Russell James, the pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Hondo, Texas, shares his journey of establishing the church and emphasizes the significance of community ministry. He recounts how, after a long period of serving as an assistant pastor, he felt a divine calling to lead his own congregation, which began on October 15, 2025. Throughout the episode, James highlights the church's growth over the past three years, including the number of converts and the outreach efforts that have led to many finding faith in Christ. He also discusses the importance of support from fellow churches, expressing gratitude for their contributions to the mission. The episode culminates in a powerful message about the joy of restoring relationships, drawing parallels between biblical parables and the transformative experience of faith.

Russell James, the pastor at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Hondo, Texas, takes listeners on an insightful journey through his experiences in establishing a church dedicated to serving the local community. He begins by painting a vivid picture of Hondo, a small town that he describes as the heart of Medina County, where he and his wife, Rebecca, felt a divine calling to minister. Their church began its mission in October 2025, and Russell shares the trials and triumphs they faced in their first three years, marking the occasion with an upcoming anniversary service that promises to be a celebration of faith and community.

Throughout his address, Russell emphasizes the importance of outreach, highlighting numerous individuals from diverse backgrounds who have found solace and purpose in their faith through the church's efforts. He expresses gratitude towards other churches for their support, which has been vital in their journey. With 52 adult members and a Sunday attendance averaging in the mid-70s, the church exemplifies the power of community, with every contribution to their mission translating into spiritual fruit. Russell's tone is earnest as he details the logistics of their church operations, including the creative use of rented spaces and the shared facilities that have enabled them to conduct services and programs effectively.

The narrative crescendos as Russell discusses the church's vision for the future, focusing on their recent acquisition of land for a permanent building, which represents a significant step towards fulfilling their mission. He passionately conveys his belief that investing in the propagation of the gospel is the greatest endeavor one can undertake, as every soul saved adds to their collective eternal rewards. By the end of the episode, Russell's message resonates with a profound sense of hope, urging listeners to recognize the importance of their contributions and to celebrate the miracles of faith and community that define their journey.

Takeaways:

• In the podcast, Speaker A describes their journey of establishing Cornerstone Baptist Church in Hondo, Texas, which serves a community of about 10,000 people and aims to minister to the entire Medina County.
• Speaker A emphasizes the importance of outreach, stating that many individuals were waiting for the church to come and were able to be baptized, showcasing the impact of their ministry in the community.
• The speaker shares a significant milestone, mentioning that after three years, the church has grown to 52 adult members with an attendance averaging in the mid-70s, indicating a steady progress in their mission.
• Speaker A discusses the emotional aspect of ministry, reflecting on the joy of bringing lost individuals back to faith, comparing it to the joy of a father when his lost son returns home.
• The podcast highlights the importance of community support, as Speaker A expresses gratitude for the contributions from other churches, noting that every effort made towards missions contributes to the spiritual growth of everyone involved.
• Finally, Speaker A concludes with a call to appreciate the 'miracle of normal' in the Christian life, emphasizing the value of everyday faith and the community built through shared beliefs.

Thank you, brother.

Amen.

My name is Russell James.

I'm in Cornerstone Baptist Church in Hondo, Texas.

You go down to San Antonio and turn straight west towards Del Rio, Texas.

You'll run right through Hondo.

It's about a town with about 10,000 people in it, but it's the county seat of, of Medina County.

So we chose to try to minister to the whole county, Medina, it's got about five small towns in it.

And we, we decided to hit the hub, which is Hondo.

And the Lord led us there.

My wife and I, Rebecca, I was, I, I was assistant pastor for many, many years.

Many, many years, actually decades.

And the Lord moved on me to pastor before it got too late for me to pastor.

I've got to try.

I've got to do it.

I've got to do it.

And after much praying, the Lord sent us to Hondo.

It's interesting because at the time I didn't, I didn't understand why, but after just a few weeks of being there, I understood why.

And the Lord blessed.

And we just want to be faithful.

And your pastor, he met me and he came up to me and he said, we're going to support you.

Our church is going to support you.

And he's kept his word from the very beginning and I'm very grateful for that.

And all of you have been in part of this.

You know, I think about every, every cent you give to missions, it comes, some of it comes to our church and we're very grateful for that.

So any fruit that comes into our through our church is going right into your eternal bank account.

It's an amazing thing to think about, but it's true.

I don't think there's a greater investment in ever than in giving toward the propagation of the gospel.

So through outreach we were able to meet many, many people.

They were actually waiting for us, just didn't know they were waiting for us to come.

So we've met men and women from all walks of life and been able to win them to Christ and baptize many of them.

And many of them lifetime adherence to a certain religion and, and knew it was empty, in vain and they came to Christ.

And you'll see some of them in the video here that we'll show here in just a minute.

But I don't want to take up too much time.

We've been here three years, I would say.

I want to tell you we have 52 adult members on the roll.

We average about in the mid-70s right now in attendance on a Sunday morning.

And we're hoping for a big day on our anniversary, which is the 15th, which is in just a couple weeks.

We're going to try to blow that place out.

See, we meet in one room, it's called the Hondo Community Center.

We go in and we rent it by the hour.

So we move in, we put, we bring in all of our equipment like all church planters do and we move it out when it's over and we get in there and we have church in one big room.

We have a closet for our nursery and we use an RV for Sunday school.

Pull in out across the parking lot and we do have a really generous man who lets us use some office buildings for our Sunday school classes for our adults and for our teens.

But we're trying and I really believe it's been three years.

The Lord has established a church in Hondo.

But we.

I'll go on.

We have a building that we purchased.

We had a man very generously agree to financing, owner financing property to us, which is about the only way we could ever get it.

And the Lord gave us eight acres right on the highway.

Real a lot of exposure, I mean, thousands of cars a day.

And so we're real excited about that.

We're trying to move.

We're going to be moving east of Hondo between Hondo and Castroville and we're going to try to set up a church there and minister all the way into San Antonio, which is not too far away.

It's getting closer every day, seems like.

But I do believe the Lord has established the church.

If the vision comes to pass, we'll try to break ground sometime in December to build.

And we're really grateful.

I can't tell you how grateful I am to each and every one of you.

I wish I could shake your hand and tell you personally, thank you.

Maybe I'll get to here in just a bit, but.

So when you look at our video, it's a slideshow and what we've decided to do is just give a history, three year history of what our church has been doing up until just last week.

So you'll just get a little history and what you'll see are some converts that were saved and led to Christ and baptized.

You'll see the place where we meet.

Get a good view of that.

You'll see our land that the Lord has provided.

You'll see the people of Cornerstone.

Oh, and before I forget, our whole church thanks you all very much.

All right, we're going to have.

Are we ready, brother?

I can't heal the sick nor cause the blinded eyes to see a sinner's empty soul I cannot save.

I am nothing more than what the Lord has given me.

And through his grace alone I boldly say God can and he will.

He can move the mountain still and speed the water still.

If you believe, you will see that everything impossible will soon be possible.

God can and he will.

Humbled in your presence, Lord, I fall down to my knees knowing you are there to carry on.

I received your love and mercy undeservedly.

In my every weakness you are strong.

God can and he will.

He can move the mountains tall and speak the water still.

If you believe you will see that everything impossible will soon be possible.

God can and he will no matter the task, no matter the hour, he will supply.

He knows our need, he knows our everything and he will provide God can and he will he can move the mountain, mountains tall and speed the water still.

If you believe you will see that everything impossible will soon be possible God can and he will and he will and he will and he will and he will and he will and he will.

All right, appreciate you watching that with us.

We very excited about what the Lord is doing.

That last shot of the overhead, that's eight acres there that we're going to hopefully build a building on very, very soon.

Amen and thank you.

I count it a joy to get to speak to you tonight and appreciate this very much.

Please turn to the book of Luke, chapter 15.

Where's Brother Lundead?

There he is.

He opened his door to a stranger today.

He opened his door and I walked right in.

He entertained strangers.

Wasn't angel unawares though.

But at least I'm a saint.

Amen.

All right.

But they've been really good to me and the church.

The meal was wonderful.

Everyone's received us so graciously and I count it an honor to stand here today.

Thank you, brother.

Alright, Luke chapter 15.

What I would like to do.

How can I repay you?

How can I repay you?

I want to be a blessing to the faithful.

You know those obviously it's Monday night, the faithful are here.

How can I be a blessing?

I want to so much and so desperately.

So I want to bring a message to you out of Luke chapter 15.

All right.

And this is the very popular, well known passage.

Look at verse 25.

To begin this is about.

The prodigal son says now his elder son was in the field.

And as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.

And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.

He said unto him, thy brother is come, and thy father hath killed the fatted calf.

Because he hath received him safe and sound, and he was angry and would not go in.

Therefore came his father out and entreated him.

And he answering, said to his father, lo, these many years do I serve thee.

Neither transgressed thou any time thy commandment, and yet thou never gavest me a kid that I might make merry with my friends.

But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

And he said unto him, son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.

It was meet that we should make merry and be glad for this.

Thy brother was dead and is alive again and was lost and is found and what I want to speak to you tonight and you'll see here in a minute why I call it the miracle of normal.

The miracle of normal.

And let's pray together.

Father, I ask that you'd help us to understand these things.

And as simple as it is, may we take comfort and courage in thy word.

I ask that you'd speak to the faithful today and encourage and strengthen them.

And we pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

I've often said, and I say it pretty regular, you never realize how good normal is until you lose it.

Everything's just going normal.

Everybody thinks, well, it's the mully grub.

It's just old doldrums.

No, it's good.

It's normal.

Wait till that normal is taken away.

And you long for the normal.

Isn't that what Job did?

He said, oh, I wish I longed for the.

The days when the secret of God was on my tabernacle.

The good old days.

I don't think anyone can fully appreciate good health if their health has not been tested a little and they've lost a little of it.

Someone who's healthy for their whole lifetime, who is that?

Who is that special one?

They can't appreciate health.

They have it all the time.

Take a little of it away.

Some people, a lot of it is taken away.

And they long for, I just want to feel good again.

I just want to feel normal again.

I just want to feel right again.

My dad was that way.

He never got sick.

He never talked about pain.

I said this.

I don't understand it because honestly, this week has been a good week for me.

I felt pretty pain free this week.

Felt pretty good and I'm glad for it.

Based on this message.

I'm trying to be really excited about the fact that normal is good.

And we'll find out normal is a miracle.

One cannot fully appreciate financial security if he's never been tested, if he's never lost some of it, if he's never suffered some loss.

Those who never struggle financially their whole life and amazing.

There's some people, I guess, that are out there that are like that.

They can never appreciate what they have.

Such is the case.

And let's read these verses.

I don't want to go too long.

Look at verse three.

And he spake this parable with them saying, what man of you having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the 90 and 9 in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until he find it?

And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.

I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than over 90 and nine just persons which need no repentance.

Remember, he's speaking to the Pharisees when he's saying this.

But the case of the lost sheep, you know, a man has a hundred sheep, he loses one.

One sheep wanders away and the man says, I've got to go get that lost sheep.

99 is not enough.

I need the hundred.

I want what I had before when life was normal.

I want it.

What does it say?

He went so he wanted it so much he left the 90 and nine behind.

And he went out and sought that lost sheep far and wide until he found it.

Until he didn't come back.

Until notice says he left those 99 in the wilderness.

Well, he went after that one lost sheep so that he.

And what did it say when he finally found that sheep?

He put it, you know, that's the famous picture.

He puts it on his shoulders and he carries it back.

He calls all his friends and neighbors and says, it's party time.

It's celebration time.

I found my lost sheep.

My life is back to where it ought to be before I lost this sheep.

Look at verse eight.

Have another picture here.

Either.

What woman having ten pieces of silver?

If she lose one piece.

Doth not light a candle and sweep the house and seek diligently until she find it?

And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, rejoice with me, for I found the peace which I had lost.

Likewise, I say unto you, there's joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

Here is a woman had 10 pieces of silver.

She loses one of them, it mysteriously disappears.

I think she forgot she spent it at Walmart because there was a cell.

799.

They get you on the 99?

No, she knew it was in the house somewhere.

You know, my mom used to say it didn't walk away on its own, did it?

It's somewhere in the house.

She scoured it.

She searched far and wide throughout that house.

She dug and cleaned the whole house until she found that lost piece of silver.

Calls them up, says, all my friends and family come home with.

It's so strange, isn't it?

Comes home and have a party with me.

I've lost.

I found my lost peace.

Notice one out of a hundred and then one out of ten.

I'm not settling except for the full ten.

And what we're seeing here today, I'm trying.

I want us to see things from God's viewpoint.

Both of these said until they found it, they went out and did this.

Now here's an interesting thought.

Before they lost a sheep and brought it back, he didn't have a party.

Before she lost her coin and brought it back, she didn't have the party.

It was the getting the life back and the normality of the life back, and all things are settled and we'll find it here in a minute, safe and sound.

That she said it's time to have a celebration and calls her family and friends.

Look at the next case.

Verse 11.

And he said a certain man had two sons.

The younger of them said to his father, father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.

And he divided unto them his living.

And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

Now we find here's a lost son.

Now it's hitting home hard because it's dealing with relationships.

This is one who didn't wander off accidentally or be lost casually.

This one went off on its own, presumptively on purpose, and wasted his father's goods.

Now he gave away and surrendered and lost and squandered all of his money, probably his health, all of his dignity, he disappeared.

It's amazing.

The father let him go.

That's the amazing thing.

This is a man, you know what he did.

The money didn't matter.

He stole precious time from his father.

He stole a relationship that a father ought to have with his son.

He walked away with it.

And his dad is sitting back at home just basically begging God to bring this son back.

And it took a long time to get him back.

He didn't come home immediately when he lost all and threw away all of his money through pride, he hung around a while, he stayed put.

He stubbornly sat and actually lived in the pigsty, it says, and tried to eat off the pig's food when they were slopping the hogs back home.

The father's wanting some fellowship.

The father misses his son.

The father wants his son back so they can be together.

Well, this son finally wised up.

It uses the term, when he came to himself, you know, always a time there when it finally he came to himself, he said, what am I doing here?

I literally have nothing.

I've been rejected by everyone.

And I know what dad has father has at home.

He said, I'll go back home.

He might receive me as a servant and a hired servant.

Maybe he'll receive me back.

It's a lot better than what I have now.

And so the son is going back, really, for not the best reason.

His dad wants the relationship back.

Now look at verse 20.

I must hasten.

And he arose and came to his father he did.

And when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck, kissed him.

His dad was most amazing.

The father was looking.

The father saw him afar off.

And they didn't have binoculars back then.

I mean, he saw him way off.

You know why he's looking?

He was daily looking and longing and waiting for that form to hit the horizon coming back.

And he knew, that's my son.

And it says he ran on him.

He ran to him, and he fell on and gave and had compassion.

And the son said unto him in verse 21, Father, I've sinned against heaven, and in thy sight I'm no more worthy to be called thy son.

But the father said to his servants, bring forth the best robe and put it on him.

Put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, and bring hither the fatted calf.

The calf's been waiting for a reason, kill it and let us eat and be merry.

For this, my son Was dead and is alive again.

He was lost and is found.

And they began to be merry.

This father got his son back and things were well again.

You know, the once again, the rejoicing didn't start until the son came, until the lost one came back into the fold.

And he had been saving the fatted calf because he knew there's a time coming when he will come home.

There will be renewal, there will be a restored position and a saved life.

And it says, he received.

I love this.

Your son.

My son is home, safe and sound.

We love that term.

You've heard that term, right?

They're safe and sound.

There's not a better feeling, especially for a family member to know that their family is safe and sound.

Especially after like a long journey, you worry, they made it back.

They're home, they're safe and they're sound.

All is going to be well.

Now notice with me these three stories.

You got three different types.

The first one is a sheep.

That's a man's possession, lost and found.

He got it back.

One of a hundred, his possession.

The coin represents value to his life or her life.

It was Lost and found, one of 10.

The son is relationship lost and found.

One of two.

The greatest wealth of all of these is the son.

The relationship is much more important than the others.

The father, son relationship was so important to the father, his life or death to the father.

He wanted him so much.

Now, can you imagine when he saw him, you know, his son came humbly and said, well, you just.

I'm so sorry, Father.

I sinned against heaven in thy sight.

I'm not even worthy to be called thy son.

He said, what?

Hey, I got my son back.

My son is back.

This is all that matters to me.

You know what he's saying?

It's back to normal.

I got it back.

Now we're in place here.

I can have the fatted calf slain and prepared.

Y' all have good barbecue up here.

Can you imagine?

This one is probably the best he could ever put out his son's back.

He put on a special robe upon his back.

Put a ring on his finger which represents power again, family power.

He's giving him his station back and his stature back.

He's not a servant, he's a son.

And it's normal, just as it ought to be.

You know, but there's one more element to this story, and it's the other son.

It's the other son in verse 25.

Now, the elder son was doing what he was supposed to do, wasn't he, he was in the field working.

And as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard that music.

Boy, he comes home after a hard day of work and there's a party going on in the house.

And he didn't get invited.

He doesn't even know why.

He almost seems like he's forgotten after a very tough day in the field.

You know, it's interesting because Christians, we work for the Father in the field, which is the world, and we work for the Father in the vineyard, which is his people.

We are working for the Father.

The faithful work for the Father.

And hopefully you do that every day of your life.

We're serving our God, our Heavenly Father.

Well, he stayed home and worked.

He didn't run off and squander the fortune like his little brother did.

But he hears the music, he hears the laughter.

He says, something is just not right here.

Something's going on.

He pulls over A servant, verse 26, calls one of the servants and asks what these things meant.

What's happening here?

Well, your brother's home.

Oh, my brother's back.

You know, he's probably thinking he'd come back someday.

I knew it.

But he's going, oh, that's what this is about.

My wayward brother's back.

And he says, yeah, and your dad slew the fatted calf.

What?

That's what he was saving it for.

And your dad's in there having a celebration right now with him.

And they're making merry and they're having the time of their life.

This is as good as it gets for the Father.

He's so happy in there.

You wouldn't believe what your dad's countenance right now, how excited your father is that he got his son back from afar.

Well, I'm sure the son.

You know what he did?

He said, get out of the way.

He blew through the door.

He said, let's have a three way hug.

Dad.

Brother.

He didn't do that at all, did he?

He basically said, I'm not going in.

I refuse to go in there and join that party because it's making no sense to me.

He lost everything and he's been gone forever.

And now he's back and dad let him ride in.

So in protest, he would not let go in.

Amazing.

The Father came out to him.

Now isn't this amazing?

The Father went out to both sons, they didn't come in.

He went out.

And he says in verse 29, I won't read it for time.

But he says, father, I served you my Whole adult life.

I did not ask you for big parties and big plans and all these great things.

And I never transgressed your word.

I stuck to the path.

I worked hard for the family way and fortune.

Not like he did.

And you're having a party for one that does not deserve it.

You never gave me special treatment.

You never said me and my friends could go out and have a barbecue of our own.

You never rejoiced over me and killed the fatted calf.

He's really bitter.

And the father says, nobody says, but as soon verse 30, as soon as this thy son was come, which has devoured thy living with harlots, horrible lifestyle, soon thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

Now the father puts him in the right frame of mind, he hopes, basically saying, you turned him from that into a king's son.

Once again, you turned him into a king's son.

And he says in verse 31, Son, you don't understand.

You don't get it.

Thou art ever with me and all that I have is thine.

Don't you think it's meet your brother's home?

The lost.

He was dead, he was gone.

Now he's back.

Don't you think it's meet that we make celebration over this?

You got your brother back too, by the way.

He pointed out everything's still intact.

All the father's goods and the older son's goods are not wasted.

And he said, everything I have is yours.

You know what he's basically saying?

Nothing's changed here, son.

Nothing's changed.

The conclusion of the matter is I got my son back.

And I want you to rejoice with me over the fact that I got my son back.

And you're missing the moment.

My heart craved wanting my son back.

And I didn't know where he went.

He went to a far, far country, you know.

You think the older son should have gone out looking for his brother?

Never did.

Never did.

He kept working in the field though.

But he says, don't you understand it from my viewpoint as a father would.

Don't you get it?

The relationship is back.

Don't you understand how much I suffered while he was gone?

Don't you get this with me?

He said, can't you make merry with me for my sake?

If you don't get the moment, can't you get it from me?

We read two places there where it says, there's joy in the presence of the angels.

There's joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth rather than over 90 and 9, just persons who don't need any repentance, which is a joke because all need repentance.

But he's saying, listen, don't you understand?

I've had a hole in my heart from the day he walked out the door.

And the restoration is here and there's a dead man, his life is back and my son is reborn.

And he's saying, you ought to be happy with me over your little brother and you ought to rejoice.

And you know what else he probably said to him?

Everybody wins in this, son.

All of us win.

Everybody wins in this occasion.

Now herein is found an important truth that I've been saying all along.

Normal is really good.

You know, the older son didn't realize how good he had.

Took his son coming back to wake him up again, I mean his brother to wake him up.

You know, the older.

Think about this.

The older son got his father every day of his life, while the younger son never got his father any days of his life at all.

He got blessing and fruit.

He had stability of life.

He had power of the son, of this Father.

He had purpose.

He had one on one relationship with the Father and he had truth.

Really, if he looked at it, the Father saying, you have fulfillment, you ought to be so happy.

And he said, but he says, son, it's called, you know, we always call it the same old grind.

Did you know that the Christian grind is a pretty good grind?

Did you know, I don't think there's a better grind out there than the Christian life.

And sometimes it's tough.

We understand that.

It's day in and day out, with patience, serving God and we ought to all be singing that famous song, I am happy in the service of the King.

I am happy, oh so happy.

While you're working, that's singing.

While you work for the Father in the field, knowing that he's given you your joint heir with Christ, you're getting everything he has it said we will inherit with him all things.

Our version is, I've been slaving in the field every day while my brother's been living and wasting frivolity.

Oh, I wish that I could go and be with him.

No, you don't.

No, you don't, you don't.

You're in a great place.

Christianity is the greatest life there is.

Serving God in a local church is the most fulfilling life there is.

And we don't want to admit it, but it is.

See it from the Father's viewpoint and I'll see.

You know, I hope that this older son figured it out.

I'm getting a little late.

I'll finish quick now.

Let me give you a few points.

We'll be done.

We ought to rejoice with the Father over one who repents, a new convert.

See it from God's viewpoint, not yours.

Oh, we've seen.

We saw 20 people get saved last week.

Don't even think anything about it.

See it from God's viewpoint.

Every one of those was a sinner that if they got saved, a sinner that repented.

And there's a part of your celebration in heaven and it meant Jesus came from the bosom of the Father.

Jesus is the heart of God.

He came to seek and save that which was lost.

You know, a saved sinner, a fresh Christian, a new convert is as good as it gets.

We should never get.

It should never get old, seeing people come to Christ and get saved.

This is the heart of God.

He says, why not?

He's telling the angels, rejoice with us over this.

I don't think the angels can because they don't know redemption.

But we do.

We were.

Many of us were that, Son, when we came home, we didn't get kicked out, man.

When I first got saved at 18, I was telling them that I got saved at 18.

I was so fired up for God.

And I remember some older folks in there, they didn't want me sit in front of row.

I was an embarrassment.

Hey, you sit in the back a while, bud, where you belong.

I remember I tried to join the choir and they said, you're not.

You earn it a little bit.

And I kind of understand that you need to earn it.

But they were.

They resented the fact that that old wicked Russell James came home and got saved and tried to spoil the party.

And I could see the Father saying to the son, listen, son, you may not get the point, but you're not ruining my celebration.

You're not ruining it for me.

That a sinner, my son, came home, back home to me.

And now I have a restored relationship with my son.

You're not going to ruin it for me.

Son.

If you want to sit out on the porch and sulk, you go right ahead.

But he said, I think you ought to come in and appreciate what's taking place here.

The next thing we ought to realize when all these people, and we hope hundreds and hundreds come to Christ.

But we.

Nothing changes for us if they do.

We still get all of God.

We still get all of the Father.

We still get to serve him faithfully every day of our Life in the field.

I love it.

All is ours and all is theirs.

Paul said, he's mine, he's yours, he's ours.

And you know what's the amazing thing about this is I know this and it almost seems selfish.

I get all of God.

Me, I get all of God that I want.

And you can come in and do the same.

All of us can have all of God.

We can have the greatest relationship with God as a one on one son of God or a child of God.

And anybody else can too.

That's the greatness of our Heavenly Father.

But we're still getting all of him.

We're not sharing, we're not all getting a piece of the pie.

We're all getting the whole pie.

And the kingdom is expanded as a new son, a child came home.

Now, lastly, we ought to renew the fact that normal is good.

Did you know normal Christian living is a miracle.

You getting to be here on Monday night is a miracle.

It's a miracle.

It's special.

You say, I've been doing this a whole long time.

Can you imagine doing something else?

I mean, can you imagine having to do something else?

Say, man, I've been at this my whole life.

Listen, we don't know how good things are until they're taken away.

And I'm asking you today, can we just appreciate the Christian life together, how wonderful it is being at home with the Father and appreciate how wonderfully normal it is?

You say, well, we do this all the time.

It's a miraculous way of life.

It really is.

Getting to read your Bible every day.

It's not a goldrum.

It's an unbelievable privilege.

It's a privilege.

And we get to partake of that as much as we want every day.

We can sing, we get the fellowship, you know, all of us can pray to the Heavenly Father as much as we want.

And we do it every day.

It doesn't get old.

It stays refreshing because we have the most greatest life there is.

We get to enjoy God's presence upon our lives all the time.

That lost son didn't get it.

We get to serve God.

We get to feel his comfort, you understand?

And partake of his grace.

We know what his power is.

Everybody in here knows what forgiveness is.

And partakers of his love, his truth.

We can all appreciate the brethren, you can appreciate this wonderful church that the Lord has given you.

It's amazing place.

It's amazing people, Amazing pastor.

You can appreciate our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and draw waters out of the well of salvation every day.

It's the most miraculous way to live there is.

You say it's just normal.

Aren't you glad in his care and his provision is open ear to you.

And then the good stuff's waiting on us in heaven now.

It's very normal sameness.

He's with us all the time.

I cannot imagine not having this.

You realize you get to call him Abba Father every day, all the time.

You can have that spirit in your heart.

You can speak to him all day long.

You get to talk to God about all your problems all day long.

If you so choose and ask him for his help, you can expose your needs to him and pour out your heart to him.

He wants to hear your desires too.

Your hopes and your dreams.

We get to eat of his bounty.

You know it's funny.

That oldest son, he probably ate like a king.

He just was mad that the fatted calf wasn't for him.

It's normal.

I call it the miracle of normal.

So when one returns from a life of sin or comes to Christ from a false religion, that's an amazing miracle.

And we need to rejoice with God on that.

And the Pharisees didn't get it.

These publicans and sinners and harlots were coming to Christ and having a life change and they resented it rather than wow.

And Jesus said, you're watching them come in and you're not following them.

Most amazing thing.

So just tell everybody, come on in, there's plenty of room for all.

It's an eternal party.

Our brother was lost, but now he's found.

Let's bow our heads.

I will just want to ask you, can you have a renewal of appreciation of your salvation?

Just renew it in the Christian life, this miraculous life.

And can I ask you, would you really honestly aspire to have something else?

I don't think so.

Getting to win souls and helping the kingdom and a lifetime of serving him in a local church and giving of your time and money and efforts to the greatest investment there is in the fellowship of the Gospel and the fact that we are home.

Amen.

And we're able to serve the Father.

I'll have it called Pre and truth.

Let's all stand.

We have a verse invitation.