Collierville First Baptist Church

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Take your Bible. Open it to Romans chapter 15. Romans chapter 15. I'm going to use those verses. Verses 12 and 13 as a jumping off place. I'll be going all over the Bible. So keep your fingers nimble. Romans chapter 15. Look at verse 12 again. Isaiah says, there shall come the root of Jesse, and he who arises to rule over the Gentiles.

00;00;31;21 - 00;01;08;05
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In him. In him shall the Gentiles hope. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. That's my prayer for you. That's my prayer for you and your family this Christmas season. That you and your family will be filled with joy and peace in believing that you would abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit of God.

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Now let's talk today about the gift of hope. I'm beginning a series, a Christmas series entitled Experiencing the Gifts of Christmas. The first gift that we're going to look at today, the first gift of Christmas, is the gift of hope. We're in a season marked by frenzied activity, as just about every Christmas is, but we have an opportunity to set aside time to face, to place our focus on the story of God's redeeming love for our fallen and broken world.

00;01;50;27 - 00;02;17;17
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Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you may be here and you're not a Christian, and I want you to know I'm glad you're here. I hope and pray that you feel a warm welcome from this body of Christ. And I hope and pray that you'll come back. And whether you're not a believer, whether you're a believer, but you're you're not really growing spiritually or whether you're on fire for Jesus.

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I want to invite you to be a part of this series, Experiencing the Gifts of Christmas with us here at C, A, B, C now we're celebrating the fact that God sent His Son to be with us. That's what the name Emmanuel means God with us. And we're also celebrating the fact that Jesus came to help us to understand some really important truths.

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Truths like these. There is one God. If there's only one God, one creator God that God cares about each and every person within the sound of my voice. And Jesus came. God sent His Son to save us from our sins. And Jesus can give us a future and a hope. So jump in here with me as we experience the gift of hope.

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Now, to begin with, I think it's important that we distinguish between secular hope and biblical hope. Secular hope is rather subjective. It does not factor in God's will or God's Word. We hope for things. We want that secular hope. I hope I get this job. I hope he'll ask me to marry him. That's what some young lady might be wishing today.

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I hope I don't get sick. I hope the economy improves. I hope I get that little boy. Think about a young man saying, I hope I get that drone for Christmas. That's secular hope. Now, secular hope contains some degree of uncertainty and even personal bias. Paul nailed this when he wrote these words to young Timothy. First Timothy chapter six, verse 17.

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Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited, or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Notice Paul wrote to Timothy, said, do not fix. Teach them not to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches. Biblical hope, on the other hand, it's based on God's will and God's Word.

00;04;54;14 - 00;05;25;18
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It is the confident expectation that God will keep his promises that God is faithful. This hope is an anchor of the soul, the writer of Hebrews said. He wrote in Hebrews chapter ten, verse 23, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. The idea of biblical hope and the faithfulness of God are wedded together.

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You cannot separate the two. Hebrews chapter 11, verse one. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hope. Biblical hope is rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Word of God that we open every time we gather together as a body of Christ. I love what Peter wrote in First Peter chapter one, verse three.

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He said, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a watch or to a living hope and a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Do you know what makes our hope, our Christian hope rock solid? It's the fact that 2000 years ago, God's Son, the Lord Jesus, went to the cross of Calvary, shed his blood, offered his body as a sacrifice for our sins, and he was buried in three days later, he was raised from the dead.

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And that is where our hope is is rooted in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Titus chapter one, verses one through two, Bible says Paul, a bond servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God in the knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness. Listen this in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ago.

00;07;13;04 - 00;07;37;20
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The hope of eternal life. Can I tell you that when Paul wrote those words, he was not saying, gee, I hope you know that you can go to heaven. That's not why you say, can I tell you this? And I'm not being arrogant at all when I say that. I know that if I were to drop dead in this pulpit before I hit the ground, I would be with Jesus in heaven.

00;07;37;23 - 00;08;07;27
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Do you know why I know that? It's not because I'm a preacher. It's not because my good works have outweighed my bad works. It's not because I'm religious. The reason I know that I would be in heaven with Jesus before I hit the floor, is because I have placed my faith and trust in Jesus. And Jesus promised me that if I believe in him, I'll have the gift of eternal life.

00;08;07;29 - 00;08;44;08
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That's hope. That's biblical hope. So biblical hope is much more than wishful thinking. Now that we've clearly distinguish between secular hope and biblical hope, let's dive into the genuine experience of the gift of hope that we have during this season of the year. Let me begin by making a statement, and I believe this hope changes everything. Have you ever seen a person who had lost hope?

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I mean, their chin drags to the floor. They don't have a spring in their step. They're depressed. They're discouraged. They've lost hope. But have you seen a person who has embraced biblical hope? The hope that we have through the Word of God and the Lord Jesus Christ himself. I'll tell you, there is a spring in their step. There's a there's a gleam in their eye because they have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, and they have the hope that comes only through him.

00;09;26;18 - 00;10;05;11
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Hope changes everything. It changes everything. Now, I want you to see that this biblical hope that we're talking about today, this gift of hope, is in three tenses past, present, and future. Let's look at hope in the past. Number one, have you ever wanted something so bad and yet you had to wait for it? What's the longest you've ever had to wait for something that you really wanted badly?

00;10;05;13 - 00;10;39;00
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For some of us, it may be three years. It could be even a lifetime. Even a lifetime. But I want you to know, for the Jewish people, they had to wait for hundreds of years to receive the promise of God. The promise of a messiah who would change their heart, who would change their lives, who would give them a hope and a future.

00;10;39;02 - 00;11;12;08
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The Old Testament is filled with prophecies that speak of the arrival of the Messiah. And Isaiah chapter seven, verse 14, the Bible said, therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin will be with child, and will bear a son, and she will call his name Emmanuel. Isaiah nine six and seven. Joshua read it a minute ago.

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For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of his government or peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore.

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The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. Now, can you imagine receiving a promise like that and having to wait over 700 years for it to be fulfilled? 700 years? That makes the level of our waiting look minuscule in comparison, does it not? Now, these marvelous promises of Messiah's coming must have thrilled the Jewish people. However, they had to wait.

00;12;14;06 - 00;12;42;22
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Let me ask you, did God keep his word? Yes. Absolutely. 100% yes. Was the weight worth it? I'll tell you, it was worth it for those who were prepared for it. Unfortunately, when Jesus came after hundreds of years, there were a lot of Jewish people who were not ready for it. They weren't prepared for it. Maybe they had given up hope.

00;12;42;25 - 00;13;15;22
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But they missed out on Christmas. They missed out on all the blessings of God coming to bring us hope. So as we look back on hope in the past, we can gain a confidence and absolute confidence here today. In 2024, we can gain confidence that God is faithful. He's faithful. I tell you what, if he would keep his promises to the Jewish people?

00;13;15;25 - 00;13;50;00
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He'll keep his promise to us. He's faithful. His track record is unblemished. You can trust God. I'll tell you on the authority of God's word. Hope changes everything. It changes everything. All right. We've seen hope in the past. Now, I want you to get a grasp of the significance of hope in the present. The present tense. Fast forward 700 years from the time of Isaiah.

00;13;50;03 - 00;14;22;26
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Hear the word of the Lord in Luke chapter one, verses 26 to 38. Now, in the six month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in he said to her, greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you.

00;14;22;28 - 00;14;51;05
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But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary. And I'm sure Mary most the thought that's easy for you to say, Gabriel. Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.

00;14;51;08 - 00;15;25;15
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And he will be great, and will be called the son of the most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end. Mary said to the angel, how can this be, since I am a virgin? The angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

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And for that reason the holy child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age. And she who is called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God. I tell you, that was true 2000 years ago. It's still true today.

00;15;53;04 - 00;16;36;13
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And Mary said, behold the bond slave of the Lord may be done to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her. So God chose an insignificant place. Nazareth. And a young Jewish virgin from an ordinary family for a blessing that had enormous implications. Mary knew what the prophets had written, in all likelihood, and she she knew that God had put out the word that he was about to send a larger than life king who would one day rule the world.

00;16;36;15 - 00;17;21;19
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Little did she know that she would give birth to that king, the incarnated son of the living God. Thankfully, Mary responded in faith and held fast to the hope of the promise of Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus has come. He came 2000 years ago. We're not waiting any longer. We look back 2000 years and we know that God sent His Son, and he's made a way for us to be reconciled with God.

00;17;21;22 - 00;17;45;03
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He's made a way for us to be forgiven of all of our sins, every single one of them. You. Maybe you're here today. Say, pastor, there's no way God can forgive me. Pastor, you don't have any clue. All the mess that I've done in my life. I made mom my life an absolute mess. And I tell you, on the authority of God's word.

00;17;45;06 - 00;18;08;22
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Because God sent his son 2000 years ago. Not only you can you be reconciled to God. But I tell you, God will forgive all of your sins. And just as Joshua read earlier in the service out of Psalm 103, he will take all of your sins and separate them from you. As far as the east is from the west.

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Because Jesus came. You can have a fresh, robust life. You can make a kingdom difference here and now, and you can know with certainty that you'll go to heaven when you die, and you will experience untold blessings of the presence of God. Our present hope in Jesus, unfortunately, does not stop the storms of life. But like an anchor holds a ship steady against the wind and the waves.

00;18;45;28 - 00;19;18;08
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I tell you. Biblical hope. Hope in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word can keep you steady and strong and sturdy in the midst of the storms of life. This past week I went to Darlene. I went to Tuscumbia, Alabama, and I preached the funeral of my first cousin, Suzanne Warner. We sort of grew up together, and they lived in Alabama.

00;19;18;11 - 00;19;53;20
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We lived in northeast Mississippi, and Pam and I just used to we couldn't wait for them to come home for Christmas, and we all get together with our cousins. So much fun. But this week, her family stood before a freshly dug grave. And we had a funeral. I preached that funeral and I preached a message. I never preached in a funeral before.

00;19;53;23 - 00;20;34;08
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Everything I said in that funeral, from beginning to end, was based on the promises of God. I got into the message, the promises of God. And when? When the end of the service is over. I could say with absolute certainty. God always keeps his promises. He always keeps his promises. I tell you, hope. Genuine, authentic, biblical hope rooted in Christ and His Word makes a difference like nothing else.

00;20;34;11 - 00;21;12;28
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Memphis is a city in crisis. We have the highest infant mortality rate in the country. 60% of babies born in Memphis and Shelby County are born to single women. 80% of children living in poverty in Memphis live with single moms. 80% of abortions in our city are to single moms. We have a a ministry here in Memphis led by Miss Barbara Lowery, called One by One Ministry.

00;21;13;01 - 00;21;55;03
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It exists to bring genuine hope. Biblical hope to those who desperately need it. Their message to the young pregnant ladies is this choose life and we will help you. They have been inundated recently by referrals by young single women who are pregnant who are looking for something beside abortion. Abortion. And they don't have enough mentors for these young ladies.

00;21;55;05 - 00;22;24;11
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Now, if we really believe what I'm preaching today, if we really believe that hope changes everything. If we really believe in that past hope and this present, how can we not share it with people like these young single ladies who are looking for something that they can build their lives on? You may be here today and you're a believer and you say, well, pastor, how can I help?

00;22;24;18 - 00;22;48;28
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Well, you can be a mentor if you can give one hour per month, one hour per month. You can be a mentor to one of these young single ladies, and you can show them that there is hope in the Lord Jesus Christ and in His Word. I tell you, hope changes everything.

00;22;49;01 - 00;23;27;07
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We've seen hope in the past. Hope in the present. But I want to ask you a question. Is there really any hope for the future? Sometimes you look around at this world that we're living in today. We see violence totally out of control. We see lawlessness everywhere. And we wonder, can there really be hope for the future? I would remind you that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and what?

00;23;27;09 - 00;24;01;17
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Forever. Forever. You can rest assured there is number three. Hope for the future. This is a season when the Christian church celebrates the coming of Christ at his birth, and also anticipates the coming of Christ at the end of the age. Paul captured the essence of advent when he wrote these words to Titus. Titus chapter two, verses 11 to 14.

00;24;01;20 - 00;24;42;25
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For the grace of God has appeared to bring salvation to all men. Instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires, and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age. Looking for the. Look at this verse 13. Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good deeds.

00;24;42;27 - 00;25;10;22
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Notice verse 13 again looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. I tell you, on the authority of God's Word, Jesus is coming again. Is this world has not seen the last of Jesus. He is coming again. And I believe, personally, I believe that is coming is near.

00;25;10;24 - 00;25;56;07
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I can't give you a date. Nobody can give you a date if they try to give you a date. Don't buy the book. Because they have no way of knowing when Jesus is coming. Here's the thing. If the people in the first century, 2000 years ago, if they had prepared themselves, if they had studied the word of God, study biblical prophecy leading up to that time, Isaiah and the great Zechariah, Micah, the great prophets of the Old Testament, if they had studied those prophets, they would have been prepared for the coming of Messiah.

00;25;56;09 - 00;26;18;26
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But they weren't. In fact, when Jesus was born in the stable in Bethlehem. There was not a huge crowd, of the well-to-do, well-heeled Jewish people gathered around to worship him.

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And a bunch of shepherds. They were looked upon as lowlifes in, in in Israel.

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Wise men from the East. Gentiles came to worship him.

00;26;40;06 - 00;27;09;12
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But so many people were not prepared for his coming. When Jesus comes. Listen to me very carefully. When Jesus comes, I'm not talking about first coming. I'm talking about his second coming. When he comes, he's going to create new heavens and a new earth. When he comes, there will be no more death, no more crying, no more sickness, no more sin, no more grieving, no more pain.

00;27;09;14 - 00;27;41;11
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He's going to create, newness. And, a life that you could only dream, think or imagine. We need to prepare ourselves for our Lord's second coming. Like Joseph and Mary prepared for his first coming. I love what Admiral William McRaven writes about what he learned during Navy Seal training that has helped him and could help anyone live a better life.

00;27;41;14 - 00;28;15;26
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He said this about hope. He said Hope is the most powerful force in the universe. With hope, you can inspire nations to greatness. With hope, you can raise up the downtrodden. With hope you can ease the pain of unbearable loss. Sometimes all it takes is one person to make a difference. We will all find ourselves neck, neck deep in mud.

00;28;15;27 - 00;28;58;01
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Someday that is the time to sing loudly, smile broadly and to lift up those around you and to give them hope that tomorrow will be a better day. I tell you, hope changes everything. Are you feeling the effects of a devastating storm in your life this morning? Maybe recently you stood before a freshly dug grave. And you, you saw your loved one go down into that grave and you came back later when the grave was prepared.

00;28;58;04 - 00;29;32;03
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And you realized that that loved one would never be with you in your home again. And you walked away sad and grieving, and you should. But you shouldn't lose hope. Or maybe you're feeling the effects of a prodigal child who's walked away from God, and you never dreamed in a thousand years they would do that and they've hurt you deeply.

00;29;32;05 - 00;30;14;17
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Or maybe you're feeling the devastating effects of someone who will not forgive you. And it hurts. Is there any hope? Yes, there is hope. There's hope in Christ. There's hope in the word of the Lord Jesus Christ. And today you got a choice to make. Your choice is simply this. Either you're going to go on in your sadness and your brokenness and your hurt and your pain and your hopelessness.

00;30;14;17 - 00;30;40;27
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Or are you going to decide today that I'm going to do what so many in the past have done, what so many in this world have done? I'm going to trust the Lord. I'm going to trust the Lord. I'm going to trust his word. And I'm going to move forward in faith, knowing that hope changes everything. It changes everything.

00;30;41;00 - 00;31;04;28
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I'm going to invite you in just a moment to leave your seat. Come to the altar. Bow before the Lord and ask him to give you victory, and to give you hope in the place of the hopelessness that you're experiencing at this moment. Come to the altar. Don't walk out of here defeated. Don't walk out of here. Hopeless.

00;31;05;01 - 00;31;29;08
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Walk out of here with a spring in your step. Knowing that it may be tough for a while. But you're going to make it. You're going to make it. Because Jesus said you're going to make it. Because he made some promises to you that he will keep. You can go to the bank with it. He's going to keep his promises.

00;31;29;10 - 00;32;00;06
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Promises like this I will never leave you nor forsake you. Promises like this that he will meet every need in your life, according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. You'll keep those promises. You can bank on it. So come to this altar. Humble yourself before him and ask him to help you to overflow with hope. This morning.

00;32;00;08 - 00;32;08;27
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Number two, you may be here today. And you're not a believer.

00;32;09;00 - 00;32;37;03
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You're not a believer. And you've sort of banked on the fact that your hope is in the things of this world, on the amount of money you have on on the kind of car you drive on, the kind of home you live in. On the career you have. I tell you, it is all temporal. It's temporal. It's here.

00;32;37;04 - 00;33;03;17
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One moment it's gone. The next. And I want to invite you today to make the most important decision you'll ever make in your life. You see, God loved you. The Bible said, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God did that for you.

00;33;03;19 - 00;33;34;15
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God sent his son so that your sins could be forgiven, and you could have new life in Christ. You say, can I get it somewhere else, pastor? No. Nowhere else. Only in Jesus. You won't find it in religion. You won't find it in trying to make sure your good works out well, your bad works because they never will.

00;33;34;18 - 00;33;55;27
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You only find it in Christ. So I invite you in just a moment. In fact, right now, I'm going to ask our staff to come, our worship team to come in just a moment. I want to invite you to leave your seat. Come to one of our staff members and just tell them today. I want to believe in Jesus.

00;33;56;00 - 00;34;26;05
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I want this hope, this genuine biblical hope that the pastors talked about today. I want to know that if I die, I'll go to heaven. I want to know that God will forgive my sins and change my life. Come, give your heart to Jesus today. Maybe you're here. You're looking for a church home. I tell you, every believer needs a church home.

00;34;26;07 - 00;34;56;08
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If you feel like the Holy Spirit's leading you here, come to one of our staff members and tell me you'd like to make this your church home. Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank you so much for the gift of hope. I thank you, father, that it's your will. That we are. We are filled with joy and peace in believing that we abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

00;34;56;11 - 00;35;09;28
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And I pray. Heavenly father, that the Spirit of God would inject hope into our lives, our hearts today. In Jesus name. Amen. Let's stand at worship and you come as God leads us.