Voices on Romans 3 | Romans

What if you truly understood the depth of God's faithfulness in the midst of your struggles? This episode promises to uncover the profound strength of unwavering faith and the power of positive words as we journey through the scriptures and personal testimonies. We begin by celebrating Reverend Angie's remarkable testimony, highlighting her return to faith and her impactful role in leading Spanish translation services. Her story is a vivid reminder of God’s unchanging love, beckoning us to be steadfast in our own lives.

Ever wondered how to remain faithful when life gets tough? We take a deep dive into the themes of faithfulness and obedience, drawing inspiration from Romans and the Old Testament. Through the example of King David and personal anecdotes, we reveal how God’s promises stand firm even when we falter. Our discussion not only underscores the importance of acknowledging our sins but also the incredible relief and transformation that comes from living a life of truth and faithfulness.

Words can uplift or destroy—how are you using yours? Josiah Gannon, our youth director at Cornerstone Youth, joins us to discuss the crucial role of words in our spiritual journey. From combating gossip to advocating for positive speech, Josiah’s insights are both practical and inspiring. We also delve into the rich theological concepts of justification, redemption, and propitiation, exploring how these tenets of faith shape our understanding of Jesus' sacrifice with Barb Burke our women's ministry director. Concluding with a heartfelt prayer and an invitation to engage with our community, this episode is a tapestry of hope, faith, and the transformative power of grace.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

The Lord be praised. It's a good day. Amen, man. We're so very thankful for this day and this opportunity to worship together. We are blessed to be able to come and to worship the Lord, amen, Friends, I was thinking about it, about in the ancient of days, and we're talking about Romans in our theme and about how they didn't have the opportunity to do what we do freely, which is to rejoice and to worship the Lord, and so we're very blessed to do so today together here at Cornerstone.

Speaker 1: 0:25

We very much see ourselves in need of a savior. None of us is finished right, none of us have arrived. We are all still on that journey, following after Jesus, and we use imagery that talks about those things and shows walking after Christ because that's who we are, as disciples of God is that we're walking after Jesus. We want to be more like Jesus, and we do that by loving God and making disciples and reaching the world. It's who we are and it's what we do collectively. It's God's hand working amongst his church to see others know the love of God, and so we're excited about that today, to continue in this series on Romans and be talking about it. We encourage you in this that you would put that as part of your daily reading is to be reading through Romans and rereading through Romans, and let the Lord speak to you during this series and challenge your heart, challenge each one of us to live, to be more like Him, amen.

Speaker 1: 1:16

Now, today we have a special opportunity in that we get to hear from three different voices on Romans, chapter 3. And in doing so, we get to see different perspectives about what the Lord is speaking. Our first voice that we get to hear from today is our friend Angie, and I'm so blessed by Angie, because Angie has worked hard to get not one, but two levels of her credentials as a minister of the gospel, and that's hard effort. That's hard work. She's come and she's been a life group leader and now she's starting in a new endeavor in leading Spanish translation for our services. And so let me encourage you in that there are many that come and they need to hear the gospel message in their heart language, and this is an opportunity and she is starting that team up and building that team so that other people can be the start of one of the languages that we offer amongst us. Amen. Please welcome to the stage with me today Reverend Angie as she comes today.

Speaker 2: 2:17

So today we're going to talk about how God is faithful. God is true and how we should be too, how God is faithful, god is true and how we should be too. So God called me to ministry as a young girl. I remember the plans to attend Master's Commission with my friend from my youth group. I was so excited to see the plans God had for my life. He had already been so faithful to me, and it was just the beginning. Somehow everything went sideways. And it was just the beginning. Somehow everything went sideways and I walked away from God. I found myself going down this dark path of chaos and destruction. God remained faithful to me during this time. He never turned his back on me. I turned my back on him. That's the thing. He never walks away from us. It's us walking away from him. I want to look at how God is faithful.

Speaker 2: 3:12

If you have your Bible tablet or phone, join me as we read Romans 3, 3 and 4. What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means. Let God be true, though everyone were a liar, as it is written that you may be justified in your words and prevail when you are judged. How many times in the Old Testament do we read about the faithfulness of God, how God kept his word to the Israelites. They might have been unfaithful to him, but God kept his word. Remain faithful, that's the thing he always.

Speaker 2: 3:55

We need to remember that even though we walk away from him, god doesn't walk away from us. God's character will never change. He has compassion, shows us grace and is patient with us. God's faithfulness is also unchanging. No matter what we do, god continues to be faithful. He has continued to be faithful to me. He has never left me. See, when I was in my, when I was in the darkest time of my life, he was always there for me. He was always there for me. I was a pretty shady person and I did a lot of people wrong, but God always remained faithful. He never left my side. He brought me back to him. He carried me through the darkest time of my life and he could do that for you. I remember when God saved my life and I began walking with him again and the Holy Spirit began steering these old feelings for ministry back up. His plans remained the same for me. The calling in my life never changed. It was just the timing that changed. It made me think about the things that I did and how sometimes I felt so alone. But those were the times that God was there with me. He was closest to me. But those were the times that God was there with me, he was closest to me. And that's the thing. It's when we feel the most alone, that that's when God's with us.

Speaker 2: 5:36

Now I want to talk about how God is also true. We try to make our own truth the truth, but our perspectives are not always true. If I say to you don't cross the street or you're going to get hit by a car, and you do it anyways, you can't be mad because I warned you of the consequence of your actions. Right, your perspective is you would make it and the rule didn't apply to you. Certain actions are going to bring certain results in our life, like pain, suffering, sorrow. We do things and we want to blame God for the consequences.

Speaker 2: 6:17

I did that a lot, you know. I was like I broke the law. I went to jail and I was like God, why am I in here? And it was like well, you broke the law, you have to pay for what you do, and I caused some pain and heartache to some people, a lot of people in my life, and I had to pay for those consequences. You know, when we God was showing me as I studied, it was like he forgave me for all my sins, but the things that I did to people have consequences. And he was showing me. He asked me during this.

Speaker 2: 6:59

It was it was right before Pastor Jay had approached me and he was like you know, I want you to to to do a sermonette. And I was like well, why on this one, this one's like so hard? I was like man am I being? This is a challenge for me. And I was like is he mad at me? I was like is Pastor Jay mad? Because he's, he gave me this, this, this Romans.

Speaker 2: 7:22

And it was like but as I started studying it, more and more, I was like, oh, because God had asked me to do something, to go to somebody and ask them to forgive me for something I had done to them. And it was when I was like God, I don't want to do that, I already did that and it's just going to open up a can of worms. You know, I was like God, I don't want to do that, I already did that and it's just going to open up a can of worms, you know. And I was like I did that already, god, I don't want to do that. And it was like he was like no, you're, you obeyed me in everything I've asked you to do already. You know, you, you, you say you obey me. He's like but this is what I want you to do now. And I was like okay, god, I'll do it. You know, and these are consequences to something I did years ago, it's like 11 years already and I'm like but he, I don't want to do it. And he's like no, you obey me. Now you're at a level in your walk with me where I want to give you the anointing that I have for you. But unless you do this, I can't, I can't, I can't do it. Unless you do this, you need to obey this. One last thing. And I was like okay, god. So I obeyed him, but it's these are the consequences that I have to suffer, even though I don't want to do it right?

Speaker 2: 8:45

So even King David, who was considered a man after God's own heart, acknowledges God's righteousness in judging him in Psalms 51, when he cried out against you and only you. Have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you might be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. David is not talking, saying that he had not wronged anyone else by his serious offenses, but that his greatest sin was against God and his word, because God's word is true. Here's the thing we cannot blame God when he has already pre-warned us for the consequences of our actions. I thank God that he is a God of restoration, a God that heals. He still shows me things that I need to work on.

Speaker 2: 9:33

Now we're going to talk about how we should be too. How would the world around us be impacted if we would be faithful and true to the word of God? That is even challenging for me at times. I'm guilty. I don't get into the word like I should at times, you know. But imagine if we did. We need to get into our word, we need to study, apply it to our lives. This way, he could do what he needs to do in us. Because we can't just God, can't just wave a magic wand.

Speaker 2: 10:04

You know, somebody had told me like God always does these things for the people that are broken. Why can't? What about the victims? What about us, the ones that he that got that all the wrong was done to us. Why doesn't he fix us? We're the ones broken, we're the ones that need. You know, what about us? You guys, the messed up ones, get fixed, and the ones that got all this stuff done to them, what about us, you know?

Speaker 2: 10:30

And I was like well, here's the thing. I work on it every day. Every day, I have to work on it. God didn't just fix me and I'm okay, I'm better. I do these things every day. It's a. I'm better. I do these things every day. It's a.

Speaker 2: 10:44

I'm intentional with God. I have to be. I put my work in it every day. God, yes, he might've healed me, he might've done what he did for me, but every day I put my part in it. It's not just a magic fix. You know, I'm intentional with God. I say, yes, god, more, more of you. I want more, I want more, I want more. So that's the thing when you don't do your part, god's not going to do for you. So here's the thing. I have not arrived yet. I'm still a work in progress. I have just said yes, lord, here I am. I want to be more like you and be the woman of God you created me to be, as I grow more and more every day. As I close, I want to leave you with this no matter where you are in your life, remember that God is faithful God. Faithful God, is true.

Speaker 1: 11:38

We should be too what I love about Angie is her obedience to the Lord and and she'll share with you, even as you dialogue with her that she's walking this thing out by faith. And what I love about this, even what she shared with her, that she's walking this thing out by faith. And what I love about this and what she shared today, is that she is not her past, she's not stuck in brokenness, she's not stuck as a victim of her circumstances, but that she's walking forward in the future that God has for her and the calling that God has for her. That's what she was talking about today is the restoration of that call. When she was obedient to the Lord, the Lord called her back to those things that he had from her from the start, and man even greater things, because it's just the beginning of that season. And that anointing and the next anointing and the next thing Praise the Lord. You say amen to that Amen.

Speaker 1: 12:38

Our next voice we get to hear from is our youth director, josiah, and he and his wife Emily are a blessing to us and a part of our team. They work with our students, with Cornerstone Youth, and seeing a new wave of students come on and get involved in loving Jesus, and they are a key part of making that happen. Please welcome to the stage Josiah as he comes to share the word of God today.

Speaker 3: 13:06

All right. So if I haven't had the opportunity to introduce myself, as Pastor Jay just said, my name is Josiah Gannon and I have the privilege of serving here as the youth director, which basically means my entire job is to play games, to eat food and to worship Jesus with the students, and it's such a blessing and it's an awesome time Blessed with the opportunity to be here and to be serving. Praise God, I'm married to my beautiful wife, emily. Her and her family are here in the front and very blessed to have her in my life and very blessed to have her in my life, and I'm a student at Sagu, or now Nelson College, or AIC. It's in Phoenix, it's an accredited Bible college, and so that's where I'm going to college right now.

Speaker 3: 14:09

As many of you know, if you are in college, what came right before was high school, and I was a student in high school and I graduated in 2021 from high school, and my school was. It ranged from grades 6 through 12. And so what that means is I started there as a sixth grader and I was there all the way until I was a senior graduating in high school. That's a lot of years at the same school, and so what I learned from that opportunity is there's a lot of time to build relationships and to build gossip in your life spreading toward other people. There's a lot of time, especially in those crucial years of your schooling life. There's a lot of time to build that gossip in your life From false rumors to true rumors. All of it will come in high school. Who experienced some? Come in high school? Who experienced some, just some gossip in high school? I know I know I did. I know I did. So we're going to be continuing where we left off in Romans 3, 9 through 19. And so I'm going to get started here.

Speaker 3: 15:34

In verse 9, it says what shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all, for we have already made the change that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. In 10, it says, as it is written, there is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away. They have together become worthless. There is no one who does good, not even one. 13 says now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

Speaker 3: 16:59

I read a quote recently and it said words are free, but how you use them may cost you. My main point today is this your words are like sticks and stones. Growing up, my mom would always say this phrase. She would always say if you have nothing positive to say, don't say anything at all. And I personally struggled with this concept my entire life. I always, more than any of my siblings, for some reason, I was always dealing with this, just this negative tone, all the time. All the time, I would always use my words to tear people down instead of bring them up.

Speaker 3: 17:53

Last semester, I was attending a different Bible college I was attending in Springfield, missouri, and at this college it's Evangel University and while I was there, I was attending a psychology class, and in the psychology class, we went into this one unit where we were talking about gossip and why people spread gossip and what is the reason behind that, and so we had like 25 or 30 points. I'm just going to tell you guys, six of them. The first one is this they are deeply insecure and jealous. Number two they protect their issues I'm sorry, project their issues onto other people. Number three they are blind to the fact that malicious gossip they spread damages them as much as it damages the other person they're talking about. Number four they believe that talking badly about others makes them look good in comparison. Number five they need to overcompensate for their own shortcomings. And number six they suffer from low self-esteem and are constantly looking for outside validation, even if that outside validation is bringing someone else down.

Speaker 3: 19:20

So what we're taught in our scripture here, from Romans 3, 9 through 19, is two different perspectives. We're taught a perspective of how the world takes negative talk and how they approach that, and then how we're supposed to approach it in our lives. And so just to recap, just to talk about how the world lives and uses their words, we're in verse 13. Their throats are like open graves, their tongues practice deceit, the poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood. Ruin and misery marks their ways and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of misery marks their ways and they in the way of peace. They do not know there is no fear of God before their eyes. So that's how the world uses their words. That's how the flesh wants to use our tongue. And the second perspective we have and just to highlight it I'm going to reference in Ephesians 429,. It says do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Listen, what's important to know is that the words that we use affect other people in ways that you probably don't recognize, and so what I have for you today is a easy four-step process, and in this four-step process, you're going to completely learn how to be a communicator to other people. That is not of the world, but it is of Jesus.

Speaker 3: 21:21

So the first one is this stop excusing. What do I mean by this? What do I mean by this? So often and I do this all the time in my life especially I don't know about you guys, but what I do is somebody is rude to me and hurts me very deeply, and I excuse them by saying man, they just had a bad day, it's all right, I will let it go, I'll show them and I'll always show grace, but understand that excusing bad behavior encourages more bad behavior. Another one you may use is and they're going through a lot right now and my personal favorite somebody coming up to you and they're like man, I'm so sorry, that's just how I am before my first cup of coffee. That's a personal favorite of mine and I hear that more often than I definitely should.

Speaker 3: 22:18

The second one is talk less, talk less. We often get in so much trouble because of the words that we're just spewing out and we're just talking and talking, and talking. But instead of doing that, you can compare your words to power tools and when you do that, you understand that you don't need to use them as much because you are being more effective with your communication. The third one is this listen more. I struggle to do this with my wife, but listen more Instead of constantly just trying to insert your own opinion or your own suggestion. I think, men, we do this a lot. We have a hard time listening. It's real, it's very real. Listen more. Just take a moment and be an effective listener.

Speaker 3: 23:28

Number four, and I end with this start building. Instead of tearing people down all the time, work on. Just try and build somebody up. When you approach a situation, instead of your first thought being about yourself, think how can I make this person's day better? How can I effectively help this person to have a better day? How can I make a difference in this person's life? How can I show them? Jesus, you follow these four easy steps. They're not very easy and we all struggle and we all fall short, but understand that the words that you use affect other people more than you know. Let's pray, dear Lord. Thank you for this opportunity to be able to share. Pray, dear Lord. Thank you for this opportunity to be able to share. Lord, thank you for these easy things that we can do. Lord, stop excusing, to talk less, to listen more, to start building. Lord, help us to do these things. Help us to live out a life that is honoring to you. Lord, we're so grateful for this day in your name.

Speaker 1: 24:52

Amen, man, that's so true. Six and stones they do hurt, but words hurt, like that too, and so we need to watch our words and not be those that tear down but be those that build up, just as he challenges us to do. Great word, great challenge. I love that. You know. Our third voice today is someone who we've had great history and great ministry with, and she's someone who serves the Lord with her whole heart and all of her gifts and abilities. She's someone who's an ordained minister as well and has proven herself in all these different ways we had a chance to share in different ministry ways together, and today she leads our women's ministry here at Cornerstone, and that is Reverend Barb Burke.

Speaker 4: 25:37

And please welcome her to the stage she comes today. Good morning, good morning. Such great words already as we're looking through and going through Romans 3 from Josiah and Angie. Great encouragement today. And I want to just I'm so thankful to be up here to share and continue in this journey through Romans and in studying this.

Speaker 4: 26:09

There is a part that we're talking about the law. Just before let's take a look at Romans 3.20, which picks up right where Josiah left off, and in verse 3.20, it says therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. So we come to this pivotal place, right there is starting at verse 21, which is the very next verse. It says but now the righteousness of God. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed. There are some two powerful, powerful words, and they are. But now there's weight in those. There's a transition from judgment. In Romans 3.20. We move to justification in Romans 3.21 with the introduction of those two words.

Speaker 4: 27:10

But now I'm a word person Sorry, josiah. I love words. I probably say way too many words on a few occasions, not always, but I actually I love pulling apart words, seeing what they mean, seeing how we use them, how to apply them. There's great things in words when we just throw words out flippantly sometimes, but they're weighty. And so I actually looked up the definition of the word but and you probably are like really, and I'm like, yes, really, and we all know what it means. But listen to this definition.

Speaker 4: 27:52

It says it's used to introduce a phrase or clause contrasting with what has already been mentioned. It indicates a contrast between a present situation and something that occurred before. Have you ever had a but God moment in your life? I've had many, I've had many Something that seemed impossible, something you didn't see how to resolve it, how it could be repairable, how whatever needed to be reached can be reached. God intervened and all we can say is but God, but God. And see, we don't even have to finish that thought when we talk to each other and I come up and I share something and I say, but God, you know you get the weight of that, you understand.

Speaker 4: 28:46

So we encounter that same magnitude with these two words, but now in verse 21, because we find something that was impossible in the law becoming possible by the provision of Jesus. But now, right, there is a righteousness of God. Apart from the law being revealed, there is a change in what is now available to us, right, but God sent his son. See, we can't uphold God's law, not in our own strength, not in our own desire to serve him, or in our best attempts. We can't uphold the law, we're hopeless in being able to hold it up and therefore there's no hope of being found righteous if we can't uphold the law. But now we have the provision of a sacrifice in Jesus. Right, jesus provided the way to be justified, and this is really good news.

Speaker 4: 29:50

Right, the law can't save us, see. The law only serves to remind us and make us aware of our sin, of our need for an atonement, of our inability to fulfill the law on our own. The purpose of the law is to convict us of that need that we have. The law isn't disregarded, though, altogether and done away with. If there were no law, there would be no need for an atoning sacrifice, right, and if there was no need for an atoning sacrifice, there's no need for Jesus to pay with his precious blood upon the cross for us. And if there's no need for Jesus to pay with his precious blood upon the cross for us, and if there's no need for the blood of Jesus, then everything he did was in vain and unnecessary. And we know that is not true, right? So let's take a closer look at the following verses. In verse 23 through 26. And it says this For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption, that is, in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed. To demonstrate at the present time his righteousness that we might be just, that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Speaker 4: 31:26

Now there's a lot of things being spoke of here, and Paul uses three words or images that I just want to kind of quickly run through here. One of them, the first one he uses the term justification. No, I'm not going to define it, but justification comes. It's an image from the court of law, coming from the law field. I heard that all the time, among so many other words, it's conjuring up being in a court of law. A court looks to see if we're justified in our actions, correct.

Speaker 4: 32:04

So how do we stand righteous if we can't even be found blameless through the law? How can a holy judge declare us not guilty? I know what I've done and I know I'm not blameless. I'm sure I'm not the only one in the room. Even if we think we've done a pretty good job of upholding the law, jesus drops a bomb on that perspective in Matthew 5 when he says it's not just the act, it's the very thought. It's not just the sin of committing murder that breaks the law. But when we hold hatred in our heart for somebody, we're guilty of breaking that law. So it's not just an action, it's a thought. So, even if we thought we could do a pretty good job in our actions of upholding the law, then enters our thought life Boy, that'll get you right. It's something that we can't do apart from God. So Paul says we can be found righteous right apart from God. So Paul says we can be found righteous right. He says we can be justified. So how can we be justified in the eyes of a God if we can't keep the law?

Speaker 4: 33:18

And that's where his second word comes in, and it's the word redemption. Okay, redemption is an image from the slave market. Redeemed means to be paid for, purchased, bought back or restored, rescued, liberated and set free. We have been bought with the price, and the price Jesus paid was what gained our freedom. Our redemption comes only through Jesus Christ. There's no other payment that can be made. There's no one else we can look to to satisfy and make payment on my tab, on your tab. Our redemption is possible through the grace of God, in allowing his son, jesus, to stand in our place of judgment and pay the penalty for our sin. He did it freely, he did it willingly.

Speaker 4: 34:13

Then we turn to Paul's third image, which is a grand and glorious word $50 word called propitiation. This is an image from the world of religion. So let's take a look at the definition of propitiation, because we might glean over that word. It's the act of gaining or regaining the favor or goodwill of someone or something. It's an appeasement. So when you see all these religions doing all kinds of craziness, trying to gain favor with their little g god, they're trying to appease a god right to have something happen in their life. So what appeasement was made to god on our behalf? Well, the blood of jesus that he freely shed was an act of love so great and so glorious that he would stand in our place as an appeasement, paying our sin bill in full. And only his blood is the acceptable sacrifice. See, jesus looked at me across the ages and he saw me and he said I've got your sin bill paid and covered. And he looked across the ages and he saw you and he said I've got your sin bill paid and covered. And he looked across the ages and he saw you and he said I've got your sin bill paid, it's covered.

Speaker 4: 35:38

All three of these images solves our problem. Justification solves the problem of man's guilt before a righteous judge. Redemption solves the problem of man's slavery to sin, the world and the devil. And the propitiation of Jesus' blood for our sin solves the problem of offending our Creator through our sin. God provided on every front for us to be reconciled to Him and be restored in right relationship to him, so that we can enjoy eternity with him. And it's through his sacrifice that he freely made that brings us to our but God moment. Right in the middle of something that seems totally impossible, we can declare but God laid down his life for me and offers the forgiveness we've heard about, offers the ability to change and become made new that we've heard about today, no matter what's happened previously in our lives, how many times we've transgressed the law, or even what we might have thought of this morning, today is a day you can have a but God moment, either through your very first time of bowing a knee and accepting the blood of Jesus as your Savior and payment of your sin, or in a struggle that you've been dealing with or something that you've been working in. We can all have a but God moment you've been working in. We can all have a but God moment right.

Speaker 4: 37:08

And in 1 Corinthians 6.20, it says this for you were bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's because we belong to him. He paid the price. He purchased us. He purchased us and we serve him, not out of just necessary obligation chain to him, but because his love is so great. How can we not but respond in the same? Or I can't even touch his greatness of love, but respond in love and want to serve him. The work was done for us, the bill was paid that we didn't deserve to have paid for us, and we're made right in the eyes of God, despite our transgressions of the law, so we are reconciled to him.

Speaker 4: 38:01

And the remaining verses in Romans 3 talk about being able to boast in the Lord. Well, we've talked about how, if it's all done by Jesus, there's nothing I can do to say look how good I am, look what I've been able to do, look at my walk, walk like me. You know it's all by the grace of God. So the only boast I can make is but God. But God intervened in my life. But God is changing me day by day, tomorrow hopefully better than today, and that's my goal, that's my desire is to grow more and more each day. And so today, look at your moments and see. What do you need to grab hold of today to make your but now moment and be able to walk out of here and say but God, thank you.

Speaker 1: 39:06

Praise the Lord. What a positive, encouraging thing to do is for us to think about those moments, how God is the one that paid the price for us. He's the one that paid the price for us, he's the one that made the sacrifice so that we can have that connection to the Father. Amen. These voices today, such an encouragement, such a challenge, each one of them. Angie's sharing her story about how she's no longer her past but now she's a future in God, because she's embraced the challenge that God has set for us. God is faithful. God is true. We should be too. At the same time, josiah was bringing it to us that we should watch our words, because our words hurt like sticks and stones, and so we shouldn't be those that tear down, but we should be those that build up and are intentional with our words, seeing the weight of them, and give glory to God by how we're living for them. At the same time, barr brings this challenge to us, understanding that we can't earn it, we can't do enough good works, we can't make our way into the presence of God. It is only through Jesus, it's only through his sacrifice for us. We know the wreck that we are without him, but God made a difference, but God paid the price. But God became the sacrifice for me and for you, friends. This is exactly what we're talking about, because we have a God who loves us so very much. Today we have this opportunity to respond to him and to the love that God has for us, each and every one of us. We have this imagery of the cross and we have to answer that question have you embraced Jesus? The cross for us is one of transformation. It's a place of freedom. It was meant by the Romans as a symbol of death and intimidation. It was supposed to be so that they could see that this is what happens to you if you disagree with us. But instead Jesus, he came and he lived a sinless life and he took the weight, the sin of the world upon himself. He took your mistakes, your sin, your ugliness, your bitterness, your brokenness and mine, and he took it and paid for it once and for all upon the cross. And because he did, it became the sacrifice that we needed so that we could be made in right standing, as Barb just shared with the holy God. And it's because of Jesus' work on the cross for us, because of his sacrifice for us, that we can be reconnected in that relationship with him, because he is a holy God and we are broken people. There was no way for us to make it to him, so he came to us. Friends, it says it like this, paul writing to the church at Rome. He says because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Speaker 1: 42:04

Friends, today is your day of salvation. It's your opportunity to say yes to Jesus. Maybe you're here and you've never, never invited Christ into your heart of life. Today is your opportunity to say yes, to say that's me, I want to invite Jesus into my heart of life. Or maybe you're here and you have made that decision in the past, but you've walked away from living that decision for God. Today's your opportunity to recommit your life back to Christ, just like you heard Angie, and all of us do saying I'm no longer my past. I want to be a new creation. I want to live for God, successfully, go after the things and the plans and the purposes he has for me. Friends, you too, have this opportunity today to embrace Jesus.

Speaker 1: 42:52

I'm going to ask if everyone would stand to their feet. Just bow your head right where you're at. If you're online, you prepare your heart for what God wants to do in you. Friends, we've been praying for you today that you would make a decision to follow Jesus. Today is your day of decision. If that's you, you just wanna invite Christ into your heart and life today, if you just raise your hand right where you're at, just say that's me, pastor, you're my. Just remember me in this prayer as we make this prayer today. Thank you, lord. Thank you, lord. People making decision to follow Jesus. Thank you, lord. Thank you, lord. People making a decision to follow Jesus. Thank you, lord. Friends online making a decision. Thank you, lord.

Speaker 1: 43:32

I'm gonna ask if everyone would, if they'd just pray this prayer together. Lord, thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending Jesus. I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe he rose again. Forgive me of my sins. I surrender my life to you In Christ's name. I pray Amen, amen. Friends, we rejoice with you making a decision to follow Jesus today. Praise the Lord.

Speaker 1: 44:11

Those that made a decision that wow, hey, we want to put some resources into your hands so you can be successful in living for Christ. If you would, after service today, if you just go over at our prayer banner, I want to give you some materials just to put into your hands, or, if you're online, that you would just message us so we can send you some things. We want you to live successfully for Jesus, for all of us. We have this opportunity here in this moment, to come to the altar during this song and just ask the Holy Spirit to pour himself out on us afresh and anew to live for him, to follow after the things of God, the things that he's challenging us to do. That's who we are as Christ followers. We're following after Jesus, so we need more of his power in our lives.

Speaker 1: 44:54

Lord, jesus, we thank you for these words, lord, we thank you for these voices that shared today. Lord, I pray that you would richly bless them, lord, for their obedience to come and to share that word with us today. Lord, we thank you for each one of these attributes and each one of these things. Lord, how we're called to be just. We're called to be truthful, lord, we're called to watch our words. Lord, we're called to embrace the sacrifice that you've made for us and have that transformational decision-making Lord in our lives. And so, lord, we ask for more of your power, more of your spirit, more of your anointing. Lord, as we come to your altar today, lord, we ask for an impartation of your precious, precious spirit. We pray this in the powerful name that is Jesus Christ. Amen.

Speaker 5: 45:33

Thank you for joining us today. We are immediately gonna have a reception, a farewell, just a time of fun and loves for the Stoffel family in the multi right after this. So if you have children, go grab them first and then we will meet you, family, in the multi right after this. So if you have children, go grab them first and then we will meet you there in the multi. And what a great job today from Barb, angie and Josiah. Thank you again for bringing the word of God to us. I want to encourage you as a church just to dive into the book of Romans. As we're going through it, take some time, even throughout the week, to begin to read the chapters. It is so full of amazing knowledge that we can't teach an entire chapter in one Sunday morning. But I encourage you to dive in and get some more.

Speaker 1: 46:15

Amen, and if also you want to make a decision to get baptized, it's coming up very soon, so I encourage you to sign up. Before we go, let's pray this blessing over us. Let's pray this blessing over us. The Lord bless you and keep you. Lord, make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. Lord, lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Lord, I pray a blessing upon your church, your people, lord, that you empower us by your spirit to live your love out to those around us. We pray all this in the powerful name that is Jesus Christ. Amen, amen. Know this we love you very much. You're a cornerstone. God bless you and have a great week.

Speaker 6: 47:02

Thank you so much for worshiping with us online. We do have life groups throughout the week. Be sure to check out our apps for that to see what is there and what you can get involved in, and also on the app you can find out upcoming events and things we have going on through the church. Be sure to come and get involved in what we're doing here Together connecting, growing and serving. That's really what we're about, and you know we'd love to see you next week, hopefully on campus, but we love you there online as well. Thanks.