Ever feel like you’re still figuring out who you really are?

In this compelling sermon, Gregg Marutzky takes us on a journey through Jesus’ “I Am” statements—moments where He defines Himself and, in turn, helps us understand who we’re meant to become. It’s a message about identity, purpose, and the kind of life that grows from truly knowing Christ. Whether you’ve followed Jesus for years or are just curious about faith, this message will make you think deeply about who you are and who you’re becoming.

00:00 Introduction: Understanding Our Identity

01:10 The Importance of Identity

05:16 Personal Reflections on Identity

08:23 Jesus' Self-Portrait: The 'I Am' Statements

17:15 The Role of the Church and Community

20:10 Covenants and Commitments

21:27 The Importance of Biblical Covenants

22:07 Who Are We? Embracing Our Identity in Christ

23:26 The Story of Jesus: Conflict and Teachings

26:26 Understanding Jesus' 'I Am' Statements

27:41 Choosing to Believe in Jesus

32:36 Living Out Our Faith: Love, Worship, and Mission

38:01 Concluding Thoughts: Commit to Being Like Jesus

Today I want to talk about who are we.

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It's very important we know who we are

because, uh, when you start losing touch

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with the reality and don't know who you

are, you need someone to bring you back.

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Right?

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And so if you'd like to, you know,

some of the, some of the young

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people, they're gonna wish they

sat next to somebody different.

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But if you'd like to.

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You can hold hands for just a

minute with a person next to you.

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'cause that's gonna help

ground you in reality.

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All right, go ahead.

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And then if you are sitting next to

somebody that, uh, of the opposite sex,

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you're a little hesitant there too.

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I know.

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So, so go ahead.

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This is following direction from

the leaders, so it's, all right.

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There you go.

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We used to hold hands in

the huddle every huddle.

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When I played football,

high school, college.

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So it's all right guys to hold hands,

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but that's enough.

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All right.

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Today we're gonna look at who

Jesus was and is, and we're

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going to talk about who we are.

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It's very important to

understand your identity.

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Let me define ident identity

for you for a second here.

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It says, identity refers to the

qualities, beliefs, and relationships

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that make a person or thing unique,

recognizable, encompassing, both

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personal and social aspects.

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Who are we?

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Identity refers to the organization

of the individual's, drives abilities,

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beliefs, and history into a consistent

image of self, what you see in the mirror.

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All right.

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Identity is developed

usually in adolescence.

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Ericsson and his stages of growth

says in every stage there's a crisis.

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In the crisis when you're an

adolescent or teen, or a youth.

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Is gaining your identity, and when you

don't go through the crisis and get

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it resolved, then in some ways you get

stuck and you won't have a full identity.

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Identity involves deliberate choices and

decisions, and that's why we're gonna

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talk about today, particularly about

work values, ideology, and commitments to

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people and ideas, including the church.

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So identity for a church is

what we decide and choose to be.

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Now if I say we are

what comes to your mind?

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We are, oh, you didn't

watch the same movies?

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I did.

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Then Marshall, we are Marshall.

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Do you any of you remember that movie?

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Yeah, it was a great chant.

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We are Marshall.

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We are Marshall.

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We are Marshall.

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Why?

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Because they had had a tragedy.

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Uh, a whole team was lost,

their football team was lost.

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I think it was in a plane crash.

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It might have been a bus accident.

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It really stood out to me because

I had three cruel older brothers.

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And we'd always go to Oklahoma

for Christmas to visit our

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grandparents, and my mother and

dad would drive over Monarch Pass.

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We lived in Colorado and we'd go over

Monarch Pass and get to Oklahoma.

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It's before they had the.

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Superhighway and finished the,

the tunnel through the Eisenhower

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tunnel, through the mountain.

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And so we'd go over the pass and

my cruel older brothers would

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say, Greg, you better, you.

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You better start praying because it's

on this downhill slope that the buses

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always lose their brakes and they'd go

off and people die every day on this road.

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And we could die, Greg.

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And you know.

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I don't know how old I was,

but it really shook me.

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And even when as an adult, when I

drive on that road, I'd sort of start

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holding my breath and hyperventilating.

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Then Kathy would say, now, Greg, breathe.

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Greg, breathe.

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All right, so don't be a

cruel older brother or sister.

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All right.

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You could scar someone for life.

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But when that movie came out, it,

it resonated with me because it

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was about a team that had an act.

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Accident and it really forged that

university and they still use that

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chant today for their identity.

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Who are we?

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Who are you?

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Some of us are spouses, some of us are

parents, some of us are children, some of

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us are students, some of us are workers.

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We're a lot of things right.

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Who are we gonna be collectively together?

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That's my question for us this morning.

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And as I was thinking about

this, I thought, who am I?

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You know, and I started making a list

of some things that I am, I'm the one

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that became a disciple 48 years ago.

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I had to count up.

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I thought it was less than that, but

it was, it was more than I thought.

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I'm the one that became a,

an evangelist 43 years ago.

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I got married 44 years

ago this year in May.

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This coming year will

be my 45th anniversary.

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Can you believe someone

put up with me that long?

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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45 years.

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It's gone fast.

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It's for me anyway.

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You'll have to ask her.

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40 years ago, sorry Mandy, I'm

outing you on your age, but I

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became the father of Amanda, Leanne.

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And then Megan Beth,

and it was a great day.

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I remember she was born in the Boulder

Hospital and, and, uh, I took a break

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after everything had settled down

to go home and shower and come back.

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We were up all night and the

first, uh, song on the radio

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was by Mary Menlow, Mandy.

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I wasn't a real emotional guy,

but I just started crying.

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Maybe I was tired, but also

it was just so beautiful.

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It was, it was God saying, you

named her right and she's yours.

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You got a little baby girl.

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I, I think she knows that story.

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If not, I cried.

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And then 10 years ago, and, uh,

Sienna just had her birthday last week

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and so I, that one was an easy one.

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I became a grandfather for Sienna

and then McKenna came a Dean

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and Kensington and Maddie's here

in the audience this morning.

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And it's awesome being a, a grandpa.

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I gave her a, a, uh, bottle this

morning for a little while, as

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long as she could stay still.

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And then, uh, she spilled it on me.

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And so, uh, but, uh, it's awesome.

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That's something I am, I'm a professor,

I'm a professional counselor, but

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most of all, I thought about it.

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What matters most is I'm a disciple,

and I hope that's what you.

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Care about the most in your life,

and I want to be like Jesus.

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I know when I became a

Christian, I wanted to be saved.

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Frankly.

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I wanted to get control of myself, get

control of my anger, get control of

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some of my issues I wanted to change,

but the longer I've been, a com been

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a Christian, the more and more in

love with God and in love with Jesus,

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and now there's nothing more that

I want them to be just like Jesus.

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So if I could say to myself, I could

look in the mirror and say, hi, Jesus,

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I'd, I'd be feeling good about myself.

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Now that sounds a little

weird as I say it out loud.

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I fought it though when I've looked

in the mirror, you know, be like

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Jesus today, Greg, don't be you.

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Be Jesus.

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All right.

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Be better than you.

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So we're gonna look at

who Jesus said he was.

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Seven verses in the book of John.

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He says who he is.

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He says, I am.

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I am this, I am that.

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So it's a self portrait that he

paints with words for us to really

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get a good picture of who he is.

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And I think each of these things we're

gonna look at are things that you and I

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need from God and need from Jesus and need

to imitate so we'll have better lives.

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You probably heard this sermon before,

but I want us to embody these things.

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I want us to really embrace them

so we become like him and so that

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whatever things that he knew he

needed to be for us, we can be

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for ourselves and for each other.

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So let's look at a list of all these

things that, uh, he is all right,

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because that's what I am means.

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It's I is.

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Be all right.

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He was cool before we got Cool.

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All right.

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He said, I am, I am, I be, I

are not are he wasn't Plural.

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I is.

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Okay.

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So I am, I am the way,

the truth and the life.

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John 14th, six.

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And we'll have a whole sermon

series about each one of these.

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We'll go into depth on

each one of them today.

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I'm just gonna give a, a

little overview on it, but, uh.

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There's great profound meaning

to Jesus saying, I'm the way, and

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throughout the scriptures, I love

reading the Book of Proverbs because

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it starts off talking about the way,

the path, which path are you on?

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Don't be on the path with bandits.

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Don't be on the path with thieves.

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Get on this straight and narrow path.

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Be on the wise path.

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Don't be on the foolish path.

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Talks about the way

that we live our lives.

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Jesus says, I'm the way, I'm your guide.

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You follow me.

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If you, you let me guide you, you can

have a good, fulfilling, meaningful

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life, or you can go on your own way.

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You don't have to have a map or you

can follow me and I'll be your map.

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I'll be your guide.

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I'm the true vine.

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We know what vines are about.

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Some of us.

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Anybody, well, I shouldn't push

this, but anybody been to a winery?

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All that's where you see vines

and great things come from vines.

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All right.

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But they're, they, they're interwoven

and they're attached, and you don't see

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where one ends and another one begins.

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It's just this interconnectedness.

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So Jesus is saying, I can connect you.

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I can connect you to the source to God.

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I can connect you to each other.

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I can even get you connected to yourself.

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'cause there's a long distance

between head and heart, all right?

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You can think things but not feel

things, so you need to be connected.

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We need a vine in our lives.

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He says, I am the shepherd.

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I'm your mentor.

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I'm the one.

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I'm your tutor.

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I'm the one that's gonna put my

arms around you and encourage you.

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I'm your coach.

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I'm gonna pump you up sometimes I'm

gonna challenge you to stretch yourself.

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I'm gonna teach you the

things you don't know.

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All right?

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Some of us had fathers that

taught us, some of us didn't.

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Jesus says, I want to be your shepherd.

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I'm gonna be the door

for the price is right.

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No, I'm gonna be the door

where you get to win.

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Whatever choice you make, I'm gonna

guide you to the right door, the right

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place, the right choices to make, you

know, life's made of, made up of choices.

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Where you choose to live, where you

choose to go to school, how you choose

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to work, who you choose to marry, you

know, or not Mary, you know, whatever.

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Jesus says, I'm the door,

I'm the bread of life.

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I mean, you gotta eat and

bring into yourself the right

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things or you won't live.

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I'm gonna feed you.

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I'm gonna feed your soul.

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And he says, I'm the light of the world.

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You ever just been in a gloomy place?

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We are so blessed living

in Southern California.

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Don't ever move to Boston.

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I moved to Boston for two years.

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Happiness was Boston in

the rear view mirror.

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For me.

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I grew up in Colorado, and contrary

to what you see on the news and what

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most people think it is, sunshiney

more in Colorado, the sun shines more,

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there's less clouds, there's more

sunshine that gets to the earth than

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almost anywhere in the United States.

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And so I'm a sunshine boy.

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I like the light and then I got, the

second place I lived was California San

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Diego, and it gets a little cloudy in

the morning there and then it burns off.

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It's a lot of sunshine and the

two places I've loved to live the

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most is Colorado and California.

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And I lived in Nebraska for a while.

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Not a whole lot different than Boston.

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Very cloudy and gloomy and dull.

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I'd have to go in the house and

just turn on all the lights.

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Our electricity bill was terrible

because I can't stand the,

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the gloom, the gray, the dull.

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I like the light.

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I like the light.

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I like to see the beauty.

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You know, without light,

there's no beauty.

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Everything's ugly and dull.

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With light.

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We have colors and we have brightness.

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Jesus is the light of the world, and the

last one, the resurrection and the life.

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You know, if there wasn't

resurrection, we'd die.

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We'd be dead all over just like rover.

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I think that's funny,

but you don't, all right.

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You're dog lovers.

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So I, I'm not really a dog lover.

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We had lots of dogs growing up.

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They'd run off.

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We lived out in the country

and unfortunately some of them

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even get run over by cars.

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So I didn't get real attached.

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Some of you, it's part of the family.

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I, I apologize.

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I shouldn't have told that joke.

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My wife will scold me on

the way home, you know.

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Craig, when will you learn?

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When will you learn?

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Yeah, when I grow up.

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When I grow up.

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But I love resurrection.

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I love resurrection.

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It's what converted me.

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A book who Moved the Stone

really solidified my faith that

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it really answered the question

that there's more to life.

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And if you don't think there's

more to life than just what we

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see and what we can create and

what we can imagine, then that's a

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pretty existential and dreary life.

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And I feel bad for, uh,

the generations that have.

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Have come in the last few generations

because most of the philosophy, the

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undergirding philosophy that you're

taught in school is a nihilist philosophy.

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It's not a faithful, it's not

a transcendent philosophy.

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It's a philosophy.

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It's a secular philosophy that says.

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Nothing is really true.

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Nothing really matters.

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It's an existential philosophy that

says whatever you think is fine

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and it's nihilistic, it eventually

the ends in a dead end road.

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And that's why the anxiety

and the depression of young

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people have gone through the

roofs because that underlining.

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Philosophy that your professors are com,

their perspective, their worldview that

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they're coming from, they don't tell you

'cause it's too depressing, depressing.

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And they don't even want to think about

it much because they'll get depressed.

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All right.

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But it, it isn't a transcendent one.

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God got kicked out of the academy, out of

the universities during the enlightenment

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and we're trying to bring him back in.

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But you're not gonna find God.

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You're not gonna find faith.

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You're not gonna find spiritual power.

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You're not gonna find a higher being or

a higher meaning at any secular place.

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And so just realize that

and don't look for it there.

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Come to church and we'll give it to you.

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Amen.

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Shameless plug, way to go, Greg.

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Amen.

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Who are we?

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We're the church.

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We're the place you can find God.

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Who are we?

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I want us to be Jesus.

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That's that.

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I, I posed the question, who are you?

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And I want you to say more than

anything, I'm Christlike, I'm Christian.

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I'm like, Jesus.

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He's my hero.

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He's my example.

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He's all these things in life.

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The vine, the way, the shepherd,

the bread, the light, the

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resurrection and the door.

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And so that's who we

are as an, as a church.

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We're a little bit fragmented.

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I have an outside perspective,

so I'm not saying it critically

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'cause I'm here and I'm gonna stay

here and I'll probably die here.

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So I don't wanna make any, I

don't wanna be antagonistic.

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I don't wanna be ornery.

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All right?

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But I want us to be our best, and I

want to be a part of something great.

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All right?

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And I want us to come together and

really figure out our identity together,

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who we are, and I want it to be.

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Biblical and act like Jesus.

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All right, so before I tell you what I

really hope we decide together to be,

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and if you read my article, you already

know where I'm going, but, uh, I, I sent

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that out late last night, so most of

you didn't have time to read it 'cause

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I want you to listen to the sermon.

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All right?

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But the, the article will follow

up the sermon, but here's a

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verse and, and Steve read it.

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Just as the body's one and has many

parts, but all its parts form one body.

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So it is with Christ.

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For we're all baptized, that's our

birth by one spirit into the body of

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Christ, the church, whether Jews or

gentiles, slaves or free anybody, we're

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all given the one spirit to drink.

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So we're all connected.

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But the only way you have community.

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The only way you have family, the only

way you have committed relationships is

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if you make covenants with one another

and covenants that mean something sacred.

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Vows in a wedding can help your

marriage the rest of your life.

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I still remember, especially one thing

the preacher told Kathy and I to do

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really, he didn't tell her, he just

told me, he said, don't go to bed angry.

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He kept and he was looking right at me.

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And Greg, you know why I'm saying this.

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He was the father of my roommate.

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He knew me well.

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We got engaged in his house.

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Uh, well, we went to dinner

first and got engaged.

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Then we went and celebrated his house.

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So he knew me, but he knew that I

had anger problems at that time.

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And so he's, he's just telling

me, don't ever, and Kathy and I

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have tried to live up to that.

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All right, and so I want us

to live up to some covenants.

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Let's define a covenant first, though.

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All right.

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Stay with me here.

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Covenants are shared

commitments to one another.

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What we're gonna share with each

other, we can depend on each other for.

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Covenants are like wedding

vows in a marriage ceremony.

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They're based on the commands

of God and they're necessary

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to define community or church.

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They're very necessary.

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Covenants create unity due to these

common commitments and covenants

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are vows to God and one another.

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So let's make some covenants

based on who Jesus is.

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Let's make some covenants

that say we're gonna love God.

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Because Jesus is the mind.

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We're gonna imitate Jesus because

he's the way, the truth and life.

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We're gonna love each other

because he's the good shepherd.

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We're gonna worship God

because he's the bread of life.

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We're gonna be on his mission

because he's the light of the world.

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We're gonna have one another.

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Discipling mentoring relationships,

deep in depth relationships because

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he's the resurrection of life, and

we're going to be committed to the body.

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Because he's the door.

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If you don't have covenants based

on scripture, why even have any?

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All right.

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I mean, I use the Bible a lot when I do

a wedding because that's sacred stuff.

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That's a foundation for that couple,

and I know they're not gonna get it

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from the secular society that we're in.

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So that I, they need me to help 'em to

have that foundation that can help their,

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their family and their marriage last.

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And we've gotta have a biblical

spiritual foundation as a church

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for us to be a strong church.

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Amen.

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For us to be the OC Church.

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So these are the covenants, Simon.

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Inviting all of us to embrace, to

love God, to really be lovers of God.

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Who are we?

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We're lovers of God.

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Who are we?

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We're imitators of Jesus.

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Who are we?

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We love other people.

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Who are we?

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We're worshipers of God.

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We love to worship.

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We love to pray.

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We love to praise.

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We love to see, right?

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Because that's who we are.

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We're missionaries of Christ.

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We're brothers and sisters.

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When I hug you and I say,

brother, great to see you.

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I mean it, I have three ornery brothers

and I have a lot of great brothers.

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A couple of my brothers have

come around now, alright, so I

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shouldn't, I shouldn't poke on 'em.

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They may even watch this online.

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So I gotta be careful.

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And I have a few nephews and nieces that

watch me preach, so I better be careful.

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They're gonna tell my dad my,

uh, not my dad, my brothers, and,

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and they're ones bigger than me

especially, so I better be careful.

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When you're the youngest, somebody

in your family is bigger than you.

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All right?

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Thankfully one of them wasn't.

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All right, Johnny, time for story.

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Ready for story.

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I love reading the stories of Jesus

because there's so interesting and it

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what's interesting, some of 'em, and this

is just me and maybe this is bad about me.

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But some of them, there's

always some conflict, right?

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There's always antagonists

and protagonists.

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There's always some kind of drama.

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There's always some kind of stirring.

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And so let's read this story in John

chapter eight because, uh, it can

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really teach us something about how

important these I am passages are.

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Once more, Jesus said to them,

I'm going away and you will

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look for me, and you will not.

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You and you or, and you

will die in your sin.

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Wow, that's tough language

where I go, you can't come.

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This made the Jews ask,

will he kill himself?

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Is that why he says, where

I go, you cannot come.

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But he continued.

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You are from below and I'm from above.

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You are of this world,

and I'm not of this world.

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I told you that you will die in your

sins if you do not believe what.

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If you do not believe that

I am the one I claim to be,

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you'll indeed die in your sins.

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Who are you?

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They ask just what I've been

claiming all along to you.

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This replied, I have much to say

judgment of you, but he who sent me is

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reliable and what I have heard from him.

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I tell the world.

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They didn't understand that Jesus was

telling them about God the father.

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So Jesus said, when I am lifted up, when

you lift up the son of man, then you will

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know that I am the one that I claim to be.

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So believing these claims about Jesus,

his deity, his divinity, are so important

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and that I do nothing on my own, but I

speak just what the Father has taught me.

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The one who sent me is with me.

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He has not left me alone for,

I always do what pleases him.

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The rest of the story,

stay with me at this.

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The Jews exclaimed.

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Now we know that you are demon possessed.

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Why?

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Because he said they were from below.

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Anytime someone's offended and they

don't have a response, they get personal.

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So they got personal with Jesus.

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Said your demon possessed Abraham

died and so did the prophecy.

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Yet you say that if anyone keeps

your word, he will never taste death.

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Are you greater than our father Abraham?

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He died and so did the prophets.

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Who do you think you are?

471

And Jesus answered.

472

I tell you the truth, before

Abraham was born, I am.

473

I is.

474

At this, they picked up stones to

ston him, but Jesus hid himself

475

slipping away from the temple grounds.

476

Let's talk about this I am statement.

477

He is always in the present tense.

478

He says, I am, I is.

479

I be because he's always present.

480

I was would convey that there was a

time that Jesus didn't exist so to.

481

That we can't use that about Jesus.

482

It's always I am that he is one

commentator guy in woods says The verbs

483

here are quite significant, that with

reverence, Abraham's signify signifies

484

a beginning to come to be, but that

of Christ is that he evermore existed.

485

Jesus claimed deity like God,

Jehovah when he said, I am who I am.

486

Exodus three.

487

14.

488

God uses the same language about himself,

and then Jesus uses it here in John

489

eight, verse 58, that he is who He is.

490

That he is, I am.

491

And then in verse 21 through 23,

this is what got under their skin.

492

You are from below.

493

Beneath.

494

I'm from above.

495

You are of this world.

496

I'm not of this world.

497

You know, I was a smart kid.

498

When I went to college, I wanted

to figure out my life and what

499

I was gonna do with my life.

500

And I thought, you know, all these

philosophers, all these theologians,

501

all these people talk about,

you know, their the way to live.

502

They try to tell us young

people how to live right.

503

And I thought, you know, I'll read it.

504

So I read a bunch of it.

505

I read all these.

506

Philosophy books and all

these theology books.

507

And I finally decided,

well, there's two choices.

508

Either I can choose to believe.

509

The guy that said he was from

above, that he was from where we all

510

want to go, the transcendent, the

other world, heaven, eternal life.

511

And he came here to tell us about it

and he proved himself with his miracles

512

and he really proved himself with

his death and then his resurrection.

513

And he says, if I can raise

myself, then I can raise you.

514

And that's what you're

gonna want when you die.

515

And so this is how you're gonna know I

am who I am and I'm gonna go back up.

516

And so I was there, I came down, I went

back up, and everybody else is gonna

517

tell you they've never been there.

518

But listen to me though.

519

Listen to my philosophy, listen to

my religion, listen to my teaching.

520

I've never been there, but I think

I've figured out a way to get there.

521

So follow me and let's go there together.

522

I'm like, I'm not following nobody that's

not been there and nobody that can't

523

prove it to me, and Jesus has proven

it to me through the resurrection.

524

I told you that's made all

the difference in my life.

525

I am.

526

Seems so simple and yet it says so much.

527

It declares Jesus deity

and Christ is divine.

528

Jesus was from above.

529

Therefore, we must seek the things above.

530

Jesus attaches our salvation

to believing this one simple

531

statement, unless you believe I

am, and you will die in your sins.

532

And so that's why I want our

covenant as a church to be.

533

We are Jesus.

534

We are gonna be like him.

535

We're gonna be binds for

ourselves and for other people.

536

We're gonna be the way,

the truth and the life.

537

We're gonna be shepherds.

538

We're gonna be the bread of life.

539

We're gonna be the light of the

world, we're gonna be resurrection,

540

and we're gonna be the gate

that helps people find the way.

541

Amen.

542

That's what a church ought to be.

543

If people can't come to church and say,

that's church, that's where God is.

544

That's a sacred place.

545

There's some holiness there.

546

I went to church.

547

I looked it up in the phone

book as a sophomore in college.

548

My first year I didn't go to go to church.

549

I lived a terrible life and I

transferred schools and said,

550

I'm gonna change my life.

551

And I looked it up in the phone book.

552

My brother had gone there.

553

He says, this is a church

you ought to go to Greg.

554

He was five years older than

me, so he was long gone.

555

So I looked up in the phone booth

and I went there and I was observing.

556

And one thing I hated was

they hugged each other.

557

So some of you may leave and

they, they make you hold it

558

other guy's hands, you know,

559

you don't have to, all right.

560

But you know, I walked

away feeling those people.

561

Really are true Christians.

562

That's all I want our church to be.

563

When people come in, I want 'em

to say they are really Christians.

564

They're wild and crazy Christians.

565

They're happy Christians.

566

They're a little bit weird.

567

Even at times, I don't

relate completely to 'em.

568

They hug each other and they're

always smiling, and some of them

569

are really happy, you know, but I

think they're really Christians.

570

I convinced my roommate and the kid

next door to come to church that night.

571

Not 'cause I didn't want to go

by myself, but because I told

572

him, I think this is for real.

573

You guys ought to check it out.

574

And one became a Christian.

575

The other wanted to, his father told him

he, he wouldn't pay for his school and

576

if he left the, their family's faith.

577

And so he never did.

578

We're still friends.

579

I'm still working on him.

580

He's an athletic director in New Mexico.

581

I'm still working on him, you know?

582

'cause I know the seed was planted

that those guys are really Christians.

583

Amen.

584

That's all I want us to be, and I'm

gonna go quickly here through these.

585

I want us to love God with all our heart.

586

Based on Matthew 22.

587

I want us to commit to that

and we'll go through these

588

covenants over and over again.

589

I want us to imitate Jesus in our daily

life, to not be fake and hypo hypocritical

590

Christians, that people, that that

destroys the foundation of Christianity.

591

When Christians act just like the

world, I want us to be true Christians.

592

Amen.

593

And then I want us to love

each other the way Jesus loved.

594

I think that's what the world needs.

595

It was a song when I was a young kid.

596

What the world needs

now is love, sweet love.

597

You know, and I still believe it.

598

I still believe that's all we all need,

that we can get hard and crusty without

599

good love, real love, that we need to love

each other and that we need to worship.

600

We need to come together.

601

'cause so often not when I'm up here

preaching, but when I'm just singing

602

and sitting there or listening to

someone else, or listening to a prayer,

603

I get touched by the Holy Spirit.

604

I get touched by God.

605

See he's here.

606

He's wandering around and

he's wanting to touch us.

607

All right.

608

Haven't you ever felt it Sometimes,

haven't you all of a sudden got emotional,

609

haven't you all of a sudden just got

excited, haven't you all of a sudden

610

just thought, yeah, or a peace comes

over you or a good feeling or hope comes

611

into your heart and it happens to be

more at church than any other place.

612

So we gotta love coming

together at church.

613

'cause this is where God.

614

He says, where two or three are gathered

my name, that's where I'm gonna be.

615

So we can always find

God on Sunday morning.

616

Well, I like to find God out on the ocean.

617

Good for you.

618

You can also drown out there.

619

Okay.

620

I like finding God on top of a mountain.

621

Me too.

622

I love to ski.

623

I love the mountain there.

624

I love the, the evergreen pine

forest, you know, but you can

625

also fall off the mountain.

626

Right?

627

It's pretty safe in here.

628

Right.

629

It's pretty safe.

630

Worship God, participate

in the mission of God.

631

I gotta have meaning in my life.

632

I'm a sixties kid, all right?

633

I, we went to the moon when I was a kid.

634

We also killed our leaders, three

of them, JFK and RFK, and MLK.

635

You know, it was reinforced in my heart.

636

This world isn't a very safe place.

637

All right.

638

But we can do anything if we come

together in unity and in love.

639

And I still believe that.

640

I'm still a sixties, not

hippie, but I'm a believer.

641

All right.

642

You know the hippies, they

just, they checked out, they

643

did drugs and checked out.

644

We still got a bunch of them

outside Boulder in Netherlands.

645

They kicked them out of Boulder

'cause it's too expensive.

646

They live in Netherland now.

647

All right.

648

That's an aside.

649

Let's keep going,

650

and we're almost done.

651

Practice one another.

652

You know, even though I was

on teams growing up and I had

653

brothers, I also got lonely.

654

I got lonely.

655

I was the youngest.

656

My parents both worked.

657

I'd always get out of school first.

658

I'd go home.

659

I was a good kid though.

660

I cleaned the house.

661

My honorary brothers would

come home and mess it up.

662

They're too big for me to smack 'em.

663

I still live in a clean house.

664

Ask my wife, you know?

665

'cause I'm a good mama's boy.

666

Any other mama's boy, you

won't raise your hand.

667

I know,

668

but I gotta have meaning.

669

I gotta have meaning in my life.

670

I'm not an existentialist.

671

I'm not a secularist.

672

I don't believe in nihilism.

673

I don't believe this is all there is.

674

I don't believe all that garbage that

some of my professors tried to spew on me.

675

And I pray you don't listen to

some of that filth and ignorance.

676

It isn't knowledge.

677

All right?

678

And look at their lives.

679

Don't just look at what they teach.

680

Look at their lives.

681

All right?

682

But I participate in the mission of

God because everybody needs Jesus.

683

Everybody needs him.

684

Amen.

685

And we need to practice these

relationships and we need to

686

participate fully in the body.

687

It's not the most popular thing

right now in Orange County.

688

You know, there's some mega churches, but

even as you're driving up here, I mean,

689

roads are so empty on Sunday morning.

690

Yeah.

691

It's sort of sad and it really

makes me sad when I go to a

692

big athletic event, go to.

693

Go to SoFi or somewhere, or Dodger

Stadium, people get so excited.

694

And I'm not down on the Dodgers.

695

I'm a Dodger fan.

696

I'm an Angel fan.

697

I'm a Rams fan, not a Chargers fan.

698

Excuse me.

699

Sorry, I'm a Bronco fan.

700

I'm not down on fans, but I wish

there were just that much and

701

even more excitement about Jesus.

702

Are you with me?

703

Amen.

704

So I have some dreams.

705

I'll share those in the leaders meeting.

706

But we are, who are we?

707

Church.

708

Let's decide.

709

Let's decide together.

710

I pray that you decide to commit to

these seven things to be just like Jesus.

711

If you're like Jesus,

you're gonna be awesome.

712

If you're not like Jesus, I don't know.

713

Can't promise.

714

Can't promise.

715

So who are we?

716

I pray, we're disciples, OC disciples.

717

All right.

718

I'm not gonna lead you in a chant.

719

I wasn't a cheerleader.

720

All right.

721

But we are OC disciples.

722

We are the OC church.

723

We are brothers and sisters.

724

We are Christians.

725

That's what I own.

726

And I'll say it publicly.

727

I'll say it loud and proud.

728

I'll say it in public.

729

I'll preach it.

730

I am Christian.

731

I am.

732

A follower of Jesus.

733

I believe it with all

my heart, and I pray.

734

My action item for all of us this morning

is that you would decide who you are,

735

especially in your faith, and you'd

decide that you're gonna be like Jesus.

736

Amen.

737

And if we all do, yeah, as we all do,

then we're gonna be an awesome church.

738

God bless you.

739

Thank you.

740

Amen.