WEBVTT 00:00.824 --> 00:06.790 [SPEAKER_00]: Though everyone, my name is Summer, I'm going to be reading from John 15, 5 through 13. 00:08.412 --> 00:10.294 [SPEAKER_00]: I am the vine, you are the branches. 00:10.915 --> 00:16.441 [SPEAKER_00]: The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. 00:17.622 --> 00:21.627 [SPEAKER_00]: If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. 00:22.447 --> 00:23.729 [SPEAKER_00]: They gather them. 00:23.749 --> 00:24.790 [SPEAKER_00]: They gather them. 00:25.124 --> 00:26.827 [SPEAKER_00]: throw them into the fire and they are burned. 00:27.588 --> 00:32.635 [SPEAKER_00]: If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. 00:34.478 --> 00:38.844 [SPEAKER_00]: My father is glorified by this that you produce much fruit and proved to be my disciples. 00:41.628 --> 00:43.792 [SPEAKER_00]: As the father is left me, I've also loved you. 00:43.812 --> 00:45.614 [SPEAKER_00]: Remain in my love. 00:46.075 --> 00:48.138 [SPEAKER_00]: If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love. 00:48.759 --> 00:52.144 [SPEAKER_00]: Just as I've kept my father's commands and remain in his love. 00:53.322 --> 00:57.311 [SPEAKER_00]: I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. 00:57.893 --> 00:58.855 [SPEAKER_00]: This is my command. 00:59.757 --> 01:01.321 [SPEAKER_00]: Love one another as I've loved you. 01:01.361 --> 01:04.989 [SPEAKER_00]: No one has greater love than this to lay down his life for his friends. 01:05.490 --> 01:06.573 [SPEAKER_00]: This is the word of the Lord. 01:06.613 --> 01:09.820 [SPEAKER_01]: That's how to see. 01:10.402 --> 01:11.244 [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much, Summer. 01:11.284 --> 01:11.905 [SPEAKER_01]: Appreciate that. 01:15.226 --> 01:18.092 [SPEAKER_01]: So like I said today is a it is a unique day in a lot of ways. 01:18.132 --> 01:18.392 [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know. 01:18.432 --> 01:31.919 [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe it was, well, I'm not maybe it was certainly the sovereignty of the Lord, because every day is under his sovereignty that we are here at four o'clock instead of our normal service times maybe just to I don't know kind of mark this day as a unique day because it is a unique day. 01:31.939 --> 01:33.201 [SPEAKER_01]: It's a little bit of a different day. 01:33.181 --> 01:48.591 [SPEAKER_01]: Like I said, I'm not really preaching a full sermon or anything like that this afternoon, but what I want to do is really just kind of share the heart of what I believe is the heart of God for us as a church family. 01:48.875 --> 01:51.900 [SPEAKER_01]: for us as a, as a family of faith here at Eastridge. 01:52.861 --> 01:54.183 [SPEAKER_01]: Call them this vision Sunday. 01:54.364 --> 02:00.093 [SPEAKER_01]: I think, and when I think about vision, I think about perspective, you know, and I think I do have a unique perspective. 02:00.133 --> 02:02.697 [SPEAKER_01]: Just personally, I have a unique perspective of this church. 02:03.859 --> 02:07.204 [SPEAKER_01]: We every, every November, we have our kind of homecoming time. 02:07.224 --> 02:08.186 [SPEAKER_01]: We do our picnic and all that. 02:08.206 --> 02:09.027 [SPEAKER_01]: So we'll talk about our, 02:09.007 --> 02:11.169 [SPEAKER_01]: kind of history of our church and things like that. 02:11.189 --> 02:16.094 [SPEAKER_01]: So we've been a church now for 30, what is it 36, 36 years? 02:17.075 --> 02:19.277 [SPEAKER_01]: That we've been a church family in 1989. 02:19.577 --> 02:20.518 [SPEAKER_01]: So I was two years old. 02:20.578 --> 02:21.559 [SPEAKER_01]: And that was, I was there. 02:21.719 --> 02:26.924 [SPEAKER_01]: I was a two-year-old at the beginnings of of Easter is what was Grace Fellowship at the time. 02:26.964 --> 02:32.570 [SPEAKER_01]: And meet and then, I don't remember this stuff, but meeting and a living room and then a storefront, right? 02:32.870 --> 02:35.773 [SPEAKER_01]: Miss Alice was like a storefront and then we went over to 02:36.547 --> 02:48.430 [SPEAKER_01]: A motel for a little bit motel, yeah, I mean, that's real church right there in the motel and then over on flat shelves road grace fellowship until 98 and then we moved over to east side high school. 02:48.680 --> 03:04.001 [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, me stretch community church and then moved on over here early early 99 2000 and yeah, I remember Love that I was kind of along for that that ride my dad and mom were part of those families and I don't know For me it is a unique thing. 03:04.041 --> 03:12.612 [SPEAKER_01]: I think just to look back over my life I mean the history of this church is the history of my life and I feel that in so many ways and it's just as sometimes Man, I get up here and I think about 03:12.592 --> 03:17.602 [SPEAKER_01]: But I get to do here with y'all, with my family, a genuinely y'all are my family. 03:17.823 --> 03:18.664 [SPEAKER_01]: I feel that way. 03:18.765 --> 03:29.166 [SPEAKER_01]: I believe that. 03:29.585 --> 03:40.822 [SPEAKER_01]: So I became lead pastor in 2022 and the last few years I'm just going to kind of give you guys a quick snapshot for myself. 03:42.224 --> 03:43.265 [SPEAKER_01]: That happened real quick. 03:43.806 --> 03:47.211 [SPEAKER_01]: You know, and I was nothing bad or wrong about it. 03:47.271 --> 03:50.576 [SPEAKER_01]: I just think it was the Lord's timing and it kind of was what it was. 03:50.636 --> 03:54.122 [SPEAKER_01]: Pastor Scott Moore, who's doing a great job with our celebrate recovery ministry now. 03:54.182 --> 03:55.744 [SPEAKER_01]: He's stepped into that ministry. 03:56.078 --> 04:07.314 [SPEAKER_01]: asked me to step in at the time just called campus pastor we had the two campuses at the time But there was days man were and still I feel like this at times of just going what am I doing? 04:07.534 --> 04:08.395 [SPEAKER_01]: What's going on here? 04:08.816 --> 04:09.857 [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know how to do this. 04:09.997 --> 04:14.003 [SPEAKER_01]: You know like I think I know how to preach God's word and I 04:13.983 --> 04:15.685 [SPEAKER_01]: No, I love people. 04:15.845 --> 04:21.930 [SPEAKER_01]: I pretty well I guess, but man, you know, how do I be a pastor of a church of a congregation, but God has been so good. 04:21.950 --> 04:33.541 [SPEAKER_01]: He's been so faithful and you all I mean this family and I mean this You guys have been so incredible and it's been such an encouragement to me to get to do this with you I've been so blessed by it. 04:33.581 --> 04:40.868 [SPEAKER_01]: So for the past few years just really kind of struggling at times of okay like how like how am I growing into 04:41.101 --> 04:54.638 [SPEAKER_01]: You know, the leadership that God has called me to and who are we as a church as Easteridge and just trying to constantly think on those things and pray on those things and make sure I'm leading faithfully and leading well. 04:55.040 --> 04:57.143 [SPEAKER_01]: And so when you're a lead pastor, here's what they will tell you. 04:57.163 --> 05:01.409 [SPEAKER_01]: And I say they, I mean, like, kind of church done out there in America right now. 05:02.270 --> 05:05.435 [SPEAKER_01]: If you're leading out of church, they will tell you, you got to have a vision for your church. 05:05.715 --> 05:06.336 [SPEAKER_01]: You got to have a vision. 05:07.057 --> 05:08.119 [SPEAKER_01]: There's got to be some kind of vision. 05:08.259 --> 05:09.561 [SPEAKER_01]: You got to be this visionary person. 05:09.601 --> 05:12.945 [SPEAKER_01]: And man, I'm telling you, that stresses me out. 05:12.965 --> 05:16.150 [SPEAKER_01]: Like, all the time, I'm just like, I don't know, I don't know what that means. 05:16.170 --> 05:17.452 [SPEAKER_01]: Like, I got to have a vision. 05:17.572 --> 05:21.197 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not, I, you know, I'm not Moses, you know, like, what are you talking about? 05:21.538 --> 05:24.642 [SPEAKER_01]: Have a vision for your church. 05:25.077 --> 05:30.141 [SPEAKER_01]: And I get what that means is, yeah, who are we as a church and where are we going? 05:30.162 --> 05:32.604 [SPEAKER_01]: How we follow in the Lord and can I communicate that, right? 05:32.664 --> 05:39.290 [SPEAKER_01]: So I think there's times for that, there's times to communicate that, but the more I've thought about it, the more I've prayed about it. 05:39.310 --> 05:50.820 [SPEAKER_01]: And not just me, the church staff, the pastors, I mean, we have had many, many conversations through these things, talked over them, prayed through them, and just really sought the Lord again and again about those exact things. 05:50.860 --> 05:53.262 [SPEAKER_01]: Got who are we as a church? 05:53.444 --> 05:54.285 [SPEAKER_01]: What are we doing? 05:54.345 --> 05:56.027 [SPEAKER_01]: Are we doing the things you're calling us to do? 05:56.047 --> 05:58.190 [SPEAKER_01]: Are we doing those things faithfully? 05:58.210 --> 05:59.872 [SPEAKER_01]: Here's where we have landed. 05:59.892 --> 06:09.425 [SPEAKER_01]: So I want to take today just for the next few minutes just to kind of give you guys a snapshot of where we have landed as we began 26 I just want to let you guys know. 06:09.485 --> 06:10.426 [SPEAKER_01]: This is what we're about. 06:10.687 --> 06:20.920 [SPEAKER_01]: This is what we're going to be about here at Eastridge and this is who we are and so When I say who we are more than a vision statement or a vision for, you know, the future and all those kind of things 06:20.900 --> 06:27.271 [SPEAKER_01]: I guess about think of anything when I think about a vision, I think you know what our vision is, what Jesus said the vision for the church was. 06:27.371 --> 06:32.641 [SPEAKER_01]: It was to make disciples of all nations, it's to be His witnesses everywhere that we go. 06:33.041 --> 06:33.222 [SPEAKER_01]: Right. 06:33.262 --> 06:39.212 [SPEAKER_01]: Next week we're going to jump into the book of Ephesians and we're going to look at Ephesians 19 where it just says, man, the gospel was prevailing. 06:39.192 --> 06:42.699 [SPEAKER_01]: in the world at that time like that's a vision and I'm good with that. 06:42.719 --> 06:45.144 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm good with just going, you know what scripture is giving us a vision. 06:45.725 --> 06:52.319 [SPEAKER_01]: It's take the gospel, go, and share the gospel and make disciples with anybody and everybody we come into contact with. 06:52.359 --> 06:56.948 [SPEAKER_01]: And so more than a vision here, here's what I think we can do as Easteridge is just kind of rest in 06:56.928 --> 06:58.430 [SPEAKER_01]: our identity. 06:58.450 --> 07:10.328 [SPEAKER_01]: I want to give us an identity statement, if anything, because I do believe we, as Easteridge Church, right here on this little side of Newton County here in Covington, Georgia, we can rest in who we are and we can be okay with that. 07:10.408 --> 07:16.176 [SPEAKER_01]: We're not any other church, we're not trying to be any other church, we're never going to be any other church, we're going to be who we are and that's fine. 07:16.657 --> 07:18.520 [SPEAKER_01]: And so here's our identity statement. 07:18.540 --> 07:20.122 [SPEAKER_01]: I do want to put this up on the screen, how do you stretch? 07:20.262 --> 07:20.963 [SPEAKER_01]: Here's who we are. 07:21.304 --> 07:22.986 [SPEAKER_01]: We are disciples of Jesus. 07:22.966 --> 07:24.929 [SPEAKER_01]: Living on mission for the glory of God. 07:24.949 --> 07:25.931 [SPEAKER_01]: Is that okay with you guys? 07:26.352 --> 07:27.253 [SPEAKER_01]: Is that fine with y'all? 07:27.574 --> 07:32.061 [SPEAKER_01]: I hope that's fine with y'all because again, like the more I look into these things and more I just go, you know what? 07:32.462 --> 07:34.785 [SPEAKER_01]: What is God's word say that all Christians are? 07:35.366 --> 07:39.914 [SPEAKER_01]: Because the truth is every church in the world really, this is their identity statement. 07:40.334 --> 07:41.897 [SPEAKER_01]: Now you can word it different ways and you can say it. 07:41.917 --> 07:42.578 [SPEAKER_01]: That's fine. 07:42.845 --> 07:47.831 [SPEAKER_01]: But the truth of the matter is, this is who all Christians are called to be as the church. 07:47.851 --> 07:52.696 [SPEAKER_01]: We are disciples of Jesus living on mission for the glory of God. 07:52.716 --> 07:53.397 [SPEAKER_01]: Now let me say this. 07:53.858 --> 07:56.381 [SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot to unpack in those words, right? 07:56.501 --> 07:59.524 [SPEAKER_01]: A disciple of Jesus living on, like, what is that mission? 07:59.544 --> 08:01.787 [SPEAKER_01]: And we talk about that a lot here at Easter. 08:01.807 --> 08:03.729 [SPEAKER_01]: And we're going to continue to talk about those things. 08:04.150 --> 08:07.654 [SPEAKER_01]: And what does it mean to live for the glory of God on that mission, right? 08:07.694 --> 08:09.696 [SPEAKER_01]: And so I hope as 08:09.676 --> 08:14.008 [SPEAKER_01]: We do live together, whether it's Sunday mornings or in growth groups or wherever we're doing that. 08:14.710 --> 08:24.276 [SPEAKER_01]: That constantly you guys are here in that language and you're hearing okay, this is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus right this what it means to live on mission with Jesus two times a year we're doing missions month right now. 08:24.509 --> 08:26.351 [SPEAKER_01]: We're doing that in March, we're going to do it again in September. 08:26.371 --> 08:30.216 [SPEAKER_01]: We're going to uplift the value of missions, both locally and globally. 08:30.616 --> 08:45.454 [SPEAKER_01]: And what that means for us to live on, not just going to Mexico, yes, going to Mexico, but, man, every day of my life and all that I do, living my life to share the gospel of Jesus, living my life to love people and serve people, and be the disciple that he's called me. 08:45.434 --> 08:45.995 [SPEAKER_01]: to be. 08:46.055 --> 08:49.421 [SPEAKER_01]: So on that note of who is a disciple, right? 08:49.441 --> 08:51.464 [SPEAKER_01]: Because it says, we are disciples of Jesus, right? 08:51.585 --> 08:52.426 [SPEAKER_01]: So what is a disciple? 08:52.787 --> 08:56.894 [SPEAKER_01]: I got a slide that just says that in the last three weeks, here's what we've been digging into here at Easter. 08:56.914 --> 09:00.280 [SPEAKER_01]: Is that a disciple of Jesus is somebody who, number one, believes the gospel. 09:00.881 --> 09:02.223 [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, we did that three weeks ago. 09:02.543 --> 09:04.567 [SPEAKER_01]: Number two, abides in Jesus. 09:04.847 --> 09:05.709 [SPEAKER_01]: That was two weeks ago. 09:06.110 --> 09:09.315 [SPEAKER_01]: And then last week's message was a disciple of Jesus walks in love. 09:09.295 --> 09:11.981 [SPEAKER_01]: These three things and that's John 15, some are read us. 09:12.281 --> 09:15.528 [SPEAKER_01]: John 15 a little bit ago where Jesus just talks about he is divine. 09:15.869 --> 09:17.552 [SPEAKER_01]: We are the branches, right? 09:17.572 --> 09:18.715 [SPEAKER_01]: We remain in him. 09:18.735 --> 09:19.777 [SPEAKER_01]: We stay rooted in him. 09:19.857 --> 09:23.244 [SPEAKER_01]: I believe in who Jesus is and let it so let's start there. 09:23.284 --> 09:25.549 [SPEAKER_01]: Are you a disciple of Jesus by 09:25.529 --> 09:35.665 [SPEAKER_01]: believing that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, that He died on a cross to pay the penalty and price for your sins with His own blood, that He rose again from the dead. 09:36.086 --> 09:36.787 [SPEAKER_01]: Praise God, right? 09:36.807 --> 09:42.076 [SPEAKER_01]: He rose again from the dead to seal our justification for all time. 09:42.637 --> 09:49.408 [SPEAKER_01]: So that anyone who calls on His name and calls Him Lord and Savior will be saved now and forever. 09:49.568 --> 09:51.090 [SPEAKER_01]: That's where discipleship begins. 09:51.110 --> 09:52.212 [SPEAKER_01]: You 09:52.597 --> 09:57.624 [SPEAKER_01]: and you become a disciple of Jesus, but then you also, you remain in him, you will bite in him, you trust in him. 09:57.664 --> 10:00.629 [SPEAKER_01]: I said this a couple of weeks ago, Jesus is not a hotel, he's a home. 10:01.210 --> 10:03.092 [SPEAKER_01]: We live in him, right? 10:03.112 --> 10:06.998 [SPEAKER_01]: I had the the microwave and the flour up here, if you guys remember that. 10:07.198 --> 10:08.640 [SPEAKER_01]: Some some fun illustrations. 10:09.361 --> 10:11.485 [SPEAKER_01]: I had the light switch and all that, right? 10:11.505 --> 10:18.315 [SPEAKER_01]: Just talking about God's spirit lives within us, gives us the power to bear the glory of God out in our lives to bear that fruit. 10:18.835 --> 10:22.080 [SPEAKER_01]: And then of course we walk in love and all that we do. 10:22.533 --> 10:24.276 [SPEAKER_01]: Jesus said this, the greatest commandment is what? 10:24.376 --> 10:26.420 [SPEAKER_01]: Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. 10:26.460 --> 10:32.051 [SPEAKER_01]: And the second is like it to love your neighbor as you love yourself. 10:32.071 --> 10:34.215 [SPEAKER_01]: There we're going to be disciples of Jesus here at Easter. 10:34.235 --> 10:37.942 [SPEAKER_01]: And that means we're going to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. 10:39.185 --> 10:41.369 [SPEAKER_01]: And so I share these things with you to say this. 10:41.449 --> 10:42.351 [SPEAKER_01]: This is what we know. 10:42.571 --> 10:43.934 [SPEAKER_01]: This is what God has called us to be. 10:43.954 --> 10:45.216 [SPEAKER_01]: He's called us to be this. 10:45.938 --> 10:52.287 [SPEAKER_01]: The discipleship will define who we are and what we do at Easter inch. 10:52.387 --> 10:53.689 [SPEAKER_01]: Here's my promise to you. 10:54.390 --> 11:00.879 [SPEAKER_01]: Every ministry, every program, every event, everything we put on the calendar, everything we budget for. 11:00.899 --> 11:01.801 [SPEAKER_01]: You know what it's gonna be for? 11:02.341 --> 11:03.042 [SPEAKER_01]: Disciple ship. 11:03.082 --> 11:07.228 [SPEAKER_01]: It's gonna be for making disciples, being disciples and making disciples. 11:07.809 --> 11:09.111 [SPEAKER_01]: Everything we do. 11:09.091 --> 11:09.892 [SPEAKER_01]: Sunday mornings. 11:09.932 --> 11:11.034 [SPEAKER_01]: You know why we sing songs? 11:11.335 --> 11:13.378 [SPEAKER_01]: Because we're the disciples of Jesus, right? 11:13.418 --> 11:14.520 [SPEAKER_01]: And we're going to make disciples. 11:14.540 --> 11:15.302 [SPEAKER_01]: You know why I had preach? 11:15.322 --> 11:17.846 [SPEAKER_01]: Because I'm going to disciple of Jesus and I want to make disciples of Jesus. 11:17.866 --> 11:19.048 [SPEAKER_01]: You know why we serve coffee? 11:19.709 --> 11:22.073 [SPEAKER_01]: Same reason to make disciples of Jesus. 11:22.594 --> 11:23.256 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not kidding. 11:23.296 --> 11:24.097 [SPEAKER_01]: Everything we do. 11:24.117 --> 11:28.104 [SPEAKER_01]: And if we can't justify doing it because it's making disciples then we're not going to do it. 11:28.625 --> 11:30.588 [SPEAKER_01]: That's how it's going to be in this church. 11:30.608 --> 11:31.911 [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm just convinced. 11:31.971 --> 11:33.934 [SPEAKER_01]: This is what God has called us to. 11:33.914 --> 11:39.421 [SPEAKER_01]: to be disciples who make disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples. 11:40.242 --> 11:41.484 [SPEAKER_01]: Every day, all day. 11:42.005 --> 11:47.291 [SPEAKER_01]: Now, as I say any of that, some of you may be thinking, you know what, I don't know if I'm into that. 11:47.772 --> 11:48.593 [SPEAKER_01]: And look, I would say this. 11:48.914 --> 11:50.936 [SPEAKER_01]: One, I would either just say, look, hang on. 11:51.257 --> 11:56.884 [SPEAKER_01]: If you're connected here and you want to stay like be here and jump into this with us. 11:56.864 --> 12:19.260 [SPEAKER_01]: as we talk through this and also listen that we're going to start unroll this is kind of step one today I'm just letting you know about this we're going to start rolling out some things over the next year um this is what the staff is talking through praying through thinking through right now we're going to start rolling out some things that are going to help you guys really embrace the discipleship lifestyle to know how do I abide in Jesus how do I walk in love 12:19.240 --> 12:28.058 [SPEAKER_01]: Right, we're going to really do everything we can to kind of tailor the ministry here at Eastridge to help that happen as a church family, as a community of faith. 12:29.200 --> 12:34.390 [SPEAKER_01]: There's really these two kind of, again, back to sort of the way we see American Christianity going right now. 12:35.232 --> 12:36.675 [SPEAKER_01]: The sort of these two models. 12:36.655 --> 12:43.365 [SPEAKER_01]: of American Christianity, American churches, there's what they call the attractional model, and what they call the missional model. 12:43.385 --> 12:46.730 [SPEAKER_01]: The attractional model, I'm not here to knock anything. 12:46.790 --> 12:48.353 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm just giving you the facts, right? 12:48.773 --> 12:54.602 [SPEAKER_01]: The attractional model, there are people who like do these things, study these things, make podcasts about these things, give seminars on these things and conferences. 12:55.103 --> 13:01.212 [SPEAKER_01]: The attractional model is kind of do everything you can do to just grow the number of people at your church. 13:01.293 --> 13:26.473 [SPEAKER_01]: be attraction among like get people to come attract them to come and then you can kind of you know do all the other things which is fine like listen do we want people to come in these doors yeah sure i do of course i do but i'm gonna tell you this we are not going to live our lives being an attraction model church we're going to be a mission or model church because a mission model church says we are here 13:27.263 --> 13:35.717 [SPEAKER_01]: not to entertain the world so that hopefully they like us and want to come in here and see what's going on with this Christianity thing. 13:36.238 --> 13:37.319 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm here to feed sheep. 13:38.121 --> 13:39.483 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm here to make disciples. 13:40.024 --> 13:46.234 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm here to preach the gospel again and again and again and again and here's what I believe that 13:46.214 --> 13:49.418 [SPEAKER_01]: Missional living, that is what brings people to Jesus. 13:49.979 --> 13:51.001 [SPEAKER_01]: Attractional stuff. 13:51.041 --> 13:54.085 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, we can bring people to church, but I'm not about bringing people to Easter. 13:54.105 --> 13:55.427 [SPEAKER_01]: It's about bringing them to Jesus. 13:55.727 --> 13:56.628 [SPEAKER_01]: That's what I want to do. 13:56.949 --> 13:59.412 [SPEAKER_01]: And that's what I want you to do and want to do. 13:59.432 --> 14:01.054 [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, so that's what we're gonna do. 14:01.495 --> 14:04.419 [SPEAKER_01]: That's what we're gonna be about here at Easter edge. 14:04.439 --> 14:07.884 [SPEAKER_01]: We're gonna be about being on mission, living on mission again. 14:07.924 --> 14:09.366 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, we want people to come in the doors. 14:09.526 --> 14:12.610 [SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely, we do, but never at the expense. 14:12.590 --> 14:17.275 [SPEAKER_01]: of living on mission for the glory of God by being and making disciples of Jesus. 14:17.976 --> 14:19.578 [SPEAKER_01]: We are never going to let that fall. 14:20.198 --> 14:28.487 [SPEAKER_01]: And I do believe, Acts 249, Acts 249 is, we see this church living on mission, the very first church, they're living on mission, and what does it say at the end of that? 14:28.527 --> 14:31.791 [SPEAKER_01]: The Lord added to their number daily, those who were being saved. 14:32.071 --> 14:35.114 [SPEAKER_01]: That's God's business, okay, and we're going to trust God with that. 14:35.134 --> 14:42.242 [SPEAKER_01]: We're going to pray for that, and we're going to seek the Lord in that we are disciples 14:42.779 --> 14:43.300 [SPEAKER_01]: of God. 14:43.561 --> 14:46.748 [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, so today really I just wanted to kind of lay that out for you guys. 14:46.768 --> 14:49.595 [SPEAKER_01]: That's who we believe that we are here at Eastridge. 14:49.635 --> 14:50.898 [SPEAKER_01]: Now, there is one more piece of it. 14:50.918 --> 14:51.679 [SPEAKER_01]: There's one more piece of it. 14:53.043 --> 15:02.003 [SPEAKER_01]: Something that is very, has I been thinking through this and praying through this and myself and the pastor Scott Morris got England or staff and talking through this praying through it. 15:03.012 --> 15:07.441 [SPEAKER_01]: something that has just, God just hasn't let kind of get away from me, I think. 15:07.881 --> 15:09.845 [SPEAKER_01]: Is this idea of coin and aia? 15:09.865 --> 15:15.556 [SPEAKER_01]: I talk about coin and aia a lot here, coin and aia community, what coin and aia means, community fellowship, right? 15:15.576 --> 15:18.642 [SPEAKER_01]: The fellowship of the believers, it's just such a huge value for us. 15:18.892 --> 15:20.375 [SPEAKER_01]: Jeff and Paige, as they were just talking. 15:20.395 --> 15:21.136 [SPEAKER_01]: They were talking about that. 15:21.196 --> 15:22.118 [SPEAKER_01]: They were talking about coin and need. 15:22.599 --> 15:24.202 [SPEAKER_01]: It's about doing life together. 15:24.923 --> 15:27.909 [SPEAKER_01]: That we part of the we are disciples. 15:28.390 --> 15:31.817 [SPEAKER_01]: I didn't say you are a disciple doing this on your own. 15:31.857 --> 15:35.524 [SPEAKER_01]: I said we are disciples of Jesus living on missions together. 15:35.564 --> 15:37.026 [SPEAKER_01]: And so on that note. 15:37.107 --> 15:41.575 [SPEAKER_01]: So for several years now, throw up the graphic with just East Ridge church on it. 15:42.010 --> 15:52.713 [SPEAKER_01]: Several years now, this has been our name kind of as we use it, our moniker, uh, Easteridge Church, technically, on paper and legally, this is not our name. 15:53.294 --> 16:02.854 [SPEAKER_01]: Um, and so what we are going to do moving forward is we're just going to kind of go back to our birth name, uh, the name that we were given when we moved into this building and that name. 16:03.070 --> 16:05.513 [SPEAKER_01]: is Easteridge Community Church. 16:06.394 --> 16:09.899 [SPEAKER_01]: And a little bit of a new change of look for us as well. 16:09.939 --> 16:11.181 [SPEAKER_01]: So we can throw that up there for us. 16:11.682 --> 16:12.402 [SPEAKER_01]: This is who we are. 16:12.563 --> 16:13.184 [SPEAKER_01]: This is who we are. 16:13.304 --> 16:18.871 [SPEAKER_01]: Now, this is just, like I said, today is kind of step one of this just kind of letting you guys know. 16:19.452 --> 16:22.676 [SPEAKER_01]: And this is not some just little branding things. 16:22.696 --> 16:23.898 [SPEAKER_01]: This is not just something we're going to know. 16:23.918 --> 16:25.160 [SPEAKER_01]: Well, let's just throw community in there. 16:25.200 --> 16:25.500 [SPEAKER_01]: No. 16:25.683 --> 16:28.627 [SPEAKER_01]: Look, I actually want you to look at that picture, and that's so simple on note. 16:28.667 --> 16:29.988 [SPEAKER_01]: It's nothing fancy, it's nothing. 16:30.229 --> 16:32.432 [SPEAKER_01]: We're not trying to be anything that we're not, okay? 16:33.032 --> 16:34.014 [SPEAKER_01]: What do you see in that picture? 16:34.775 --> 16:37.598 [SPEAKER_01]: You see a little path leading up a hill. 16:38.119 --> 16:43.766 [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if you've ever driven up this hill and just thought, you know, east, bridge, east side of the county, on a ridge. 16:43.786 --> 16:47.751 [SPEAKER_01]: A little path leading up a hill and clearly the most important thing here is what? 16:47.791 --> 16:50.595 [SPEAKER_01]: It's the gospel, it's the cross of Jesus Christ. 16:50.955 --> 16:55.521 [SPEAKER_01]: Then we're not, again, we're not trying to lead people to a building. 16:56.817 --> 17:00.345 [SPEAKER_01]: We just want to show people Jesus, we want them to know the gospel. 17:00.385 --> 17:01.587 [SPEAKER_01]: I want you to know the gospel. 17:02.008 --> 17:04.313 [SPEAKER_01]: And everybody who comes up this hill ever to know the gospel. 17:04.453 --> 17:12.290 [SPEAKER_01]: And as we go down that hill and out there into our community, every other day of the week, that we would go and take the gospel with us everywhere that we go. 17:12.310 --> 17:14.455 [SPEAKER_01]: We are Easteridge Community Church. 17:14.705 --> 17:17.510 [SPEAKER_01]: And we are all about Jesus, we are all about the gospel. 17:17.570 --> 17:18.592 [SPEAKER_01]: And that's who we're going to be. 17:18.952 --> 17:21.998 [SPEAKER_01]: And that's what we're going to be about moving forward. 17:23.260 --> 17:24.863 [SPEAKER_01]: So here's what we're going to do. 17:24.883 --> 17:26.486 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to ask the band to go ahead and come back up. 17:26.506 --> 17:30.032 [SPEAKER_01]: And we're going to have some, have some more worship time before we do that. 17:30.112 --> 17:37.405 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm actually going to ask this as a church today to just start this kind of, join me in this moment of just praying. 17:38.009 --> 17:45.879 [SPEAKER_01]: Just praying, the very first, when I began in 2022, like I said, began as campus pastor, pastor to lead pastor. 17:47.421 --> 17:49.964 [SPEAKER_01]: The very first thing I was preaching through was Colossians, went through Colossians. 17:49.984 --> 18:06.666 [SPEAKER_01]: And I remember getting to Colossians chapter four, the last message I did in that series, and it was Colossians four, and I really just focused on verse two, because that verse made it just smack to me that week, I remember this, Colossians four two says this, be devoted to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 18:07.540 --> 18:09.483 [SPEAKER_01]: be devoted to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 18:09.804 --> 18:10.785 [SPEAKER_01]: And he's talking to the church. 18:10.825 --> 18:12.108 [SPEAKER_01]: And I should remember thinking, you know what? 18:13.069 --> 18:15.914 [SPEAKER_01]: That is so simple. 18:15.934 --> 18:17.056 [SPEAKER_01]: That is so simple. 18:17.456 --> 18:31.219 [SPEAKER_01]: But maybe one of the things that as a church, and I'm just mean Easterage, but maybe even globally at times with the church, like man, maybe that's something we don't do enough be devoted to prayer. 18:31.435 --> 18:39.643 [SPEAKER_01]: being watchful and thankful who knows what the Lord would do in a church that's devoted to prayer. 18:39.663 --> 18:40.583 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I think that verse. 18:40.603 --> 18:45.007 [SPEAKER_01]: I think Colossians 4 to is a verse of true revival. 18:46.309 --> 18:47.270 [SPEAKER_01]: That's where revival is. 18:47.670 --> 18:49.512 [SPEAKER_01]: It's in Colossians 4 to. 18:50.252 --> 18:51.233 [SPEAKER_01]: It's be devoted to prayer. 18:51.894 --> 18:52.935 [SPEAKER_01]: Being watchful and thankful. 18:52.955 --> 19:00.902 [SPEAKER_01]: Everything I just talked through about being disciples living on mission for the glory of God. 19:01.574 --> 19:05.118 [SPEAKER_01]: It's going to be because we are a church that it not because we have a new logo. 19:05.138 --> 19:09.322 [SPEAKER_01]: It's not going to be that it's going to be because we're a church that's devoted prayer. 19:10.363 --> 19:15.027 [SPEAKER_01]: And we are watchful, which means awake, stay awake, and be thankful. 19:15.728 --> 19:16.369 [SPEAKER_01]: Thankful for what? 19:16.409 --> 19:19.372 [SPEAKER_01]: Just thankful that God is God of the church. 19:20.433 --> 19:21.354 [SPEAKER_01]: This is not about us. 19:22.615 --> 19:23.296 [SPEAKER_01]: It's about Him. 19:24.197 --> 19:30.703 [SPEAKER_01]: And you know, we have all eternity to worship Him with 19:31.730 --> 19:36.097 [SPEAKER_01]: And so for the next, however many years he gives us on this earth, what are we going to do with it? 19:37.780 --> 19:43.230 [SPEAKER_01]: And we can make all sorts of other plans, but I'm telling you, I want us as a church to do this one thing. 19:43.250 --> 19:44.311 [SPEAKER_01]: Let's start with this one thing. 19:45.553 --> 19:51.123 [SPEAKER_01]: Let's be a church that's devoted to prayer being watchful and thankful knowing that we're created to be disciples who make disciples. 19:51.564 --> 19:51.864 [SPEAKER_01]: All right. 19:52.205 --> 19:53.186 [SPEAKER_01]: So we're going to start right there today. 19:53.327 --> 19:54.208 [SPEAKER_01]: Let's start with this today. 19:54.228 --> 19:55.430 [SPEAKER_01]: We're going to take some time right now. 19:55.450 --> 19:56.472 [SPEAKER_01]: Now we're going to pray together. 19:56.873 --> 19:57.434 [SPEAKER_01]: as a church. 19:57.454 --> 19:58.255 [SPEAKER_01]: So let's start right now. 19:58.556 --> 20:00.599 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to ask you just about your has this power has together. 20:01.180 --> 20:03.102 [SPEAKER_01]: And for the next like 10 minutes or so, okay. 20:03.122 --> 20:06.107 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to give you a few different things to pray for and listen. 20:06.347 --> 20:12.617 [SPEAKER_01]: Honestly, I just want this to be a time where if you feel like you want to actually speak prayer out loud, feel free to do that, okay? 20:12.637 --> 20:13.458 [SPEAKER_01]: Don't feel like you can't. 20:13.919 --> 20:16.182 [SPEAKER_01]: If you want to stay quiet and just pray quietly right where you're at. 20:16.843 --> 20:18.766 [SPEAKER_01]: But the first thing I want you to pray for is this. 20:18.786 --> 20:24.535 [SPEAKER_01]: I want you to just kind of pray personally, pray personally over your own self, over your own life. 20:25.932 --> 20:30.618 [SPEAKER_01]: And ask the Lord, God, am I truly living as a disciple of Jesus? 20:31.299 --> 20:33.041 [SPEAKER_01]: I want you to have an honest few moments right here. 20:34.122 --> 20:39.228 [SPEAKER_01]: Just to go to the Lord, see him in this and ask him, God, is this who I am? 20:40.790 --> 20:42.893 [SPEAKER_01]: Am I following Jesus as you would call me to? 20:42.933 --> 20:45.076 [SPEAKER_01]: Is there anything I need to lay down before you right now? 20:46.137 --> 20:47.679 [SPEAKER_01]: Is there anything I need to trust you more? 20:47.699 --> 20:53.426 [SPEAKER_01]: And is there anything you're calling me to that I've been disobedient or I've just been too busy to hear you or whatever it may be. 20:53.466 --> 20:55.028 [SPEAKER_01]: Just go to the Lord right now, right where you're at. 20:55.868 --> 20:56.511 [SPEAKER_01]: and just pray. 20:57.314 --> 20:58.137 [SPEAKER_01]: Pray that over your life. 21:00.186 --> 21:03.921 [SPEAKER_01]: You're following Jesus, so you connected to that vine, abiding in Him.