All right. Um, so we're a third of the way through November. Can you believe it? Like, it's just, it's there. I know we were saying, uh, upfront here, like, we're this close to Thanksgiving where we will gather around tables, uh, maybe not as large as this table. Um, unless you live in a castle in Narnia or Winter Fell or Hogwarts. Uh, uh, but, but, but like I told our team, I said, so I think it'd be cool if we had a big old table that would anchor us for this series. And man, did they give it to us. Uh, and, uh, yeah, baby. And wait, wait till you see why this matters. The sites wait till you see what this is about. At the end of the day, you want to, you wanna be a part of this, okay? So, um, yeah, so Thanksgiving, right? And then after Thanksgiving, Christmas, hello, fast coming, like, and we're all gonna be around tables, and somebody's gonna make the joke about Uncle Louis and Aunt Bethany, and somebody's gonna look at someone in the family and ask you to give altogether. Now the blasting, okay? So if you don't know that movie, you get to go, you get to go look that one up. But for three weeks, we're gonna talk about blessing. We're gonna talk about what it means to be a blessing, what it means to share a blessing, what it means to receive a blessing. And I just can't think of a more timely thing for us to talk about. So we're gonna pray. We've already prayed in our services. For some of you, this is a new thing. You're learning how to pray. You're these, these, uh, these last eight weeks have been so, uh, important to you. I just thank you so much for the stories and everything that you're sharing. We've been learning how to pray. Some of you are not quite ready for all sorts of reasons. It's like, whew, I don't know if I can, well, let me pray for us. I'm gonna ask God to do something mighty in our midst, and I believe he will. If the previous services are any indication, I believe he's going to do something mighty. So, would you now hear online Fenton Grants Trail, mid Rivers? Uh, would you, would you pray with me? Blessed of you, oh Lord, king of the universe. You are the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. You have showered us with blessings. You are close. You hear our cries, our hopes, our longings, our dreams, our fears. God, you are so good, and you are so able to, to hear all of our prayers, and we're grateful. I'm asking now that you would do something in our midst, that your spirit would move in a mighty way, protect us from the traps of the evil one, lead us in a different way, lead us on a different path. I know that there are many here who believe with me, Jesus, that you are king. And we want your kingdom to come on this earth to be shaped on this earth as it is in heaven. We wanna be a part of that. So we're asking now for your presence, your guidance, your help. Lord, we're asking for you now to lead us and to join us in this moment. It's in the name of Jesus that I pray. All of these things, amen. Okay, so the first thing, what's a blessing? Like everybody, like the word gets so used. I don't even think we know what it means anymore. You know what I'm saying? It's like somebody sneezes, oh, God bless you. Like, where did that come from? Well, it's just, it's kind of, now we think it's polite, but probably more of a superstition way back when. But it's like you'd feel kind of bad if you, oh, God bless you. Sometimes somebody will just come up and say, you know, pastor, we are so blessed. We're just blessed in so many different ways. Or, or, I, this is maybe like my favorite, maybe not favorite, but here's the creepy Christian version. It's when somebody says, oh, bless his heart. Bless him. Just bless him. And what they're really saying is, he doesn't have a clue. Oh, bless him. Lord, bless him. But what does blessing mean? If we go to the dictionary blessing here, here's a dictionary, uh, answer for you, the act of words of one that blesses, okay, that doesn't help me at all. Um, second one's getting us there. It's a thing that contributes to one's happiness or welfare. Ooh, I like that word, welfare. So it's something that helps someone's welfare. It's someone that helps their life. It's someone that helps them to, to get along in life. It, I'm blessing them. Okay? I get that. And then there is this idea that it can be a, it's, it's, it's a way to like, to praise, to celebrate. Biblically, this happens. We bless God. What does that mean? It means we worship him. Bless the Lord, oh, my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. So we bless God. But I want you to understand in the scriptures, it's God who takes the lead on the blessing. It's God who blesses first. I mean, in the first chapter of the first book of the Bible, we're talking Genesis one, we read, God blesses, he creates, and then he blesses. He creates the foul of the air, the creatures of the sea. And then he blesses them. Why? He wants life to flourish. He wants, he wants us to thrive. And then that verse that we talked about last week, uh, that informs so much of what we do around here, Genesis 1 27, and male and female, he created them. He, he created them in his image. That's 27, 28. Here's 28. God blesses them. I mean, God creates, and then God blesses, he wants life to flourish. By the time you get to Genesis 12, God says to a guy named Abraham, I'm gonna bless you. Same breath. You're gonna be a blessing. See, it's what God does. Now for Abraham, his legacy of blessing is from his like family tree. Messiah will be born and, and he'll bless the whole world. That's a whole story, right? Okay. So our legacy of blessing doesn't include Messiah being born in our family tree. But you and I have legacies of blessing. I wanna say to some of you who have been at this for a while, and some of you have just started, some of you who are considering what it means to follow Jesus. When you do things large and small, and you follow the nudge of God, and you're like, okay, I'm just gonna do that thing. I'm gonna bless. I'm gonna do good for someone. You have no idea, like all of the chain reactions that you are setting off. And I'll be honest with you, I don't think you'll be able to trace this side of eternity. I think part of what's gonna happen in eternity is God's gonna say, sit down. I want you to see how all of what you've been doing has echoed into eternity. What a cool thing. What a cool thing for those of us who, um, who have received his forgiveness. Okay? So for those of us who have turned to Jesus and said, we're not gonna rely on religion, it's just not religion. Later we're gonna talk about communion. Communion isn't what makes us right with God. It's when we turn to Jesus and accept His grace. For those of us who trust in Jesus, who feel the weight and the glory and the privilege of his presence in our lives, we've been called to bless others, to love others. Like those words are connected, aren't they? I mean, we can agree with that. It's, it's like if you bless someone, you love someone, they're, they're not that far apart. There's a pastor named Mark Buchanan, who years ago wrote about like this idea of love and, and, and what it means to love. And it was a, it was really a, uh, he would, he, they were asking kids like, how would you define love? And so, some of you might remember Rebecca, age eight, who said, when my grandmother got arthritis, she could not bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does this for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. Another author, author, rightly, notes, that's blessing. That is a blessing. That's what it means to bless someone. Now, Billy, just a little bit younger said, when someone loves you the way they say your name is different, you just know your name is safe in their mouth. Come on, that's rich. So this author then asks, whose toenails are you painting? Whose name is safe in your mouth? Now, the way I would say it is, who are you a blessing? Who are you loving in big and outrageous and small and almost hidden ways? Who are you doing good for? Paul says in one of his letters, as the opportunity shows up, do good for all people. Galatians six 10, do good for all people. Now start with the your family. Start with the family of God. But do good for all people who are, for whom? Are we doing good? Is it just that, like the, the, the people who are near the people who are familiar, the people who are easy for us to love? Because Jesus stretches this out to include difficult people. Oh, at one point in Luke and, and Matthew, he says, yeah, so love, love your enemies. And then he says this, bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. Come on, Jesus. This is where some of us, if we were going to be completely honest, this is where some of us write him off. This is where some of us say, oh, bless him. He's being unrealistic. You can't do that in this world. I don't know. That's my king. He knows what he's talking about. And, and he says that, that we are to, to, to, to, to do this for others. Pastor, you have done lost your mind. If you think I'm gonna paint the toenails of my enemies, that's fair. But let's ask it this way. Whose name is safe in your mouth these days? Are the people who don't look or think or act or vote like you? Is their name safe in your mouth? Gang, I want you to hear, I don't want, I don't, I don't wanna talk about politics this week. I just want us to admit what we said last week, which is we live in a polarized land. And if you recall last week, even though it made some of your heads sort of explode a little bit, there are people who love Jesus, who for various reasons that they will trace back to the Bible and to biblical concerns, who came to different conclusions about these candidates, which means today there are people who have different reactions to how it all turned out. So what are we gonna do with that? Well, if you were with us last week, I gave you a big old fat hint, remember? No, that's okay. I got it for you. Watch this. That's what we're gonna talk about next week. See, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm on record. I've already written about this. It's in a book after every election we commit to, to preaching out of Jeremiah 29. Because some of us are, are gonna feel great, and some of us are gonna feel like we're in exile and we're all gonna follow the same Jesus. It, it's just what we do every time. So you're like, oh, you're picking that. But no, we do it ahead of time, in fact, just so that I can, like, we just wanna make sure that that we're on record. Is it, is it's the one screen. Okay. Through the miracle of time travel, I wanna speak to next week's service. Okay? So first of all, when do you get a load of this little series we're gonna do in November? And how these stages and these, these rooms are gonna look different. They're gonna look so good. It's just gonna be a completely different feel. Looks good, doesn't it? Yeah. So, so here's the thing. Um, we may not know, even by the weekend who's won this thing. Now you're either nodding with me and going, we don't know, or you're laughing at me either way. 'cause you do know. But here's what I know. No matter what, here's what I know, the king is still on his throne. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And this is what we're gonna celebrate no matter settle down, Skippy, I'll take it from here. Um, there's a couple of things there that I want us to notice. And we, we just did it again. We, a bunch of us last weekend, in every service we affirmed the Jesus' King, not Caesar. We said that. We said that out loud. And could we just also say we celebrated it in worship? We sang it together. One of our favorite songs. That song was in the, in the planning, like three, four weeks ago. By the way, congratulations to our friend Lloyd Nicks for the Grammy nomination for that song. So he and I, he and I were going back and forth Friday morning right after the, the, the nominations came out. And I said, Lloyd, there's just so much we get to talk about, but I can't help. But just, I, I just, it makes me grin that our little old church was celebrating that song long before the world had it. And so, so it celebrates that Jesus is king, right? So Jesus is king. And that means, and we said last week, we're gonna vote on Tuesday, and no matter who wins on Wednesday, we're gonna get about the business of the kingdom. Well, here we are. So what does that look like? Well, let me say something. And I'm gonna use like, your side and loss, and one, and I really don't like those terms, but I'm trying to speak to some people real quickly. And some of you're gonna try to read subtext into that and go, oh, why does he say, oh, I think I know. Do it every four years. I promise you it sounds pretty much like this every four years. But let me just say a couple of things now. Um, if your side lost this past week, then you are disappointed and disillusioned and uh, genuinely concerned. And if this was your first election, you're really thrown. And you might be angry. And, and even, even like cynical, going, well, I don't even know that my vote matters. You might be frightened, you might be worried or sad 'cause things didn't go the way you wanted, the way you thought they should go, the way you prayed, they would go, now there are others in this room, and your side won. And you're going, dude, why'd you, why you, why are you, why are you talking that way? Well, first of all, we do every four years. And second of all, I think you can imagine if the script had flipped, like if, if you were the one that lost and, and the other side won, you would be experiencing some of those same emotions. You'd be sad, you'd be worried, you'd be angry. You'd be concerned. 'cause, 'cause that's the way you see things, right? This is what it's like when we care this much about something. And we said last week that there are people who love Jesus, who read his word, who trace their convictions back to his word, and who love this country who are coming to different conclusions. So that much we knew going into this, but I want to tell you, no matter who you are, or no matter how you voted, if there was a biblical conviction that you have and had, and it traces back to scripture, I mean, it's rooted in scripture. Stay involved. Get involved a past the election. If it mattered last week, then it matters This week. Get involved. Humbly follow Jesus deeper into the story. Now, if you are side one, that humility could take the form of remembering that there are people who love Jesus and read their Bible, who are in your family. They're at your place of work. They might be two rows in front of you right now who are struggling. In fact, if I was gonna tell you what it sort of looked like, as I've talked to people, it feels like, yeah, I know I've been invited to the table, but these days I'm like, am I alone? Where is everybody? And that's how they feel. And so your moment of humility and love is to come alongside them. Not to sit there and go, let me tell you why it's gonna be okay and why you were wrong. And I was right. It's not that. But in humility, you get to come alongside them and say things like, Hey, you know, I'm better when you're in my life. You know, I just wanna keep learning from you. I, I I, I know we don't agree on everything, but I, I just, can we keep walking together? 'cause I don't want this to be the thing that divides us. Now, if your side lost your humble act, it's risky is to allow somebody to come up next to you and to not assume that you know why they voted the way they voted or what their motivation was. 'cause it just might not be that, that thing that's running around in your head. And so now you have to allow them close. And the two of you can begin to like do life together again. See, here's the thing. Distance demonizes. And if we stay apart from each other, all we have are assumptions. And watch this, the world will fill in the gap with its narrative. What you and I need to do is to vow, Hey, I wanna learn from you. You can learn from me. Can we do this together? And when you get close, what happens is you get reminded, oh yeah, that's right. You have kids that are about my age. Oh yeah, that, oh, oh wow, we have a lot in common. Boy, do we not agree on this, but we have a lot in common. And by the spirit of God, one of the things that happens is you begin to remember that you stand in the shadow of the cross. And before you know it, you're both looking at the king. And now we're someplace now we're moving forward. I know some of you think I'm being naive about this. I want us to just say out loud that there is a way for us to do this that honors God and serves others that are made in the image of God Almighty. Remember when I said that the kingdom is the long play. It's the long play. Do you know what that means? That means the kingdom of God will still be advancing long after both of these candidates. And frankly, after both of these parties are long gone. It's Jesus. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And he shall reign forever and ever. That's the good news people. And I just want you to know we can cling to that no matter what our ballots look like. Listen, can you hear the emails? They're just starting to come in. I just, I just can't hardly wait. Uh, now we're ready for Jeremiah 29. Okay, here it is. Some of you, by the way, you have this verse memorized when I said last week we're gonna go to Jeremiah 29, you would, Ooh, I love that verse. He's going to verse 11. I know he's going to verse 11. I have that verse memorized. I have it on a coffee cup. I have it on a T-shirt. I've got a, I've got it tattooed on me. I've got a needle point of it in my house. I've got a needle point of my tattoo. And I dunno how this works. My point is, we all know this. First I want to give it to you from the, uh, the voice translation. I, I like the way the Hebrew is rendered here. So let me just, let me just give this to you for, I know the plans I have for you says, the eternal plans for peace, not evil, to give you a future and hope, never forget that. That's such a good promise. Oh, that's so good. But when you understand the context of it, it's even more. Jeremiah is writing this to people who are in exile. What does that mean? It means after years and years and years of horrific rebellion, idolatry, sin, the likes of which we're not gonna talk about here today, after many warnings from more than a few prophets, God said, that's it. I told you this was coming. And they are conquered by the big bully on the block that's Babylon in those days. And the nation is gutted and most of them are carried off to live in a land that is not theirs. They're living now in a different empire in Babylon. And Jeremiah writes to them words from God to encourage them. That's the context. So how about this for a question? Anybody here ever been someplace? You, you ever found yourself someplace where you just didn't want to be? You ever found yourself like someplace where it's like, man, this is not the land I thought I was gonna end up in. This is not where I thought, this is not what I planned. This is not what I, you ever been there? Now some of you are automatically going back to the political, and you could, it applies, but I'm not talking about that necessarily. I'll be honest with you. I was, I I've talked with people already this weekend. I think they, they, they don't hear the headlines that you and I hear because the headlines blaring in their lives way different, way more personal. And we're going through a grief storm right now. I miss her friend of mine just said, all the best word I can use is empty. My life feels empty. Now, some of you are facing a financial crisis and you're going, I don't know how we're gonna make it. Some of you are in the middle of a health crisis and you're like, I don't even know that I wanna return the doctor's phone call tomorrow. Some of you have this thing rumbling in your family, and you're like, how did this happen to us? How did we end up here? I can think of a variety of things. Mental health, crises, all of these things where we're going, I didn't want to be here. What does Jeremiah say to people who find themselves in a land that they never thought they would be? And the first thing he says to them is, this isn't going away tomorrow. If you read the verses just above 11, I mean, it's so rich, but he, I love it. I love that. I mean, I hate it when somebody says it to me when God says it to me. But I love the honesty. He says, this isn't going away tomorrow. You're gonna be here for a bit. Oh yeah, God hasn't forgotten you. God hasn't, uh, hasn't abandoned you. God is with you. God is for you. God isn't finished with you. He says all of these things. Of course, that beautiful verse that we just read. And then right after it, he says things like, and, and you will seek me and you'll find me. I got you. But you're gonna go through some stuff. Oh, and this very practical plant gardens. Eat the food from the gardens. Just do things that give life. You're in this for a bit. Now, get about the business of living. Do it. Know that I'm with you. Make families tell your future generations. I think part of what he's saying there is don't lose your distinctiveness. You are in a place that you don't want to be. I'm telling you, don't lose your flavor. Don't lose who I made you to be. Don't lose who I called you to be 'cause I'm not finished with you. And then these words, these are the words He says, pursue the peace and welfare of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to me the eternal for Babylon. Because if it has peace, you will live in peace. See, wherever you are, whatever it is that's going on, like in, in this context, pray for the people that are in charge. Can we say this? Every four years? Pray for our leaders. Pray that they hear God's voice, that they surround themselves with people who, who, who speak truth to them. Pray and then let, let's work together for what is the good of the city and the land and the people. Because if that happens here, then it blesses people. We wanna be a blessing. It doesn't mean that we agree with ev, it, it's we pray and we do this and we say this every four years, I am praying for the president elect. And I'm inviting you to do the same. Pray that God leads him. Pray that God blesses our land. This is biblical. This is what we do. And then, and then pursue peace. Like just pursue it. Be about it. Pray for shalom in the Hebrew. You know what shalom is? It's not just the absence of conflict. It's the putting back together of things. That sounds good, doesn't it? I mean, that's what we want, isn't it? See, in the middle of strong disagreements that can sometimes, because we care so much about this on both sides, it can bring tears to our eyes. It can bring lumps to our throats. It can bring a thump to our chest. How do you not see it the way I'm seeing it? Do you not see it as clearly as I do, even in those moments? Can we agree together that we will rally around the king? Let's listen to his voice and turn to his face today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. Can we do that together? Amen. Because I'm telling you, this is how we move forward. But now some of you're like, oh, that sounds so good, but what does that really look like, Greg? Because you say, well, we gotta, we gotta, we gotta, we gotta just be about the kingdom and we gotta follow the king. And that all sounds really good. I don't know what that looks like in practical terms. I'm gonna give you something. It's gonna come from scripture. I'm gonna give you a hint at the end of our little biblical quiz. So you're gonna get four questions. You're gonna work with some people around you to get the answers, okay? So the first thing you're gonna wanna do is to just say hello to some of the people around you right now, okay? And go, Hey, we're in this together. I'm gonna need some help. I'm not gonna act like I know it all. Okay? You ready? Y'all gotta help each other. Now. Here we go. Here we go, here we go. I want you to tell the people around you, which of these famous phrases is not in scripture. Here we go. Let's look at 'em together. I'm gonna invite some friends up. Yeah, you guys, come on up. Am I my brother's keeper? Where there's a will, there's a way. They were at their wits end. There's nothing new under the sun. Tell the people around you the one that doesn't come from scripture. Three of them do. You got it? All right, here's the answer. Where there's a will, there's a way. Okay, some of you got, all right, next one. Next one. The writing is on the wall. Can a leopard change its spots? Cleanliness is next to godliness. I am nothing but skin and bones. Go ahead. One of them did not come from scripture. Which one was it? You got it? Fenton. Mid Rivers. Grant Strai. You with me on this? Alright, let's look at it. Which one? Oh, Clinton. Oh yeah. Some of you got it. Some of you're shocked. Mom told you otherwise. Okay. Alright, next one, next one. God helps those who help themselves eat, drink, and be merry. How the mighty have fallen. It's like a drop in a bucket. Go ahead. Which one of those didn't come from scripture real quickly? Just one of them. The other three. Did You ready? This is the one that didn't come from scripture. Yeah. Okay. All right. Last one might be obvious, might be helpful. Let's see. Here we go. Which did not come from scripture. Uh, I escaped by the skin of my teeth. The apple of your eye put words in her mouth. Welcome aboard. Alright, go ahead. Tell each other, tell each other. You got it. You got it, you got it. Which one didn't come from scripture altogether? Now welcome aboard. Yes. Yes. Okay. I tried to make that one easier for you. Now, now you got one, right? Okay. Alright. So, so here's the thing. First of all, how many of you were surprised that the apple of your eye came from scripture? Did you know that? I mean, some of you're like, I I didn't know that. What does that even mean? It's an old phrase that means someone that you cherish. She's the apple of my eye. He's the apple of my eye. It's just a way of saying, man, I, I really love that person. Right? Okay, but welcome aboard. I mean, here's the thing. I do think that is a biblical thought. I really do. I I I do. And some of you're like, well, you mean that what Noah said when everybody's coming into the No, I don't mean that. No, but I think I can, I think I can make the case for this being a biblical principle. And here's how. So Robin and I are on a flight to somewhere, uh, uh, this is a few years ago. And, and we kind of have a routine, you know, uh, when we get on the plane and, you know, you're kind of like with everybody else, you're kind of trying to find your seat. And then you get there. And sure enough, I, I usually will sit by the window and just kind of get all comfortable. And she, you know, I'm not gonna give you all the details, but she usually likes to sit closer to the aisle. 'cause she gets up a little bit more than I do during a flight. So we'll just say that. And, uh, so I'm, you know, I'm, I'm like, I'm like sitting down and it's like, okay, all right. So I'm, I'm getting ready. I got my air puns in. I'm okay. What am I gonna listen to? What am I gonna watch? And I'm just kind of getting it all lined up and, you know, and the rest of the people are getting on and everybody's doing the shuffle, you know, down the aisle. And you, you do realize we're just so cranky when we get on a plane, right? And you try not to be, but you know, and everybody's, and then all of a sudden, this little guy, I keep saying he's six. Do you think that's about right? I think he was like six, just stops the proceedings and looks at us on our row, looks dead square at me in the eyes, and says, welcome aboard. Now you need to know He complete. It was like, I looked at Robin, like he looked up at his mom and smiled and she smiled at him, which makes me think maybe this is like a cute thing that he does every now and then. I don't know. All I can tell you is in that moment, I'm, I'm not kidding you, I felt like the Holy Spirit had just blown through my soul, man. I needed that. I looked at her and I said, the, he welcomed me aboard. I stopped caring about what I was listening to and which podcast and what I, I just stopped all of it and flipped open my notes on my phone and started writing things down. 'cause I didn't wanna forget it. And what I wrote down was, God, could I ever be that person that does something so shockingly different that it feels like the spirit just blew through somebody? Could I be the one who fills the air with soft words? Could I be the one who turns the volume down? Could I be the one who takes the lead on, on, on, on, like, just being nice? Could I be the one who welcomes people aboard? Gang, I need you to know that this is a part of what God has called us to those of who, of those who of us who trust him. In the middle of Romans chapter 12. It's a beautifully practical chapter. Paul says, these two words practice hu uh, hospitality practice, hospitality. And that word practice there transl, it can be translated, not just practice, but it can actually in other places it's translated, uh, as press on. Like when Paul says in another letter, I press on towards a goal. Same verb. So what does it mean? It means you gotta be intentional. It means it's gonna take some effort. It means it's your choice. You're gonna practice hospitality. Now why would God implore us to do that? Well, I can think of several reasons. One of them is like it or not, we're in this together. We are on the same flight. People. We're we're there. And I'll go you one further. And this really frustrates folks. We need each other. Like it's just we need each other there. Uh, Daniel Goldman years ago wrote about the medical benefits of relationship. He cited a study that had gone on for decades. They studied 37,000 people, unheard of a huge sample size. And what they found was that people who are socially isolated, these are people who do not have contact with other people. These are people who don't have someone, just one person that you can kind of share the stuff of life with the people who are socially isolated. What they found was it doubled their likelihood of significant illness and early death. You wanna know why God tells us to practice hospitality? Because he wants life to flourish. He wants us to, to be a blessing to others because this is what he's about. This, this is what we do. And some of you at that point are saying, well, okay, but I, I, uh, Greg, I've, I've got a good family and I got friends, I'm good. Right? Well, what if God was blessing you and then said, now you go be a blessing. What if God was saying one of the most powerful things you could do is to open up your relational world just a little bit to welcome some people that you don't know. I'm not saying that you welcome 'em into the inner circle. I'm just saying, can you welcome them in? Now, my own personal observation of as to why this matters is because I have seen, at least in my observation, that if you're unwelcoming on the edges of your relational world, it eventually gnaws its way into the inner relational world. Like my own observation has been that grumpy, grouchy, unwelcoming habits don't stay at the edge of our relationships. They eventually find their way in closer to home. You see, that's the first thing is we, we, we need to practice this. 'cause we don't ever wanna be those people. Second thing is God said, so God said, do this, do this. It's my way now it's your way. Welcome people. Even those who aren't familiar to you. So the reason I have these folks up here is because they practice hospitality. So I wanna, if you guys would, uh, would you introduce yourselves and then let's just talk for a minute, uh, a little bit about some things. Uh, go ahead David. Yeah, so my name's David. I get to be the Chesterfield youth pastor here at the Chesterfield campus. Of course. Yeah. My name is Anthony. My, I serve on a leadership team, oversee our corporate and community Partners. Yeah, My name's Emily Siba and I've helped with explorations in small groups. My name's Vince Flavin and I work primarily with facilities. Um, also with guest experience and the bookstore. Yeah. So thank you guys for being up here. We're gonna just barely Oh, look at that. Hello. We can go Very welcoming of you, by the way. Um, what's the first thing that comes to mind when I say hospitality? 'cause that, man, you can go a bunch of different directions. Anybody got a thought on that? Uh, the first thing I think of is connected to the story you just told about the boy. Hmm. He noticed you. Okay. There's just something about, um, paying attention and noticing people and um, and engaging them. Yeah, Yeah, yeah. Go ahead Vince. I'm sorry. I think of servanthood and just welcoming people. So I know there's some things you can't even fully share with us, but you, you, y'all welcome people like into, not for dinner, but to stay with you for periods of time. Is that right? Yeah. We, we seem to have people cycle through our home from time to time. Uh, some of 'em are people that we know or, and other people we don't know. And they've just come to us through a, uh, referral of some sort. And it, it can be challenging sometimes 'cause you don't know them, you know, it can be different ethnicities, different cultures. Usually, uh, it goes pretty well, but sometimes not so much. So hospitality is an adventure, you're saying? It is definitely an adventure. Okay. Okay. It is a ride. Okay. Alright. So, so let me just ask you guys to keep moving through this because you, you really do practice this. I see this in each of your lives. What are you learning? Like, what would you like? Give us some pro tips. You know, it's a risk when you put that hand out to shake. It's, it's hoping that there's trust and it doesn't always work out. And I think this hospitality is planting the seed. You, you may not see the harvest of what you're doing because uh, somebody else might get that. But it is being willing enough to say, you know what, I'm gonna step out here. It's gonna feel uncomfortable. It's gonna be a little fearful. Oh wow. And it might not go well. Yeah, but I'm still gonna do it anyway. So you're right. Back to the kingdom of God is the long play. We're not gonna see some of this like immediately. Maybe Emily, you were gonna say something? Well, hospitality is, it's just so much more than welcoming them into your space or your life. Like it's, for some of us, it's easy to have a comfortable space and come on in and that's just your personality. But it's more than that. I think it's just being real with people and being authentic because when you're authentic with someone, it's amazing what you get back out of them. So that's a risk too. Oh yeah. Being vulnerable is a risk. Would you say just a, a a a bit about what you and Todd have just experienced because you did a play, a pray like this group. Uh, talk to us a little bit about that. Uh, yeah, you encouraged everyone to be part of a pray like this group and late to the game, the church asked if we would host some young 20 somethings, 30 somethings in our home, because there's so many of you that are longing for community. And I looked at Todd and I was like, I don't know what we have to offer them 'cause we're old and we're new empty nesters and what? But we did it. Yeah. We said, sure. So, um, we had a group show up in the first week. They were very timid. And last Wednesday, our last group, they left at 9 45. And they're begging us to keep and bringing more people on and they just, I don't know. We have, I've learned so much from them and they have blessed me. So these blessings are flying in, in both directions. And apparently you do have things that you guys are offering them because they don't want the group to end. Right. So you guys are gonna stay in community with each other. But, uh, David, you were gonna say something? Yeah, I so kind of connected to what you're saying. This is a quote that I heard, I don't know who said this, but it's, um, um, people don't re remember what you did for them or what you said, but they remember how they felt. And so, uh, as being a receiving end of that, like, I've been in your home before and you absolutely make people feel welcome and feel comfortable and, um, are able to like, express themselves and stuff like that. And that's a big part of what hospitality Is. So let me ask you this, and we, we'll kind of wrap it with this, but I, I don't want people to think that hospitality is only coming to a table for a meal. We welcome people like even here, right? Anthony, you were talking about a handshake, but how do we like, give us a couple just thoughts of how do we welcome people here? It it doesn't have to be perfect, it's messy sometimes. Okay? Some people think everything has to be perfect. It doesn't have to be, you might say the wrong thing. You might act a little bit awkward and that's okay. I think God takes care of that part. Mm-Hmm. If your heart is right, God will take care of that part. Mm-Hmm Mm-Hmm mm-Hmm. I'd say just make time smile at somebody. Notice them. Yeah, yeah, Yeah. I would, go ahead David. Yeah, I, so we have a little boy that comes into our, our house plays with our sons. And that's honestly where we've seen it most often is through our just stage of life and a little boys in our room, uh, in our house and playing with our kids and all that. And what end ends up happening is we eventually they go, Hey, do you guys go to church somewhere? Or whatever. And you know, so we have a whole family now that's been coming partly just 'cause of the relationship we built outside and just in our neighborhood. Yeah. So I I I'm gonna just say this and then I'm gonna let you guys off the hook. Uh, we talked in a couple of these services about, uh, particular groups of people like singles and, and, uh, your whole group, right? And so, or a bunch of it. And so it's like, if you're a single out there, I I, you know, you've told me it's like, man, this just feels weird. Me coming and I don't have a wingman and I'm on my own. You know, this is a loving way that we can welcome people. There's a pastor who was going someplace in Australia and, and, and, uh, heard him talking about like, uh, he was speaking and he was all by himself. And this couple comes up and says, could we sit with you like during worship? 'cause we don't want you to be, you know, alone. And he was like, yeah, that'd be great. And then they sat on both sides of him, you're not gonna be alone, we got you. And he was like, it was the most moving wonderful thing. Whoa. Wait. So, so I just, I'm gonna let them off the hook real quickly as we wrap this up. Now, what would keep you from doing this? Like what's the big risk? Go ahead. Just talk to each other briefly, just for a second. I'm gonna let these guys off the hook and then invite you to something. All right? All right. I, I just, we, we, I, I'm so excited to get to the end of the service. I just can't wait. I'm so glad that you're not gonna miss this. So here it is. Here it is. What keeps us from taking these steps? We're afraid there's, there's risk rejection. Hello. Yes. Anything else? Yeah, recognizing the opportunity. Oh, so recognizing the opportunity. See, when Paul says in Galatians, as much as you have an opportunity, do good for people, you gotta recognize it. Here's, here's, here's one for you. We've said it before. You ready? Put your phone down. Oh, Greg, no, seriously, you do understand it's now been fully like, studied. Your phone gives you what's called an absent presence. You have the capacity to be present, but not really. It's an absent presence. If you, if you are holding onto your phone, research shows that you are less likely to smile at someone. What? Now? I'm not inviting us here at the end to go, okay, everybody, put your phone away and let's just make eye contact and creep people out. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying we're not gonna notice the opportunity if we're not noticing. So let, it's that. And when it comes to the risk, could I just give you this real quickly? Uh, Anthony said it, we're not gonna always get these words right. Can we just burn a lot of grace with each other? We stand in the shadow of the cross. How about this? Uh, um, true words are good, true words, leavened with humility are better. True words, leavened with humility and sprinkled with grace are best of all, let's try that. And then lastly, we made this comment, uh, in the spring when Tim was doing a series on belonging. And, and we, we, we, uh, we, we said this in one of the weekends. When we say hospitality, it isn't a tea party. Please don't think cucumber sandwiches. It doesn't have to be that. I mean, to be honest with you, uh, there's a just a great quote. I just wanna read it to you. Uh, and then our, our musicians can, can come up. Uh, don't let pride stop you from opening your home. Ignore the cat hair on the couch or in the mac and cheese. It likely won't kill anyone. As decisively as loneliness will add as much water to the pot to stretch the soup. If you run out of food, make pancakes and put the kids in charge of making that meal. See how much fun that is? You see here, here is your last biblical mandate. Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God. So here's the question. How did Christ welcome you with grace and with love? He didn't say, well, let's see if you earn it. Let's see if this is gonna work out. Open armed. You remember the phrase that some of us were surprised to find in scripture? The apple of your eye. Do you know where that comes from? So it means that you're cherished, but do you know what it means? I said it was in, in that psalm in the Hebrew. It, it literally translates the little man in the pupil of your eye or the little woman in the pupil of your eye. Do you know what that means? It means you were so close to someone that you can see your own reflection in the pupil of their eye. You with me? It means you are so close to someone that you begin to realize, whoa, they're paying attention to me. They have got me. They are, they're watching over me. David is in a real jam Again, he feels overwhelmed and outnumbered and he's begging, God, please come through for me please. And then he says in verse eight, please, please, please keep me the apple of your eye. God, watch over me so close that I'm one of your cherished ones. Now if you read the rest of it, he gets it. He understands that by the time you get to the end, he realizes, God, you will take me through to the end of my days and beyond. But this is what it means. And I just want you to know you are the apple of his eye. It's why you've been invited to the king's table. You see, at the end of the end of the end, we get a glimpse of what this is going to be like. You see it in Isaiah, you see it in Matthew, you see it in Revelation. It is a grand feast that is full of blessing flying all over the place. It's a gathering of the followers of the king. It's a gathering of every tribe, tongue, and nation through all time, through all cultures, through all opinions of the day. What we have in common is the king. It's Jesus. And when we come to that table, it's, it's more than we can describe. Now, the writers can barely describe it, but we, it's what we see is just a glimpse. But gang, we get to give each other a glimpse of this kingdom. Now, I want you to hear as we leave, this is not biblical hospitality is not a string of potluck dinners fueled by guilt and obligation. It's not. It's the taste of something more. It's the taste of what we long for. It's the taste of what this world aches for and cannot and will not find without the cross. It is a taste of what is to come. And we are the people who get to enjoy it. We get to remember it and we get to celebrate it with each other. Sometimes it is around tables, large and small. Sometimes the way that you and I pursue peace and, and do this and do good and bless others, sometimes it's a text. Man, I was just thinking about you. Sometimes it's a, Hey, I, I, I, I, I I miss you. Sometimes it really is. Hey, I'm better when we do this together. Sometimes it's just a could. I sit with you in a variety of ways. We make space in our lives and God shows up and his power flows and the Spirit does what only the spirit can do. And that's the kingdom of God advancing. That's what we want. That's what we're a part of. Gang I want you to know something. Now, in each of our rooms, we are inviting you to the table. Like in each of our rooms there are tables. Some are in the front, some are in the back. Your pastors want to bless you in just a second. There's gonna be a song I would encourage, while you're taking communion, listen to these words. Some of them will sound familiar. I want you to be reminded that you are the beloved. So what we're gonna do now, and I understand at each of our sites in the risers, you're gonna have a chance to take the elements there. And some of you, this is gonna be your moment to, to go, man, this place is too intense. I gotta get outta here. But for many of you, this is gonna be a chance to remember that you belong to Jesus or you could. And so we will take the bread and the cup to remind us of the body and blood of the king who died for us. Who says, I'm not finished with you yet. So here's what I'm asking. Would you join us like pastors? I'm gonna ask now if you would to just come and, and like, would y'all like go around the table and, and just, just 'cause what we're gonna do here and what you're gonna do at your sites. It's gonna be like this Holy mess. I want y'all to come up in a previous service. I saw some people hanging out right here. They had taken their elements of communion and then they just got to know each other. I'm asking you not to leave the table. If I'm gonna be really like just, this is what I'm wanting. I want to, I, I want, and I know our pastors want to bless you. I wanna move throughout this mess and just remind you that you are the beloved. What if we did this together? What if God called us to something? What if he was up to something that, that the world won't be able to explain? You see, that's the kingdom of God. So now Mike, I'm just gonna ask, would you guys just start and let's just start that song, sing over it and and I'm gonna invite you. Now come to each of our tables, y'all that are here. Come on. Those of you in the risers, we've got room for you. Let's go. Let's remember this Jesus. And let's remind each other that we are the beloved. Will you join me?