my God.
615
:Three times the Lord will be my God.
616
:That should be all that matters for
:
617
:Amen.
618
:The second, and I'm gonna worship him, I'm
gonna give him my life because he is Lord.
619
:He's gonna be Lord over
and master of my my house.
620
:And so he says, I will be a pillar.
621
:For the house of my God, this, this,
this stone's gonna represent who I am.
622
:I'm gonna be a pillar in the house of God.
623
:I'm gonna be one of the strong brothers.
624
:I'm gonna be one of the strong sisters.
625
:I'm not gonna be one of these
weak, struggling, inconsistent,
626
:unfaithful, sinful people.
627
:I'm gonna finally be.
628
:A righteous man, a holy woman, a good
Christian, a true disciple, I'm going
629
:to be a pillar in the house of God.
630
:Amen.
631
:Amen.
632
:You gotta make that decision.
633
:You gotta make that decision.
634
:Kathy and I are married because
our campus ministers said, you
635
:know, Kathy, Craig's a leader.
636
:You know, I know he doesn't
want to go into the ministry,
637
:but he's still a leader.
638
:He leads two Bible talks and
he's got a, got two majors.
639
:He's a leader.
640
:You know, I know you're
new to the campus ministry.
641
:I know you transferred from Texas, but
I, I know Greg loves you and, and you
642
:guys are dating, but I just want to
encourage you, so you guys, stayat com.
643
:Uh, compatible.
644
:Compatible.
645
:There you go.
646
:Thank you.
647
:Help me church, help me.
648
:All right.
649
:Alright.
650
:I got stuck there.
651
:Brain irregularity.
652
:That's what happens when you get old.
653
:All right.
654
:All right.
655
:He said, Kathy, you need to try
to become a Bible talk leader.
656
:Well, she said, okay.
657
:She became a Bible talk leader.
658
:Then years later, we went into ministry.
659
:I'm so glad she made that decision.
660
:'cause I do believe that marriage is
unity and you gotta be on the same page.
661
:You gotta be compatible.
662
:It's such a hard word
to remember, isn't it?
663
:Right?
664
:You gotta be unified, spiritually,
socially, sexually, and you don't
665
:need to live with someone to know if
you're compatible, sexually kiss 'em.
666
:If you like it and they
like it, you're compatible.
667
:All right?
668
:You get those feelings.
669
:All right.
670
:We've gotten off subject back
to our resolutions, a pillar
671
:in the House of God commitment.
672
:The last one
673
:brother, stop laughing
674
:and he also committed
to sacrifice for God.
675
:That's right.
676
:I look back over 45 years of being
in the church and I can see the
677
:times when the church soared and I,
I know the times the church sank.
678
:I know when we were doing what was
bringing God's blessings to us,
679
:and I know when God disciplined
us, and all I can tell you is.
680
:It wasn't, we had great
organization, we had great ideas.
681
:We, we had the formula.
682
:It's when we were
faithful and sacrificial.
683
:God blessed us.
684
:That's right.
685
:That's right.
686
:I knew when we hired a campus minister
from Florida up in the Antelope
687
:Valley, Brian Kelly and his girlfriend
Jessica, I knew they were gonna come
688
:and they're gonna be very fruitful and
help us rebuild our campus ministry.
689
:Yes.
690
:Amir and Jewel built amazing
campus ministry and then
691
:they moved to Turning Point.
692
:Now they're the region leaders there, and
they took some of the kids with 'em, and
693
:the others became singles and got married.
694
:So we didn't have a campus ministry
anymore, so Brian and Jessica had
695
:to come and we had to rebuild it.
696
:And I told the elders,
let's hire these kids.
697
:And Brian was so open.
698
:He is like, you know, I,
I've gone to counseling.
699
:I've had some struggles,
I've had this, I've had that.
700
:I told Brian later, don't
lead with your weaknesses.
701
:Lead with your strengths, but, but
the only strength I needed to know
702
:was, here's a kid had never met me
except on the phone and on Zoom.
703
:Move during COVID across the nation
to a church, to people he didn't
704
:know, talked his girlfriend into it.
705
:This is a sacrificial, faithful guy who
puts the Lord first, and those are the
706
:kind of Christians we want in the church,
and that's the kind of Christians he made.
707
:And I don't, I think in the three
years he was there, I think a
708
:couple people left the church.
709
:But tens and twenties and thirties
became Christians and stay faithful.
710
:Amen.
711
:This is what God blessed commitment.
712
:I will author a 10th a
percentage of everything I have.
713
:These are the simple, this is the simple
template for our New Year's resolutions.
714
:So what are the morals of this story?
715
:Jesus is our stairway to heaven.
716
:Can I get Amen?
717
:Amen.
718
:God shows us the way if we dream.
719
:Amen.
720
:Amen.
721
:Jacob's Ladder is climbed by what faith?
722
:God renews his promise to bless all
nations at all times in everything we do.
723
:That's throughout the scriptures.
724
:That's the promise of God,
the faithfulness of God.
725
:The church is the Bethel
or the house of God.
726
:That's what we are, folks.
727
:That's what we've, we, we, we may not
have been perfect at that in the past,
728
:but that's what we are going forward.
729
:Amen.
730
:Amen.
731
:And God's faithfulness
is revealed in dreams.
732
:This is the morals of the stories.
733
:So what are our.
734
:Resolution's gonna be, I want you
to recommit yourself to dream.
735
:Recommit yourself to dream.
736
:You know, when I remember my dreams,
it's not when I first go to sleep.
737
:It's after I wake up about two or
three, and then I lay there for
738
:a while and I go back to sleep.
739
:And then from about three or
four in the morning until six,
740
:those are the dreams I remember.
741
:And then about six, I'll wake up and I'll,
I'll lay in bed, even though Proverbs
742
:says, to get out of bed and don't turn
like a door on its hinges, get out of bed.
743
:I quit doing that.
744
:I did that all through
college, jumped up, got going.
745
:Now I lay there and meditate and
pray, and I doze off and God's
746
:dreams come to me as well as all
the things I need to do for God.
747
:Yeah, you know.
748
:Yeah, he gives me some responsibilities
as I dream, but those are the
749
:ones I remember and I love it.
750
:God is in this place, recommit to church.
751
:I've talked to a lot of you
and you've told me, Greg.
752
:Yeah, I was thinking about quitting.
753
:I've been checking out
some other churches.
754
:Think about going some other
places, but I'm gonna hang in there.
755
:I'm gonna stay.
756
:Please all of you stay.
757
:Amen.
758
:You know, I knew a little bit
of what I was getting into when
759
:Kathy and I came down here, but
I've got a few new revelations.
760
:Alright.
761
:And that's okay.
762
:It's okay.
763
:There's no perfect churches.
764
:Let's just be in it together.
765
:Amen.
766
:Recommit to be a pillar in God's house.
767
:And then thirdly, recommit to sacrifice.
768
:Sacrifice for this Orange County cleanup.
769
:It's such a good thing.
770
:I was driving up the 73 this morning.
771
:I saw so much trash and I thought
I'll fill up one bag at least
772
:with that when it stops raining.
773
:Right?
774
:And, and then I drove
down 4 0 5 the other day.
775
:I wrote about this in
my letter to you guys.
776
:I saw so much more trash.
777
:I, I, it, it's unimaginable for
me to that so many people throw
778
:trash outta their car, but they do.
779
:I've even seen it as I've driven.
780
:But I want us to take responsibility.
781
:I want us to be good people and I want us
to team up together to do something good.
782
:For our city and I think
God will bless us for that.
783
:And we're gonna raise
some money for the church.
784
:Yes.
785
:Finally, I'm gonna close with a
little bit of spiritual leadership.
786
:Review, reflect, regret, and revise.
787
:Some of the people that have left and
even thought about leaving have told
788
:me over and over, Greg, why don't the
leaders admit what we did wrong and
789
:tell us what we're gonna do different.
790
:And, and I've been telling them, I've been
years, since:
791
:I've been doing that.
792
:Amen.
793
:I mean, I went back to Denver three
times on apology tours and said
794
:what I had done wrong as the leader
and what I'm gonna do different.
795
:And I've been back to Dallas
and I've done that and I went,
796
:came back to LA and I did that.
797
:But.
798
:Either people didn't hear it or didn't
need it then, so I'm gonna say it again.
799
:All right.
800
:A little bit more abbreviated
this morning, because I do believe
801
:this is what Thomas Merton said.
802
:We make ourselves real
by telling the truth.
803
:Okay, so lessons learned.
804
:What are some lessons learned?
805
:I'm gonna hit these quickly.
806
:All right.
807
:I regret the lack of grace
and freedom in the church.
808
:We were a little lopsided on
discipleship commitment or repentance.
809
:Death.
810
:Self needed to be more gracious.
811
:I trust you.
812
:Make your own decisions.
813
:You'll do the right thing.
814
:You may learn the hard way the
first time, but you'll come around.
815
:All right.
816
:I regret lack of grace and freedom.
817
:I'm the grace preacher now.
818
:Amen.
819
:I apologize and I am sorry for the
command and control leadership.
820
:I mean, that's what I learned in football.
821
:I mean, command and
control, strong leadership.
822
:But now I hope I'm a gentle, soft leader.
823
:I, I was told at the beginning of
ministry, you gotta be steel and velvet.
824
:And so that's what I've
always tried to be.
825
:I'm not as much steel anymore.
826
:I let the Holy Spirit do that.
827
:Let him do that.
828
:All right, now I'm just
more of a big teddy bear.
829
:All right.
830
:Come on.
831
:But this, I still preach the
word and it's still all right.
832
:I acknowledge the pain
833
:and I didn't know how
to word this exactly.
834
:Caused by the control.
835
:You take away people's
autonomy and free will.
836
:It damages them.
837
:I've learned enough in therapy that you
don't do things in a healthy right way.
838
:It can damage people, and some
people are really fragile, right?
839
:Yeah, and I acknowledge that pain.
840
:I recognize the damage of us
claiming to be the only ones.
841
:We're just trying to, we're the
only, we're not the only ones.
842
:We're just trying to do
what we know is true.
843
:Right, right.
844
:I confess sins of pride, performance,
competition, just things that hurt
845
:people and were the wrong motivation.
846
:I commit to listening.
847
:To empathy and to patience.
848
:Now, will I be perfect?
849
:No, but neither are you.
850
:All right.
851
:So let's treat each other fairly.
852
:All right?
853
:I renew my commitment to
Jesus's Lord and I trust you.
854
:Church, with your free
will and your choice.
855
:I'm not gonna try to control anybody,
and neither is our leadership.
856
:So what are some lessons
that we're gonna live?
857
:I rejoice that we did live.
858
:I rejoice with the thousands of baptisms.
859
:Don't throw out the baby
with the bath water.
860
:It wasn't all bad.
861
:I saw miracles after miracles after
I saw God move, I saw so much.
862
:Good.
863
:Keep perspective.
864
:Don't have extreme thinking.
865
:You know, don't, don't go there.
866
:I reflect on God working to disciples.
867
:I mean, even when we
were wrong, he worked.
868
:Yeah, he worked.
869
:He disciplined.
870
:We had our desert time.
871
:We had our wandering in the wilderness.
872
:All right.
873
:Don't ever leave God out of the picture.
874
:I stand in awe of the
miracles I've witnessed.
875
:I refuse to give up on the
church because it's my family.
876
:My eternal family, I accept responsibility
to correct, create a healthy ministry.
877
:Why are all these I?
878
:'cause I can only speak for myself.
879
:I'll let the other leaders
speak for themselves.
880
:I admit immaturity.
881
:I mean, I was leading big churches,
a thousand member churches at 28.
882
:You know, let's take advantage of
our elders and older people now.
883
:Amen.
884
:But we didn't have any older people.
885
:The oldest people back then were.
886
:Late thirties and early forties.
887
:I admit the immaturity, the isolation,
and the ignorance, the inbreeding.
888
:You could say, I appreciate
the sincerity and the sacrifice
889
:though for years, and I hope for
humility, spirituality, and unity.
890
:Amen.
891
:Amen.
892
:So what covenants do we have as a church?
893
:People are always saying, we need
to share what we really believe.
894
:Well, here's what we really believe.
895
:We believe the Bible is
God's sacred word of truth.
896
:Right.
897
:We don't make up our
own truth around here.
898
:We follow the Bible.
899
:We believe that God is the
Father, the Son, and the Holy
900
:Spirit, the creator of all of us.
901
:We believe God created
humans in his own image.
902
:We're in the image of God.
903
:We all have value and we're eternal souls
that God has breathed his spirit into
904
:and he created male and female, right?
905
:God, we believe that humans
are good and they're not good.
906
:Yes, we, we were made in paradise Perfect.
907
:And we had a choice though.
908
:And we sin and we're falling.
909
:And so we're both, and
we struggle with that.
910
:And we'll struggle with
it our whole human life.
911
:All right?
912
:So we sin and we need salvation.
913
:I, we believe salvation is
by faith in Jesus Christ.
914
:He was God.
915
:He came, he died for us.
916
:The only God that I know of that died.
917
:And sacrifice himself.
918
:We believe the church is God's people.
919
:We believe Christians are to
live like Jesus, and we believe
920
:disciples make disciples, but not of
themselves through the Holy Spirit.
921
:Amen.
922
:So ring out the bad ring in the
new ring out the old ring in:
923
:God bless you, church.
924
:Amen.
