February 24, 2025 • 42 mins
We reminisce about those formative moments that highlight how collective support can fortify our journeys, especially when faced with life's little (and not so little) challenges. It's a beautiful reminder of the human connection that transcends cultural and linguistic barriers, and how a community can become a pivotal part of our personal stories.
Throughout the episode, we unravel the intricate tapestry of faith, family, and community, drawing from the divine blueprint of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We explore how love and service are not just lofty ideals but practical tools for strengthening the bonds in our lives. By looking at the reinvention of familiar brands like Stanley and Crocs, we ponder how fresh perspectives can rejuvenate our approaches to building connections. The conversation challenges us to rethink our interactions, placing kindness and service at the forefront of our relationships, much like the teachings of Jesus.
As we turn our focus to the transformative power of unconditional love, we contemplate its role in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and beyond. Embracing the calling to be more Christ-like, we discuss how displaying such love can lead to profound positive changes in our surroundings. Our dialogue culminates in a community prayer for Garden Lakes Elementary, underscoring the essential support believers can offer through prayer and presence. With an invitation to embrace faith, we hope to inspire listeners to weave love, kindness, and service into the very fabric of their lives. Join us as we journey through these stories and reflections, striving to be more like Jesus each day.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning.
Well, several years ago, myfamily and I were living in
Paris, france, and when weheaded there, we just had one
child, and then another one wasborn as soon as we arrived, and
when you're in France, yourchildren start school at age
three, and so this was amazing.
Javen was three years old andwe got to just put him straight
(00:22):
into the local matronel and hejust went full-time all day long
in French.
He was submerged in thelanguage from the beginning and
we just loved it.
And one of the things thatyou'll learn in French school is
that the boys are all boys, andwhat I mean by that is they're
rough and they're dirty and theylove to just beat each other up
(00:43):
and mess around, and afterwards, when you go to pick up your
kids, about 4.30 in theafternoon, they love to just
play outside of the matronale.
There's like a lot of greengrass in France.
It's amazing, it's like a newconcept from here, but they have
trees and everything and it'sjust so beautiful, and so you
just let the kids play and havefun.
And it was a great opportunityfor me to meet people, because
(01:06):
other moms were standing around,some were from other countries,
and so we'd get to interactwith each other, but during one
of these outdoor sessions, javenalways loved to climb trees how
many of you are tree climbers?
And it was just like a thingyou did.
Well, the trees in France arepretty thick and the branches
are pretty thick as well.
They're not these little flimsythings that break when the wind
(01:28):
blows.
And so Jamin's out there andhe's playing around and he's
having fun and I'm talking tosomebody, and then I hear a
voice from my son go, mom, myknee's stuck in the branch.
I was like what?
So they had a tree and you'regoing to see a picture behind me
, because we actually went backin 2022 to visit the church and
(01:50):
you'll see this tree.
This is the tree.
I said Javan, stand right herereal quick, I need to take a
picture.
It has a big base.
And then you'll see these bigbranches and they come to a V
right behind him While he wasplaying.
He climbed it and he got hisknee bent in this position,
stuck right in between the V,and I walked over there and I'm
(02:11):
like you're kidding, right?
And he's like no, my knee isstuck.
It's like, oh no.
So he's trying to move it andthe more he moves it.
He's irritating the knee, whereit kind of swells a little bit,
and I said what am I supposedto do?
I don't walk to school with asaw, like I don't even know what
I'm supposed to do right nowand dad's not here, and so what
are we going to do?
(02:31):
So I'm like looking around andI just see all these women that
I'm standing by like well, we'renot getting accomplished much
together.
And then I hear this voice of aguy, and he's a Persian man and
his family was living there inthe area that we were living in,
and he's a very stocky guy.
And I hear him say I will gethim out of the tree.
And I was like you are amazing.
(02:52):
And so he walks over there.
And then I hear another dadfrom another European country
and he said I will help you.
And I was like bless you guys,you guys are awesome.
And so they go over to thistree and the Persian guy is
holding on to the outside branchand he just holds it.
He lifts his body off theground just holding it to get
that branch to just move alittle bit, and then the
(03:14):
European guy gets into the treeand tries really hard just to
wiggle the branches enough justto barely move.
So Javen can wiggle out, andyou'll see in this picture
Javen's holding his knee,because I wanted him to reenact
the damage he caused on me fromthat day.
He was not this age, he wasabout four when this happened,
but those two men jumped in andthey wiggled it just enough to
(03:37):
get his knee out, and all themoms in the room are like amen,
thank you for community.
But, man, I am grateful whenthose around you step up to help
.
How many of you have been in asituation like that, where
you're like it would have neverhappened if it was just me by
myself, but I am so grateful forthose around me that came and
helped.
And so this morning I want totalk to you about community, and
(04:01):
my title is this when CommunityWins.
We are in a series right nowBattle for the Family and this
is the last week that we are in.
If you are new here, youhaven't been a part of our
church before.
I just want to say welcome toyou.
My name is Celeste.
My husband and I, jay, havesuch a privilege of helping
people walk their journey offaith as they get closer to God.
(04:23):
We just help them and guidethem and lead them.
We have an amazing team ofpeople who work with us leaders
and staff and everybody whoserves at the church.
We are so grateful for those ofyou that come and make Sundays
and all throughout the weekpossible, and so we're grateful
that you're here.
One of the mottos that we haveat the church is to be more like
Jesus.
We've been saying about it thismorning and how many of you
(04:46):
know that is not an easy mottoto follow, but we try with
everything that we have to bemore like Jesus.
You'll see a photo behind me ofJesus walking with his
disciples, and it is our goalthat we don't run ahead of him
and we don't stray behind, butthat we're just walking in pace
with the Lord, day after day,going where he is leading us,
(05:08):
and so we're in battle for afamily.
I have to tell you I've beenreally blessed by this series.
I felt like from day one, I wasgoing in the boxing ring.
I mean, you just say battle forthe family and you're like here
we go, here we go.
I should have just showed upevery week with boxing gloves on
because I was ready to fight.
It's that mama bear in some ofus that are like don't mess with
mine, don't mess with mine.
(05:29):
And so I came in just reallyready to spiritually fight for
my family.
And I don't know about you ifit reared something up in you,
it's like a lion that comes tolife.
But I came in just ready to say, whatever it is, I'm going to
fight for my family, amen.
And so, week one, pastor Jayshared about what are you
(05:51):
battling for?
And we read in Joshua 24, 15,but, as for me and my house, we
will serve the Lord.
If you don't have thatscripture anywhere in your house
, you should get an artist orsomebody to paint it, make it
nice, put it even on the fridge.
And every day you just say that, as for me and my house, we're
(06:12):
going to serve the Lord.
As for me and my house, we'regoing to serve the Lord.
As for me and my house, we'regoing to serve the Lord.
And then, no matter what comesyour way that day, you're just
like.
As for me and my house, we'regoing to serve the Lord.
He talked about fighting that weare more than conquerors.
In him, who loves us, we are.
We're more than conquerors.
Week two, he talked about.
(06:33):
Take one for the team.
And it says in John 15, 13,greater love has no one than
this, that someone laid down hislife for his friends.
He talks about this team, thatwe are on Team Jesus.
For this team to be successful,there are going to be some
tough assignments that you willhave to overcome, but you are
(06:54):
standing here today because youare an overcomer, and you are
here this morning because youhave made it through the week
Amen and you're still standing,and so that's what it's about.
In week three he talked aboutyour legacy.
How do you want to beremembered?
It says in Matthew 25, 21,.
His master said to him welldone, good and faithful servant.
(07:16):
You have been faithful over alittle.
I will set you over much.
Enter into the joy of yourmaster.
It's about leaving a spiritualinheritance.
You need to have an eternalperspective.
All the things of this worldwill fade away, but what you
instill into your kids and yourfamily about Jesus and his word
(07:41):
will not, and so it's aboutleaving a spiritual inheritance
for those around you.
Today I want to start in John,chapter 13.
If you have your Bible, turnwith me to John 13.
We're going to start off inverse 34.
It says this a new commandmentI give to you that you love one
another Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one
(08:03):
another.
By this, all people will know.
So we're in this series Battlefor the Family, and we have
talked about the importance ofthe things that God has put into
our lives.
So we know that he's given us afamily and we are grateful for
the family.
We're grateful for ourimmediate family.
(08:24):
We want to battle for them andbelieve good things for each one
of them, not just our immediatefamily, but our extended family
, cousins, aunts, uncles, all ofthem.
We want to believe that theplan that God has for them, we
will see it come to fruition.
And then not only that, but nowwe want to talk about our
(08:44):
community, the family that isthe community.
And so when community wins, Iwant you to think of a couple
questions this morning.
Number one is how do youinteract with everybody outside?
Just think about that for amoment.
How do you interact witheverybody outside, and what
(09:05):
happens when it's not just you,but how your family interacts
with the community?
You see, god designed community,it says in Genesis 2.18,.
Then the Lord God said it isnot good that man should be
alone.
I will make him a helper fitfor him.
(09:25):
So in this scripture we seethat God created marriage.
Then, from marriage, godcreated family.
Then from the family, godcreated a lineage.
Then from that we see tribesand then from that we see cities
.
God created a community.
You see, community was writteninto our DNA by God.
(09:48):
It says in Genesis 1, 26,.
Then God said let us make manin our image, after our likeness
.
God himself is community.
He exists as God the Father,god the Son and God the Holy
Spirit Exists as God the Father,god the Son and God the Holy
Spirit, a perfect, eternalcommunity.
(10:10):
God made this a priority forcreation because it reflects who
he is.
We have the desire within us tobe connected to other people.
Did you know that that desirewithin us is that we want to be
a part of people's lives.
You know how I know this.
All you have to do is open yourphone and show me your social
(10:31):
media, because when you're doingthis all day long, you're
thriving for community.
You're thriving to be part ofsomething that maybe you feel
like you're missing out on.
You're watching what otherpeople are doing.
You're trying to see if youdidn't get invited somewhere.
You got left out of the picture.
You're looking because insideof you, god created you to be in
(10:53):
community with other people.
It's part of who you are, andso today we're gonna talk about
when community wins.
I'm gonna read the scriptureagain to you out of John 13, 34
and 35.
It says if you have love onefor another.
(11:24):
Now let me tell you the phrase.
A new commandment in thisscripture does not mean that it
was never said before.
It's not something new that hadnever come out of Jesus's mouth
before.
What it is talking about is theword new is that he is
presenting it in a fresh way, afresh way.
(11:45):
So let me give you an example.
Many of you probably own aStanley.
Well, you know what it waspresented to you in a fresh way
in the last 24 months, becauseif you ask your dads and your
grandpas, they all have had aStanley for years.
They've all had the green onewith the silver cap that they
(12:06):
would take their coffee in allday to their job.
So then, about two years ago,another thing that was refreshed
in your memory was the crocshoes.
Remember those shoes everybodyhated, nobody wanted them, and
then, all of a sudden, theyhired a genius guy who did
really good at marketing and hewas amazing at presenting it in
(12:28):
a fresh way.
And then, all of a sudden, whenmy children are asking me to
buy them crocs, I was like what?
And then, all of a sudden, whenmy children are asking me to
buy them Crocs, I was like what?
Who buys those shoes?
Well, apparently everybody.
Because this guy took it andpresented it in a new way.
Well, that's what happened withthe Stanley.
They took the same guy thathelped the Crocs shoe become new
(12:48):
again and they took him over tothe Stanley company and they
said hey, listen, we want you todo your magic from whatever you
did over there, do it over here.
And so they hired him and hesaid you know what?
Let's target the women, becausethe women will buy it.
They love to go to Target.
Let's put it in Target andlet's put it in Starbucks and
let's make them like so they'revery isolated to only certain
(13:10):
locations and we'll only make somany of them.
So then they fight over themand let's do this and it'll
become really big.
And so that's what they did.
And then all the guys are athome going.
You bought a Stanley.
What does it look like?
Because in their mind, they'rethinking of the green machine
right With the silver lid.
It wasn't new, but it waspresented as something new in a
(13:34):
fresh way.
And so when we read thisscripture out of John 13, 34 and
35, that is what the Lord isdoing.
He is presenting this scripturein a new way.
Now, in order to understandexactly what he's talking about,
we're going to be like a movie,where it just shows you the
ending and then we're going togo backwards and we're going to
(13:54):
show you from the beginning howhe got to this point.
So, if you have your Bible,turn with me and we're going to
start in John, chapter 13, andwe're going to look at verse 1.
We're going to talk thismorning is how do we battle for
the family and the community?
Number one the first way thatwe battle for our family and our
(14:14):
community is we serve thosearound us.
You see, before Jesus sharedthis new commandment about
loving one another, we have togo back and look at verse one.
It says in verse one Jesus knewthat his hour had come to depart
out of this world to the Father.
Wow, that's heavy.
(14:35):
He'd been walking with thesedisciples for a few years now,
and now it's the moment when heknows what's about to happen, he
knows that it is his time andhe has a very small window left
with them.
And so we go into verse five.
(14:56):
It says that he began to washthe disciples' feet.
It says he poured water into abasin and he began to wash the
disciples' feet and to wipe themwith the towel that was wrapped
around him.
So he took a bowl that was likethis and he had a towel that
was probably tucked in to hisstrap.
(15:17):
And it says that, as they werethere together with the 12, they
were eating and when they weredone, jesus just gets up and he
goes and he takes this bowl andhe fills it with water and then
he takes the towel that's on hisstrap and he bends down and he
begins to wash the disciples'feet.
(15:40):
And I want you to picture thisimage for a moment.
And then I want you to thinkabout feet.
I know you're going to cringe.
Feet are nasty.
Let me tell you that Feet aregross and they are dirty.
And even if you're married andyour spouse asks you for a foot
massage, you cringe.
(16:00):
You're like do you take ashower first?
There's something about feet.
I don't have a problem withfeet, but if you just think
about feet by themselves, it'sjust kind of weird, and I want
you to imagine it in the contextof where these men were.
A lot of it was just open, dirtroads and they're walking in
(16:22):
sandals everywhere, so anythingthat they're walking through is
getting onto their feet.
We are probably one of the onlycultures in the entire world
that do not take our shoes offbefore we enter a home.
I want you to think about thatEverywhere else in the world.
As soon as you appear to thedoor of somebody's house,
whoever's standing on the insideof that house will go and
(16:44):
they'll point to your shoesbecause you need to remove them.
They don't want whatever you'vebeen walking in and trailing
through to be brought into thehouse.
When I lived in Egypt, we tookour shoes off everywhere.
When I lived in Bangladesh, wedid the same thing.
Everywhere I'd go.
You have to take your shoes offbecause they don't want the
(17:05):
junk from the streets to comeinto the house.
Many of those cultures haveanimals that are trailing
everywhere, so they leave theirmess in the streets and so all
of that just collects onto theshoe.
And here you have these 12 menwho have come in.
Most likely they have left alltheir shoes at the door and they
(17:26):
have just eaten a meal with theMessiah and out of nowhere, the
Lord stands up and he fills upthis bowl and he takes, takes
the towel and he begins to washtheir feet.
And I want you to think ofthose men that we've talked
about many times Simon Peter,matthew.
They probably had some dirtyfeet.
(17:47):
We have fishermen, we have allkinds of backgrounds in that
group.
We have fishermen, we have allkinds of backgrounds in that
group.
And here you have Jesus washingtheir feet.
You know Jesus being who he isand them following after him.
He could have taken this bowland he could have looked at them
(18:11):
and said will you wash my feet?
He could have said will, saidwill you wash my feet?
He could have said will all 12of you wash my feet?
This will be a great day.
But he didn't.
Instead, he himself took thebull and washed their feet.
(18:33):
And you will see in one of thescriptures that, simon Peter, I
love Simon Peter.
I want to meet Simon Peter.
I have a lot to ask him.
I just think he would be veryentertaining.
Simon Peter says everythingthat you want to say, but you
just think it and he says it.
That's what I love about him.
And it says that he's the onlyone that, as Jesus, is washing
their feet, he says, lord,you're going to wash my feet.
(18:54):
The only one that, as Jesus iswashing their feet.
He says, lord, you're going towash my feet.
And Jesus responds in verse 7.
He says what I am doing.
You do not understand now, butafterward you will understand.
You see, if we want to see ourcommunity win, we must serve
them.
It's not going to be easy.
It means getting dirty.
(19:20):
It means helping them get thedirt off their feet.
It means putting aside ourstatus, our name, our desires to
serve.
It means giving of your timeand your energy.
It means showing them that theyhave value, and serving them
(19:44):
shows that we care.
So how do you serve yourcommunity?
What do they have in need of?
There are times when, even inthe last couple years, you'll
see more homeless people thanwe've ever seen before.
Maybe they just need some food.
Maybe they're not asking muchof you than for you to drive up
and give them some crackers,some bread, some peanut butter.
(20:05):
They just need some food.
Maybe they just need someclothes, maybe they need some
shoes on their feet.
And it's just serving them,giving something to them.
Maybe somebody in yourcommunity doesn't have a vehicle
and they just need a ride, justtaking those few moments to say
I can drop you off, I'll takeyou.
You see, when we begin to loveour community, as family things
(20:28):
begin to happen, we show theheart of God to those around us
that community matters.
How do we battle for the familyand community?
We serve them.
Number two another thing that wedo is we show kindness.
Let me tell you the definitionof kindness the quality of being
(20:52):
friendly Wow, that will go along way.
Just that part right there.
Just being friendly Wow, thatwill go a long way.
Just that part right there.
Just be friendly.
If you learn nothing else fromtoday, just be friendly.
Kindness is the quality ofbeing friendly, generous and
considerate.
You see, jesus modeled kindnessto his disciples.
(21:15):
Not only did he wash their feetin the beginning of chapter 13,
but, as we read on, he actuallyalready knew that somebody in
that group of 12 was going tobetray him.
He knew it already and becauseof the kindness of his heart.
(21:37):
It says in verse 21,.
After saying these things,jesus was troubled in his spirit
and he testified, truly, truly.
I say to you, one of you willbetray me.
Have you ever done somethingnice for someone only to be
repaid with rudeness or meanactions?
Do not nudge your neighbor,keep it to yourself.
(22:02):
I have a funny story.
I was at a four-wayintersection, a four-way stop.
Anybody love the four-way stops.
I mean, it's kind of awkward ifyou show up with somebody at
the same time.
It's either you're rude and youjust go, or you're nice and you
let them go before you.
So I was at a four-wayintersection and me and the car
to my left, we appeared at thesame time and I think the rule
(22:24):
is I probably should look thisup I think the rule is if you're
on the furthest right, you'reallowed to go.
Well, in my kindness, I let theperson on the left go.
Then I said, oh, just go.
And they kind of looked at me.
And then they drove and flippedme off and I was like winning,
like I was just too.
I was being nice, like I justgo, I'm not in a hurry, just go.
(22:47):
And then they flipped me off.
I want to tell you this Showingkindness to others does not mean
that you are automaticallyrepaid with kindness.
Write this down, because you'regoing to need this on your
fridge every day.
Showing kindness to others doesnot mean that you are
(23:09):
automatically repaid withkindness.
Let's go back to John 13.
Jesus had just washed hisdisciples' feet.
Remember those dirty, stinkyfeet?
He washed 12 sets of feet.
I'm sure he had to empty thisafter everyone.
(23:32):
Then it says in chapter 13,further down, that he knew right
away.
He told them somebody's goingto betray me.
And the other 11 men in the roomthat were not part of this were
probably very confused.
They're probably looking aroundlike what is he talking about?
(23:52):
Who's going to betray him?
And the kindness of the Lord.
Without mentioning a name, hesays in verse 27, what you're
going to do, just do it quickly.
And there's a lot to thatstatement, because I think the
heart of the Lord was in thatmoment.
He was giving that personanother chance To say hey, I'm
(24:15):
not going to call you out rightnow, I'm not going to say your
name, but I am going to let youknow what you're going to do.
Do quickly.
Maybe there might be a changeof heart.
We show kindness because we wantto be more like Jesus.
We even wear the shirt.
I've had people stare at mewhen that shirt is being worn.
(24:37):
Have anybody else gotten thestares?
Be more like Jesus.
Jesus is so kind and so good.
He gave Judas the opportunityto change his mind.
Now I want you to envision thisroom with these 12 disciples,
because if you know anythingabout Simon Peter, you would
(25:00):
know that if Jesus even saidJudas's name, simon probably
would have jumped him.
He probably would have beat himup Without even knowing the
scenario or the situation, justthe word betrayal.
He probably would have beat himup, but yet that didn't happen
(25:21):
Because of the kindness of theLord.
He just said, as if that personknew exactly what he was
talking about.
Whatever you're going to do, doit quickly, okay.
It says in verse 30 that Judasleft immediately.
If we want to see our communitywin, we're going to have to
show kindness, we're going tohave to be friendly, we're going
(25:42):
to have to be generous andwe're going to have to be
considerate at all times.
It means we do not react as wewant to, but we imitate Jesus.
We want to, but we imitateJesus.
We show kindness to otherpeople even when we feel like
they're not deserving of it,because who are we to say
(26:06):
whether someone should receivekindness, because at some point
in your life you were notdeserving of the kindness, but
it was extended to you?
We must show the world that weare different.
Greater is he that is in methan he that is in the world.
We have got to treat oneanother with kindness.
(26:28):
How do we battle for the familyand the community?
We serve them and we showkindness.
Another thing we do is we loveone another.
Judas left the room and at thatpoint, after he exited that room
, those 11 other men must havehad a lot of questions going
(26:48):
through their mind.
Where is he going?
What is he doing?
Jesus, were you talking to him?
Is he running an errand for you?
Why are you not keeping us inthe loop of what's happening
right now?
(27:12):
Jesus, knowing that there werequestions, continued by saying
this in verses 34 and 35.
A new commandment I give to youthat you love one another.
Just as I have loved you, youalso are to love one another.
By this, all people will knowthat you are my disciples if you
have love for one another.
How hard is this?
(27:34):
You have Jesus who gave anamazing illustration in John,
chapter 13, number one he'seating with them, knowing he's
about to sacrifice his life foreach one of them and everybody
else.
Then he takes this and he goesand he washes their feet, each
one of them.
It wasn't quick, he didn't havea hose, he wasn't spraying them
(27:55):
down really fast, it wasliterally a washing.
He was making them clean.
And then from there he says Iknow one of you are going to
betray me.
Whatever you're going to do, goahead and do it now.
And that person runs out andthen he looks around and he says
listen, I want you guys to loveeach other, just love each
(28:17):
other.
Love each other the way that Ilove you, so that when you leave
these walls, everybody outthere will know that you are my
disciples because you have loveone for another.
Do not treat others the waythat you think they should be
treated, but you love them.
The biblical sense of love isthis a way of relating to others
(28:40):
that is, patient, kind andsacrificial.
Christians who love others showthe world something new.
Not new as in just invented,but new as in, presented in a
new, fresh way, the command tolove was not new, but to the
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extent of love that Jesusdisplayed, that was new.
That was new.
One of those very close to himwas going to betray him and that
sense of love that he still hadfor him was new, and he was
displaying it to everyone.
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If we want to battle for thefamily and the community, we
must love one another.
Others will know that we areChristians by how we love one
another.
Look around this room.
The love that we have foreverybody inside here should be
the same one for another.
So when I come in and I see you, the way that I love on people
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in this section is the same thatI'm going to love on people in
this section, and the way that Isee this section and the two
side sections are all going tobe equal.
I'm going to go up to them andsay good morning, how are you?
It's so good to see you.
We made it to another Sunday.
We survived.
We are still standing, we arestill lifting up the name of
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Jesus, no matter what happenedthrough my week.
I am here right now to lay itall down, and I love you and I'm
glad you're here too.
That's what it should be about.
Then, when we realize that weare family and that we are
brothers and sisters in Christ,then when I say goodbye to you
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and you head out those doors,the same love that you have in
here is going to be displayedout there and you're going to go
to your work and you're goingto go back to your families and
you're going to go to differentparts of the city and they're
going to look at you and gouh-huh, I don't even know.
People don't know what to dowith nice people.
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People.
It's awkward.
It is so awkward it's likethank you, but we do it because
we want to be an imitator ofJesus.
I'm going to let you in on alittle secret.
People are hard to love and Iwant you to hear this.
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They are hard to love.
They go through hard seasons.
They can be cruel, they let usdown, they say something that
offends us, they don't invite usto something, they don't wave
to me when I see them.
We can make the list up andkeep going, but people can be
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hard to love.
But, whatever the reason is, welove others, as Christ loved us
.
He loved us while we were stillsinners.
He loved us when we didn'tlisten to him, which is every
day there's something we don'tdo and he's nudging us.
He loves us when we do our ownthing.
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He loves us when we fail at ourown thing and we come back and
say I'm sorry, I messed up, andhe says come here, he loves us.
And if we show that kind oflove to our community, our
community wins.
They win because they get tosee Jesus in the flesh in you.
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I'm going to invite the worshipteam to come and there's
something about community.
You need them and it's the waythat we respond to them and
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react to them.
I will tell you this Maybe youare living in a place and you're
like I don't really even knowwhy I live here.
I know why you live thereBecause God has a purpose for
you in that neighborhood.
He has a purpose for you inthat place.
Whether you're an apartment orrental or home that you own, god
has a plan for you at this verymoment.
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And there could be people thatare in your close proximity,
whether they're in yourneighborhood or even at your
work, that you spend hours withevery day, and he set you right
there for them.
And there's something thathappens when they begin to see.
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God changed your life, and myheart is that we, as a church,
not only are we battling for ourfamily and battling for our
extended family, but we'rebattling for our community,
because I believe that God has aplan for this West Valley,
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avondale, goodyear, litchfieldPark, buckeye, tolleson, all of
it.
God has a plan.
We list the cities on one ofour shirts for a reason.
God has a plan and I'm notgoing to let the enemy try to
come in and bring destruction,but we are going to lift up the
name of Jesus in this part ofthe city and we're going to
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honor him.
And the way that we do that iswe're going to respect people,
we're going to show kindness,we're going to serve them, show
kindness and we're going to lovethem, and out of that, our
community is going to thrive andthey're going to win.
I'm going to ask you to standwith me for a moment.
Maybe you came into churchtoday and you're like man,
(34:35):
somebody just invited me.
This is my first time.
I'm just here.
We are so grateful that you arehere.
It's not by accident.
But we believe and know thatGod created us, that he sent his
son as a perfect sacrifice sothat we could be forgiven of all
of our sins.
Sacrifice so that we could beforgiven of all of our sins.
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We've been set free.
We're able to come in todayknowing that we could lift up
the name of Jesus, because afterthree days he rose from the
grave and he is seated at theright hand of God this morning
making intercession for you.
And so maybe you're in the housetoday or maybe you're watching
online and you say, man, I'venever even had the opportunity
to ask Jesus to come into myheart.
It's really simple.
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I'm going to read a scriptureout of Romans 10, 9 and 10.
It says because if you confesswith your mouth that Jesus is
Lord and believe in your heartthat God raised him from the
dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart, onebelieves and is justified, and
with the mouth, one confessesand is saved.
For with the heart one believesand is justified, and with the
mouth, one confesses and issaved.
All you have to do is believethat he died for you and he
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wants to set you free, and thenyou just ask him to come into
your heart.
So, with your eyes closed, ifyou're in the building and you
say, man, I want to say thatprayer.
I want to join with you inpraying that, with everyone's
eyes closed, just slip your handup.
I just want to pray with youand believe with you.
Amen, yeah, amen, amen, amen.
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We're going to repeat thisprayer after me.
God, thank you for loving me.
Me God, thank you for loving me.
Thank you for sending Jesus.
I believe Jesus died on thecross for my sins.
I believe he rose again.
Forgive me of my sins.
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I surrender my life to you InChrist's name.
Amen, amen, amen.
We rejoice.
Yeah, if you lifted your hand.
I just want to tell you twoquick things.
If we, if you lifted your hand.
First of all, it says that theangels in heaven are rejoicing
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when one comes to Jesus.
So there's already a partygoing on for you.
But I want to tell you thisthat we want to get a Bible into
your hands and we want to getsome material, because this is a
journey of faith that will takeyou from here on out, and so we
want to get you the word of God.
If you don't have it, you'llsee some ushers in the back when
you head out.
Grab one of those Bibles andthen we need you to get into a
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Bible believing church.
If you live near the area, youare more than welcome to attend
here.
We would love to have you.
We meet on Sunday mornings andthroughout the week in different
life groups.
But if you don't live near here, find a church.
Find a church, because you needa community around you that
will rally with you and supportyou and cheer you on as you are
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following after Jesus.
This morning, I want to praythis.
Maybe you're here and you say,god, I've got some areas that I
need to be a little better in.
I need to serve others more.
Maybe I need to love othersmore, or maybe I just need to up
the kindness in my life towardsother people.
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This altar is going to be openand I have to tell you that
nobody is perfect in these areas, but we always need more of him
so that when we walk out there,we are victorious and we can
love those around us.
So, father, this morning we areso grateful for your continued
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goodness in our lives.
Lord, we're standing here todaybecause of your faithfulness.
We're standing here todaybecause you didn't give up on us
, because you are faithful andgood and you are constant, and
so, Lord, we thank you for that.
So this morning I pray thatthis word in John 13, that, lord
, it would begin just toresonate in our heart that, as
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we look at the scripture ofverses 34 and 35, that we would
love one another as you loved us, lord, let it come to life
inside of us.
Lord, help renew in us thedesire to serve people, to be
kind to one another and to lovethem unconditionally, not
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expecting anything in return.
But, god, we keep giving and weknow that you are the one
supplying us strength, day afterday, to be good to those around
us.
So, as this altar is open, lord, I pray that you would fill
people to overflowing.
In the mighty name of Jesus,this altar is open for you.
Stand with me as we get readyto pray.
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A blessing before you go.
You're probably wondering whereJay and Angus are this morning.
They are on an amazing trip,but I can't tell you anything
about it for security reasons.
Once they get back next Sunday,you're going to hear some
amazing stories, so just bepraying for them.
God is good.
I'll just say that God is sogood and so I'm excited for what
they're engaged in this week.
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Also, community.
I want to let you know thatpart of our community.
I don't know the family, but Ido know that we've been praying
as a church.
There was a young boy, 11 yearsold, who was hit by a vehicle on
107th and Thomas, very close tohere, and he died and he was a
sixth grader at Garden LakesElementary.
We prayed for him Wednesdaynight at our prayer service, but
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I do want us to pray for theirfamily today.
I want to pray for all thestudents that are sixth graders
at that school that have beenaffected by this loss, and God
is so good.
I just want to pray thepresence of the Lord over that
family that they would sensepeace.
I know that there are funeralarrangements this week, and so
we just want to pray a coveringover them as they walk through
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this tragic loss.
Let me speak this over you aswe pray the Lord bless you and
keep you.
The Lord make his face to shineupon you and be gracious to you
.
The Lord lift up hiscountenance upon you and give
you peace.
Father, we are grateful for ourcommunity.
We're grateful for this areathat you've placed us in.
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I pray for the family right now, lord, of that little boy who
passed away last week.
I just pray for those parents.
I pray for that entire parents.
I pray for that entire family.
I pray the peace of God wouldrest upon them right now.
I ask that you would give themstrength as they walk through
this week of laying their littleboy's body to rest.
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I pray over that entire school,garden Lakes Elementary.
Right now, we pray that thepeace of God would be in those
rooms.
We pray for every counselor whois talking to kids, answering
questions that they may have.
We pray right now, lord, thatthe presence of God would be
there, that you would raise upbelievers that are inside of
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that school, that can show love,that can just cover those kids
in prayer.
Right now, lord, we pray.
When our community hurts, wehurt, and so we pray right now,
lord, that your presence wouldbe with them.
Father, go with us as we headout.
We're believing for a greatweek.
I pray that you would just gobefore us, create amazing
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opportunities as we engage withpeople.
We love you In Jesus' name,amen, amen, hey, we love you
here at Cornerstone.
Have an amazing week and wewill see you next Sunday.
Good morning.
Well, several years ago, myfamily and I were living in
Paris, france, and when weheaded there, we just had one
child, and then another one wasborn as soon as we arrived, and
when you're in France, yourchildren start school at age
three, and so this was amazing.
Javen was three years old andwe got to just put him straight
(00:22):
into the local matronel and hejust went full-time all day long
in French.
He was submerged in thelanguage from the beginning and
we just loved it.
And one of the things thatyou'll learn in French school is
that the boys are all boys, andwhat I mean by that is they're
rough and they're dirty and theylove to just beat each other up
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and mess around, and afterwards, when you go to pick up your
kids, about 4.30 in theafternoon, they love to just
play outside of the matronale.
There's like a lot of greengrass in France.
It's amazing, it's like a newconcept from here, but they have
trees and everything and it'sjust so beautiful, and so you
just let the kids play and havefun.
And it was a great opportunityfor me to meet people, because
(01:06):
other moms were standing around,some were from other countries,
and so we'd get to interactwith each other, but during one
of these outdoor sessions, javenalways loved to climb trees how
many of you are tree climbers?
And it was just like a thingyou did.
Well, the trees in France arepretty thick and the branches
are pretty thick as well.
They're not these little flimsythings that break when the wind
(01:28):
blows.
And so Jamin's out there andhe's playing around and he's
having fun and I'm talking tosomebody, and then I hear a
voice from my son go, mom, myknee's stuck in the branch.
I was like what?
So they had a tree and you'regoing to see a picture behind me
, because we actually went backin 2022 to visit the church and
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you'll see this tree.
This is the tree.
I said Javan, stand right herereal quick, I need to take a
picture.
It has a big base.
And then you'll see these bigbranches and they come to a V
right behind him While he wasplaying.
He climbed it and he got hisknee bent in this position,
stuck right in between the V,and I walked over there and I'm
(02:11):
like you're kidding, right?
And he's like no, my knee isstuck.
It's like, oh no.
So he's trying to move it andthe more he moves it.
He's irritating the knee, whereit kind of swells a little bit,
and I said what am I supposedto do?
I don't walk to school with asaw, like I don't even know what
I'm supposed to do right nowand dad's not here, and so what
are we going to do?
(02:31):
So I'm like looking around andI just see all these women that
I'm standing by like well, we'renot getting accomplished much
together.
And then I hear this voice of aguy, and he's a Persian man and
his family was living there inthe area that we were living in,
and he's a very stocky guy.
And I hear him say I will gethim out of the tree.
And I was like you are amazing.
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And so he walks over there.
And then I hear another dadfrom another European country
and he said I will help you.
And I was like bless you guys,you guys are awesome.
And so they go over to thistree and the Persian guy is
holding on to the outside branchand he just holds it.
He lifts his body off theground just holding it to get
that branch to just move alittle bit, and then the
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European guy gets into the treeand tries really hard just to
wiggle the branches enough justto barely move.
So Javen can wiggle out, andyou'll see in this picture
Javen's holding his knee,because I wanted him to reenact
the damage he caused on me fromthat day.
He was not this age, he wasabout four when this happened,
but those two men jumped in andthey wiggled it just enough to
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get his knee out, and all themoms in the room are like amen,
thank you for community.
But, man, I am grateful whenthose around you step up to help
.
How many of you have been in asituation like that, where
you're like it would have neverhappened if it was just me by
myself, but I am so grateful forthose around me that came and
helped.
And so this morning I want totalk to you about community, and
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my title is this when CommunityWins.
We are in a series right nowBattle for the Family and this
is the last week that we are in.
If you are new here, youhaven't been a part of our
church before.
I just want to say welcome toyou.
My name is Celeste.
My husband and I, jay, havesuch a privilege of helping
people walk their journey offaith as they get closer to God.
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We just help them and guidethem and lead them.
We have an amazing team ofpeople who work with us leaders
and staff and everybody whoserves at the church.
We are so grateful for those ofyou that come and make Sundays
and all throughout the weekpossible, and so we're grateful
that you're here.
One of the mottos that we haveat the church is to be more like
Jesus.
We've been saying about it thismorning and how many of you
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know that is not an easy mottoto follow, but we try with
everything that we have to bemore like Jesus.
You'll see a photo behind me ofJesus walking with his
disciples, and it is our goalthat we don't run ahead of him
and we don't stray behind, butthat we're just walking in pace
with the Lord, day after day,going where he is leading us,
(05:08):
and so we're in battle for afamily.
I have to tell you I've beenreally blessed by this series.
I felt like from day one, I wasgoing in the boxing ring.
I mean, you just say battle forthe family and you're like here
we go, here we go.
I should have just showed upevery week with boxing gloves on
because I was ready to fight.
It's that mama bear in some ofus that are like don't mess with
mine, don't mess with mine.
(05:29):
And so I came in just reallyready to spiritually fight for
my family.
And I don't know about you ifit reared something up in you,
it's like a lion that comes tolife.
But I came in just ready to say, whatever it is, I'm going to
fight for my family, amen.
And so, week one, pastor Jayshared about what are you
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battling for?
And we read in Joshua 24, 15,but, as for me and my house, we
will serve the Lord.
If you don't have thatscripture anywhere in your house
, you should get an artist orsomebody to paint it, make it
nice, put it even on the fridge.
And every day you just say that, as for me and my house, we're
(06:12):
going to serve the Lord.
As for me and my house, we'regoing to serve the Lord.
As for me and my house, we'regoing to serve the Lord.
And then, no matter what comesyour way that day, you're just
like.
As for me and my house, we'regoing to serve the Lord.
He talked about fighting that weare more than conquerors.
In him, who loves us, we are.
We're more than conquerors.
Week two, he talked about.
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Take one for the team.
And it says in John 15, 13,greater love has no one than
this, that someone laid down hislife for his friends.
He talks about this team, thatwe are on Team Jesus.
For this team to be successful,there are going to be some
tough assignments that you willhave to overcome, but you are
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standing here today because youare an overcomer, and you are
here this morning because youhave made it through the week
Amen and you're still standing,and so that's what it's about.
In week three he talked aboutyour legacy.
How do you want to beremembered?
It says in Matthew 25, 21,.
His master said to him welldone, good and faithful servant.
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You have been faithful over alittle.
I will set you over much.
Enter into the joy of yourmaster.
It's about leaving a spiritualinheritance.
You need to have an eternalperspective.
All the things of this worldwill fade away, but what you
instill into your kids and yourfamily about Jesus and his word
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will not, and so it's aboutleaving a spiritual inheritance
for those around you.
Today I want to start in John,chapter 13.
If you have your Bible, turnwith me to John 13.
We're going to start off inverse 34.
It says this a new commandmentI give to you that you love one
another Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one
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another.
By this, all people will know.
So we're in this series Battlefor the Family, and we have
talked about the importance ofthe things that God has put into
our lives.
So we know that he's given us afamily and we are grateful for
the family.
We're grateful for ourimmediate family.
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We want to battle for them andbelieve good things for each one
of them, not just our immediatefamily, but our extended family
, cousins, aunts, uncles, all ofthem.
We want to believe that theplan that God has for them, we
will see it come to fruition.
And then not only that, but nowwe want to talk about our
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community, the family that isthe community.
And so when community wins, Iwant you to think of a couple
questions this morning.
Number one is how do youinteract with everybody outside?
Just think about that for amoment.
How do you interact witheverybody outside, and what
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happens when it's not just you,but how your family interacts
with the community?
You see, god designed community,it says in Genesis 2.18,.
Then the Lord God said it isnot good that man should be
alone.
I will make him a helper fitfor him.
(09:25):
So in this scripture we seethat God created marriage.
Then, from marriage, godcreated family.
Then from the family, godcreated a lineage.
Then from that we see tribesand then from that we see cities
.
God created a community.
You see, community was writteninto our DNA by God.
(09:48):
It says in Genesis 1, 26,.
Then God said let us make manin our image, after our likeness
.
God himself is community.
He exists as God the Father,god the Son and God the Holy
Spirit Exists as God the Father,god the Son and God the Holy
Spirit, a perfect, eternalcommunity.
(10:10):
God made this a priority forcreation because it reflects who
he is.
We have the desire within us tobe connected to other people.
Did you know that that desirewithin us is that we want to be
a part of people's lives.
You know how I know this.
All you have to do is open yourphone and show me your social
(10:31):
media, because when you're doingthis all day long, you're
thriving for community.
You're thriving to be part ofsomething that maybe you feel
like you're missing out on.
You're watching what otherpeople are doing.
You're trying to see if youdidn't get invited somewhere.
You got left out of the picture.
You're looking because insideof you, god created you to be in
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community with other people.
It's part of who you are, andso today we're gonna talk about
when community wins.
I'm gonna read the scriptureagain to you out of John 13, 34
and 35.
It says if you have love onefor another.
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Now let me tell you the phrase.
A new commandment in thisscripture does not mean that it
was never said before.
It's not something new that hadnever come out of Jesus's mouth
before.
What it is talking about is theword new is that he is
presenting it in a fresh way, afresh way.
(11:45):
So let me give you an example.
Many of you probably own aStanley.
Well, you know what it waspresented to you in a fresh way
in the last 24 months, becauseif you ask your dads and your
grandpas, they all have had aStanley for years.
They've all had the green onewith the silver cap that they
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would take their coffee in allday to their job.
So then, about two years ago,another thing that was refreshed
in your memory was the crocshoes.
Remember those shoes everybodyhated, nobody wanted them, and
then, all of a sudden, theyhired a genius guy who did
really good at marketing and hewas amazing at presenting it in
(12:28):
a fresh way.
And then, all of a sudden, whenmy children are asking me to
buy them crocs, I was like what?
And then, all of a sudden, whenmy children are asking me to
buy them Crocs, I was like what?
Who buys those shoes?
Well, apparently everybody.
Because this guy took it andpresented it in a new way.
Well, that's what happened withthe Stanley.
They took the same guy thathelped the Crocs shoe become new
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again and they took him over tothe Stanley company and they
said hey, listen, we want you todo your magic from whatever you
did over there, do it over here.
And so they hired him and hesaid you know what?
Let's target the women, becausethe women will buy it.
They love to go to Target.
Let's put it in Target andlet's put it in Starbucks and
let's make them like so they'revery isolated to only certain
(13:10):
locations and we'll only make somany of them.
So then they fight over themand let's do this and it'll
become really big.
And so that's what they did.
And then all the guys are athome going.
You bought a Stanley.
What does it look like?
Because in their mind, they'rethinking of the green machine
right With the silver lid.
It wasn't new, but it waspresented as something new in a
(13:34):
fresh way.
And so when we read thisscripture out of John 13, 34 and
35, that is what the Lord isdoing.
He is presenting this scripturein a new way.
Now, in order to understandexactly what he's talking about,
we're going to be like a movie,where it just shows you the
ending and then we're going togo backwards and we're going to
(13:54):
show you from the beginning howhe got to this point.
So, if you have your Bible,turn with me and we're going to
start in John, chapter 13, andwe're going to look at verse 1.
We're going to talk thismorning is how do we battle for
the family and the community?
Number one the first way thatwe battle for our family and our
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community is we serve thosearound us.
You see, before Jesus sharedthis new commandment about
loving one another, we have togo back and look at verse one.
It says in verse one Jesus knewthat his hour had come to depart
out of this world to the Father.
Wow, that's heavy.
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He'd been walking with thesedisciples for a few years now,
and now it's the moment when heknows what's about to happen, he
knows that it is his time andhe has a very small window left
with them.
And so we go into verse five.
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It says that he began to washthe disciples' feet.
It says he poured water into abasin and he began to wash the
disciples' feet and to wipe themwith the towel that was wrapped
around him.
So he took a bowl that was likethis and he had a towel that
was probably tucked in to hisstrap.
(15:17):
And it says that, as they werethere together with the 12, they
were eating and when they weredone, jesus just gets up and he
goes and he takes this bowl andhe fills it with water and then
he takes the towel that's on hisstrap and he bends down and he
begins to wash the disciples'feet.
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And I want you to picture thisimage for a moment.
And then I want you to thinkabout feet.
I know you're going to cringe.
Feet are nasty.
Let me tell you that Feet aregross and they are dirty.
And even if you're married andyour spouse asks you for a foot
massage, you cringe.
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You're like do you take ashower first?
There's something about feet.
I don't have a problem withfeet, but if you just think
about feet by themselves, it'sjust kind of weird, and I want
you to imagine it in the contextof where these men were.
A lot of it was just open, dirtroads and they're walking in
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sandals everywhere, so anythingthat they're walking through is
getting onto their feet.
We are probably one of the onlycultures in the entire world
that do not take our shoes offbefore we enter a home.
I want you to think about thatEverywhere else in the world.
As soon as you appear to thedoor of somebody's house,
whoever's standing on the insideof that house will go and
(16:44):
they'll point to your shoesbecause you need to remove them.
They don't want whatever you'vebeen walking in and trailing
through to be brought into thehouse.
When I lived in Egypt, we tookour shoes off everywhere.
When I lived in Bangladesh, wedid the same thing.
Everywhere I'd go.
You have to take your shoes offbecause they don't want the
(17:05):
junk from the streets to comeinto the house.
Many of those cultures haveanimals that are trailing
everywhere, so they leave theirmess in the streets and so all
of that just collects onto theshoe.
And here you have these 12 menwho have come in.
Most likely they have left alltheir shoes at the door and they
(17:26):
have just eaten a meal with theMessiah and out of nowhere, the
Lord stands up and he fills upthis bowl and he takes, takes
the towel and he begins to washtheir feet.
And I want you to think ofthose men that we've talked
about many times Simon Peter,matthew.
They probably had some dirtyfeet.
(17:47):
We have fishermen, we have allkinds of backgrounds in that
group.
We have fishermen, we have allkinds of backgrounds in that
group.
And here you have Jesus washingtheir feet.
You know Jesus being who he isand them following after him.
He could have taken this bowland he could have looked at them
(18:11):
and said will you wash my feet?
He could have said will, saidwill you wash my feet?
He could have said will all 12of you wash my feet?
This will be a great day.
But he didn't.
Instead, he himself took thebull and washed their feet.
(18:33):
And you will see in one of thescriptures that, simon Peter, I
love Simon Peter.
I want to meet Simon Peter.
I have a lot to ask him.
I just think he would be veryentertaining.
Simon Peter says everythingthat you want to say, but you
just think it and he says it.
That's what I love about him.
And it says that he's the onlyone that, as Jesus, is washing
their feet, he says, lord,you're going to wash my feet.
(18:54):
The only one that, as Jesus iswashing their feet.
He says, lord, you're going towash my feet.
And Jesus responds in verse 7.
He says what I am doing.
You do not understand now, butafterward you will understand.
You see, if we want to see ourcommunity win, we must serve
them.
It's not going to be easy.
It means getting dirty.
(19:20):
It means helping them get thedirt off their feet.
It means putting aside ourstatus, our name, our desires to
serve.
It means giving of your timeand your energy.
It means showing them that theyhave value, and serving them
(19:44):
shows that we care.
So how do you serve yourcommunity?
What do they have in need of?
There are times when, even inthe last couple years, you'll
see more homeless people thanwe've ever seen before.
Maybe they just need some food.
Maybe they're not asking muchof you than for you to drive up
and give them some crackers,some bread, some peanut butter.
(20:05):
They just need some food.
Maybe they just need someclothes, maybe they need some
shoes on their feet.
And it's just serving them,giving something to them.
Maybe somebody in yourcommunity doesn't have a vehicle
and they just need a ride, justtaking those few moments to say
I can drop you off, I'll takeyou.
You see, when we begin to loveour community, as family things
(20:28):
begin to happen, we show theheart of God to those around us
that community matters.
How do we battle for the familyand community?
We serve them.
Number two another thing that wedo is we show kindness.
Let me tell you the definitionof kindness the quality of being
(20:52):
friendly Wow, that will go along way.
Just that part right there.
Just being friendly Wow, thatwill go a long way.
Just that part right there.
Just be friendly.
If you learn nothing else fromtoday, just be friendly.
Kindness is the quality ofbeing friendly, generous and
considerate.
You see, jesus modeled kindnessto his disciples.
(21:15):
Not only did he wash their feetin the beginning of chapter 13,
but, as we read on, he actuallyalready knew that somebody in
that group of 12 was going tobetray him.
He knew it already and becauseof the kindness of his heart.
(21:37):
It says in verse 21,.
After saying these things,jesus was troubled in his spirit
and he testified, truly, truly.
I say to you, one of you willbetray me.
Have you ever done somethingnice for someone only to be
repaid with rudeness or meanactions?
Do not nudge your neighbor,keep it to yourself.
(22:02):
I have a funny story.
I was at a four-wayintersection, a four-way stop.
Anybody love the four-way stops.
I mean, it's kind of awkward ifyou show up with somebody at
the same time.
It's either you're rude and youjust go, or you're nice and you
let them go before you.
So I was at a four-wayintersection and me and the car
to my left, we appeared at thesame time and I think the rule
(22:24):
is I probably should look thisup I think the rule is if you're
on the furthest right, you'reallowed to go.
Well, in my kindness, I let theperson on the left go.
Then I said, oh, just go.
And they kind of looked at me.
And then they drove and flippedme off and I was like winning,
like I was just too.
I was being nice, like I justgo, I'm not in a hurry, just go.
(22:47):
And then they flipped me off.
I want to tell you this Showingkindness to others does not mean
that you are automaticallyrepaid with kindness.
Write this down, because you'regoing to need this on your
fridge every day.
Showing kindness to others doesnot mean that you are
(23:09):
automatically repaid withkindness.
Let's go back to John 13.
Jesus had just washed hisdisciples' feet.
Remember those dirty, stinkyfeet?
He washed 12 sets of feet.
I'm sure he had to empty thisafter everyone.
(23:32):
Then it says in chapter 13,further down, that he knew right
away.
He told them somebody's goingto betray me.
And the other 11 men in the roomthat were not part of this were
probably very confused.
They're probably looking aroundlike what is he talking about?
(23:52):
Who's going to betray him?
And the kindness of the Lord.
Without mentioning a name, hesays in verse 27, what you're
going to do, just do it quickly.
And there's a lot to thatstatement, because I think the
heart of the Lord was in thatmoment.
He was giving that personanother chance To say hey, I'm
(24:15):
not going to call you out rightnow, I'm not going to say your
name, but I am going to let youknow what you're going to do.
Do quickly.
Maybe there might be a changeof heart.
We show kindness because we wantto be more like Jesus.
We even wear the shirt.
I've had people stare at mewhen that shirt is being worn.
(24:37):
Have anybody else gotten thestares?
Be more like Jesus.
Jesus is so kind and so good.
He gave Judas the opportunityto change his mind.
Now I want you to envision thisroom with these 12 disciples,
because if you know anythingabout Simon Peter, you would
(25:00):
know that if Jesus even saidJudas's name, simon probably
would have jumped him.
He probably would have beat himup Without even knowing the
scenario or the situation, justthe word betrayal.
He probably would have beat himup, but yet that didn't happen
(25:21):
Because of the kindness of theLord.
He just said, as if that personknew exactly what he was
talking about.
Whatever you're going to do, doit quickly, okay.
It says in verse 30 that Judasleft immediately.
If we want to see our communitywin, we're going to have to
show kindness, we're going tohave to be friendly, we're going
(25:42):
to have to be generous andwe're going to have to be
considerate at all times.
It means we do not react as wewant to, but we imitate Jesus.
We want to, but we imitateJesus.
We show kindness to otherpeople even when we feel like
they're not deserving of it,because who are we to say
(26:06):
whether someone should receivekindness, because at some point
in your life you were notdeserving of the kindness, but
it was extended to you?
We must show the world that weare different.
Greater is he that is in methan he that is in the world.
We have got to treat oneanother with kindness.
(26:28):
How do we battle for the familyand the community?
We serve them and we showkindness.
Another thing we do is we loveone another.
Judas left the room and at thatpoint, after he exited that room
, those 11 other men must havehad a lot of questions going
(26:48):
through their mind.
Where is he going?
What is he doing?
Jesus, were you talking to him?
Is he running an errand for you?
Why are you not keeping us inthe loop of what's happening
right now?
(27:12):
Jesus, knowing that there werequestions, continued by saying
this in verses 34 and 35.
A new commandment I give to youthat you love one another.
Just as I have loved you, youalso are to love one another.
By this, all people will knowthat you are my disciples if you
have love for one another.
How hard is this?
(27:34):
You have Jesus who gave anamazing illustration in John,
chapter 13, number one he'seating with them, knowing he's
about to sacrifice his life foreach one of them and everybody
else.
Then he takes this and he goesand he washes their feet, each
one of them.
It wasn't quick, he didn't havea hose, he wasn't spraying them
(27:55):
down really fast, it wasliterally a washing.
He was making them clean.
And then from there he says Iknow one of you are going to
betray me.
Whatever you're going to do, goahead and do it now.
And that person runs out andthen he looks around and he says
listen, I want you guys to loveeach other, just love each
(28:17):
other.
Love each other the way that Ilove you, so that when you leave
these walls, everybody outthere will know that you are my
disciples because you have loveone for another.
Do not treat others the waythat you think they should be
treated, but you love them.
The biblical sense of love isthis a way of relating to others
(28:40):
that is, patient, kind andsacrificial.
Christians who love others showthe world something new.
Not new as in just invented,but new as in, presented in a
new, fresh way, the command tolove was not new, but to the
(29:03):
extent of love that Jesusdisplayed, that was new.
That was new.
One of those very close to himwas going to betray him and that
sense of love that he still hadfor him was new, and he was
displaying it to everyone.
(29:24):
If we want to battle for thefamily and the community, we
must love one another.
Others will know that we areChristians by how we love one
another.
Look around this room.
The love that we have foreverybody inside here should be
the same one for another.
So when I come in and I see you, the way that I love on people
(29:47):
in this section is the same thatI'm going to love on people in
this section, and the way that Isee this section and the two
side sections are all going tobe equal.
I'm going to go up to them andsay good morning, how are you?
It's so good to see you.
We made it to another Sunday.
We survived.
We are still standing, we arestill lifting up the name of
(30:09):
Jesus, no matter what happenedthrough my week.
I am here right now to lay itall down, and I love you and I'm
glad you're here too.
That's what it should be about.
Then, when we realize that weare family and that we are
brothers and sisters in Christ,then when I say goodbye to you
(30:30):
and you head out those doors,the same love that you have in
here is going to be displayedout there and you're going to go
to your work and you're goingto go back to your families and
you're going to go to differentparts of the city and they're
going to look at you and gouh-huh, I don't even know.
People don't know what to dowith nice people.
(30:50):
People.
It's awkward.
It is so awkward it's likethank you, but we do it because
we want to be an imitator ofJesus.
I'm going to let you in on alittle secret.
People are hard to love and Iwant you to hear this.
(31:15):
They are hard to love.
They go through hard seasons.
They can be cruel, they let usdown, they say something that
offends us, they don't invite usto something, they don't wave
to me when I see them.
We can make the list up andkeep going, but people can be
(31:38):
hard to love.
But, whatever the reason is, welove others, as Christ loved us
.
He loved us while we were stillsinners.
He loved us when we didn'tlisten to him, which is every
day there's something we don'tdo and he's nudging us.
He loves us when we do our ownthing.
(32:00):
He loves us when we fail at ourown thing and we come back and
say I'm sorry, I messed up, andhe says come here, he loves us.
And if we show that kind oflove to our community, our
community wins.
They win because they get tosee Jesus in the flesh in you.
(32:25):
I'm going to invite the worshipteam to come and there's
something about community.
You need them and it's the waythat we respond to them and
(32:45):
react to them.
I will tell you this Maybe youare living in a place and you're
like I don't really even knowwhy I live here.
I know why you live thereBecause God has a purpose for
you in that neighborhood.
He has a purpose for you inthat place.
Whether you're an apartment orrental or home that you own, god
has a plan for you at this verymoment.
(33:07):
And there could be people thatare in your close proximity,
whether they're in yourneighborhood or even at your
work, that you spend hours withevery day, and he set you right
there for them.
And there's something thathappens when they begin to see.
(33:31):
God changed your life, and myheart is that we, as a church,
not only are we battling for ourfamily and battling for our
extended family, but we'rebattling for our community,
because I believe that God has aplan for this West Valley,
(33:54):
avondale, goodyear, litchfieldPark, buckeye, tolleson, all of
it.
God has a plan.
We list the cities on one ofour shirts for a reason.
God has a plan and I'm notgoing to let the enemy try to
come in and bring destruction,but we are going to lift up the
name of Jesus in this part ofthe city and we're going to
(34:15):
honor him.
And the way that we do that iswe're going to respect people,
we're going to show kindness,we're going to serve them, show
kindness and we're going to lovethem, and out of that, our
community is going to thrive andthey're going to win.
I'm going to ask you to standwith me for a moment.
Maybe you came into churchtoday and you're like man,
(34:35):
somebody just invited me.
This is my first time.
I'm just here.
We are so grateful that you arehere.
It's not by accident.
But we believe and know thatGod created us, that he sent his
son as a perfect sacrifice sothat we could be forgiven of all
of our sins.
Sacrifice so that we could beforgiven of all of our sins.
(34:59):
We've been set free.
We're able to come in todayknowing that we could lift up
the name of Jesus, because afterthree days he rose from the
grave and he is seated at theright hand of God this morning
making intercession for you.
And so maybe you're in the housetoday or maybe you're watching
online and you say, man, I'venever even had the opportunity
to ask Jesus to come into myheart.
It's really simple.
(35:20):
I'm going to read a scriptureout of Romans 10, 9 and 10.
It says because if you confesswith your mouth that Jesus is
Lord and believe in your heartthat God raised him from the
dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart, onebelieves and is justified, and
with the mouth, one confessesand is saved.
For with the heart one believesand is justified, and with the
mouth, one confesses and issaved.
All you have to do is believethat he died for you and he
(35:43):
wants to set you free, and thenyou just ask him to come into
your heart.
So, with your eyes closed, ifyou're in the building and you
say, man, I want to say thatprayer.
I want to join with you inpraying that, with everyone's
eyes closed, just slip your handup.
I just want to pray with youand believe with you.
Amen, yeah, amen, amen, amen.
(36:05):
We're going to repeat thisprayer after me.
God, thank you for loving me.
Me God, thank you for loving me.
Thank you for sending Jesus.
I believe Jesus died on thecross for my sins.
I believe he rose again.
Forgive me of my sins.
(36:27):
I surrender my life to you InChrist's name.
Amen, amen, amen.
We rejoice.
Yeah, if you lifted your hand.
I just want to tell you twoquick things.
If we, if you lifted your hand.
First of all, it says that theangels in heaven are rejoicing
(36:49):
when one comes to Jesus.
So there's already a partygoing on for you.
But I want to tell you thisthat we want to get a Bible into
your hands and we want to getsome material, because this is a
journey of faith that will takeyou from here on out, and so we
want to get you the word of God.
If you don't have it, you'llsee some ushers in the back when
you head out.
Grab one of those Bibles andthen we need you to get into a
(37:11):
Bible believing church.
If you live near the area, youare more than welcome to attend
here.
We would love to have you.
We meet on Sunday mornings andthroughout the week in different
life groups.
But if you don't live near here, find a church.
Find a church, because you needa community around you that
will rally with you and supportyou and cheer you on as you are
(37:31):
following after Jesus.
This morning, I want to praythis.
Maybe you're here and you say,god, I've got some areas that I
need to be a little better in.
I need to serve others more.
Maybe I need to love othersmore, or maybe I just need to up
the kindness in my life towardsother people.
(37:52):
This altar is going to be openand I have to tell you that
nobody is perfect in these areas, but we always need more of him
so that when we walk out there,we are victorious and we can
love those around us.
So, father, this morning we areso grateful for your continued
(38:13):
goodness in our lives.
Lord, we're standing here todaybecause of your faithfulness.
We're standing here todaybecause you didn't give up on us
, because you are faithful andgood and you are constant, and
so, Lord, we thank you for that.
So this morning I pray thatthis word in John 13, that, lord
, it would begin just toresonate in our heart that, as
(38:36):
we look at the scripture ofverses 34 and 35, that we would
love one another as you loved us, lord, let it come to life
inside of us.
Lord, help renew in us thedesire to serve people, to be
kind to one another and to lovethem unconditionally, not
(38:56):
expecting anything in return.
But, god, we keep giving and weknow that you are the one
supplying us strength, day afterday, to be good to those around
us.
So, as this altar is open, lord, I pray that you would fill
people to overflowing.
In the mighty name of Jesus,this altar is open for you.
Stand with me as we get readyto pray.
(39:19):
A blessing before you go.
You're probably wondering whereJay and Angus are this morning.
They are on an amazing trip,but I can't tell you anything
about it for security reasons.
Once they get back next Sunday,you're going to hear some
amazing stories, so just bepraying for them.
God is good.
I'll just say that God is sogood and so I'm excited for what
they're engaged in this week.
(39:40):
Also, community.
I want to let you know thatpart of our community.
I don't know the family, but Ido know that we've been praying
as a church.
There was a young boy, 11 yearsold, who was hit by a vehicle on
107th and Thomas, very close tohere, and he died and he was a
sixth grader at Garden LakesElementary.
We prayed for him Wednesdaynight at our prayer service, but
(40:03):
I do want us to pray for theirfamily today.
I want to pray for all thestudents that are sixth graders
at that school that have beenaffected by this loss, and God
is so good.
I just want to pray thepresence of the Lord over that
family that they would sensepeace.
I know that there are funeralarrangements this week, and so
we just want to pray a coveringover them as they walk through
(40:25):
this tragic loss.
Let me speak this over you aswe pray the Lord bless you and
keep you.
The Lord make his face to shineupon you and be gracious to you
.
The Lord lift up hiscountenance upon you and give
you peace.
Father, we are grateful for ourcommunity.
We're grateful for this areathat you've placed us in.
(40:48):
I pray for the family right now, lord, of that little boy who
passed away last week.
I just pray for those parents.
I pray for that entire parents.
I pray for that entire family.
I pray the peace of God wouldrest upon them right now.
I ask that you would give themstrength as they walk through
this week of laying their littleboy's body to rest.
(41:08):
I pray over that entire school,garden Lakes Elementary.
Right now, we pray that thepeace of God would be in those
rooms.
We pray for every counselor whois talking to kids, answering
questions that they may have.
We pray right now, lord, thatthe presence of God would be
there, that you would raise upbelievers that are inside of
(41:29):
that school, that can show love,that can just cover those kids
in prayer.
Right now, lord, we pray.
When our community hurts, wehurt, and so we pray right now,
lord, that your presence wouldbe with them.
Father, go with us as we headout.
We're believing for a greatweek.
I pray that you would just gobefore us, create amazing
(41:52):
opportunities as we engage withpeople.
We love you In Jesus' name,amen, amen, hey, we love you
here at Cornerstone.
Have an amazing week and wewill see you next Sunday.
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