Who's In Our Seats? (Part 3)

This is the Woodland Hills Family Church podcast. Our desire is to inspire you and your family to become fully devoted followers of Christ. Now enjoy today's message with Ted Cunningham. In a vision series, we're talking about who's in our seats. And last week Travis talked about some next steps for new believers.

The week before that we were talking about our guests and our desire to show hospitality, not just service at our. Not just serving one another, but showing great hospitality. Today we are offering encouragement for seasoned believers. For the old people in the no.

For those of you who have walked with the Lord for many years, decades, served the church for your entire adult life, we want to encourage you today, but we also wanna challenge and encourage young people who are maybe brand new in the faith and starting out, how to go the distance, run well and finish strong. And I just want you to know in these seats today, across campus, there are so many stories. I hope you're listening. I hope you're asking for the stories of the people sitting around you. It's one of my favorite things to do.

Last week I engaged in conversation with a three year old. And we know kids say the darndest things they give me and people pastors leave, ask me, where do you get your stories? I go, do you spend time with your people? They're out there. There's tons of stories.

And this three year old, I don't know how we got on dogs and cats, but I said, do you like dogs? And she said, no. I said, do you like cats? Yes. I said, do you have a cat?

No. I mean, it was a real engaging conversation. We were really getting somewhere. I said, would you like a cat? And she said, yes.

And daddy and I are getting one after mommy goes away forever.

I looked at dad and said, where is she right now? I need to know where is she? Blink twice if your mom's okay. Anyway, dad looked at me and said, we have no idea where she got that. I go, I'll tell you exactly where she got that.

In her car seat, in the backseat. Because we say it at our church all the time. How do kids learn? They see everything you do. They hear every word that comes forth out of your mouth.

They forget nothing. And then they repeat. And I don't know when, but sometime, not long ago, you and your wife were discussing getting a pet in the front seat and this three year old heard mom say, over my dead body.

She took it deep down into her heart and now she's sharing it with the pastor. So you gotta be real careful what you talk about. With your children. There are stories I love what Stephanie shared last week and just the encouragement as we had move up Sunday and just all that God is doing through the hearts and lives of our kids at this church. And we know that some of the stories in this church are great, great moments in the life of the church.

But we also know some of you step in here today and you step outside and you are seated now with a pretty painful story. Travis talked about that you maybe have a story of church hurt. You've been through something. And I know for a fact many people enter here each week and they have served for years at a church, some decades at another church, and something happened and you're trying to process through right now. What do I do with all of this?

Today is about running your race strong and finishing well, and how as we grow in our faith, it also grows us in our commitment to one another in the church. We're to be spurring one another on to love and good deeds. This week, I've spent some time in what Ecclesiastes 7, verse 4 calls the house of mourning. And the Bible says the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning. In other words, when someone you love or respect dies.

We live in a culture where we're all just too fast in everything we do. And we don't take enough time to to grieve. We don't take enough time to slow down. Because when you go into the house of mourning, this should begin to recalibrate your life because you're reflecting on the life of the person who died, but you're also reflecting on how you're living your life. And this week we got the news that Dr. James Dobson went to be with the Lord.

When I think of Dr. Dobson and the impact he's had on my life. A true champion for marriage, family, the unborn. And whether you know it or not, the impact he's had on this church. He started focused on the family in 1977. Marriage 911 is a focus on the family ministry.

And many of you have had your marriage saved as a result of that ministry. Many of you have been to Hope Restored Marriage Intensive here in Branson or maybe at another location around the country. Some of you were raised against your will on Adventures in Odyssey. And you, I gotta tell you, when I just. When I think of Dr. Dobson, I was in the Galleria Mall.

Amy and I were married a year the Galleria Mall in Dallas, Texas. And we were with our pastor friend, Austin deloach. And it was right at Christmas time, and I mean, the place was packed. And I heard this voice because, let me tell you, probably next to Paul Harvey is Dr. James Dobson when it comes to a recognizable voice. And I heard it from 100 yards away.

And I told Amy, that's Dr. Dobson. And I turned around and there he was in his yellow sweater, I kid you not, his iconic yellow sweater. And I walked right up to him with Amy and Austin, and I shook my. I stuck my hand out and said, Dr. Dobson, thank you for your ministry. And he introduced me to his friend standing next to him, Dr. H.B.

london. And they were Christmas shopping. And I asked Norma Smalley this week, I said, because what you don't know about Dr. Dobson, he loved fishing, and he loved fishing at Dogwood Canyon. And I know Gary Smalley took him to Dogwood a couple times. And I texted Norm, I said, hey, can you send me a picture of gary fishing with Dr. Dobson?

And she says, I'm on it. And she sent me a picture of gary fishing with Dr. Chuck Swindoll. And I said, great, man. Not the same man. She goes, are you sure?

I'm pretty sure he's still alive. He retired at the age of 90. But when I think about this chance, this. This is often misattributed to C.S. lewis, but it wasn't C.S.

lewis that said. It was actually a missionary that said this line right here. My prayer is that when I die, all of hell rejoices, that I am out of the fight. And I kept thinking about that as I was in the house of mourning this week, thinking about Dr. Dobson. And to encourage those of you today, I want to spend a little time at the beginning and at the end, at the beginning of many of Paul's letters to the church.

Going to spend the bulk of our time in Philippians 2, if you want to turn to Philippians 2. But before we get there, in 1st Thessalonians, chapter 1, verses 2 and 3. And I love this, we always thank God for all of you, continually mention you in our prayers. So whenever you read an epistle or a letter to the church, Paul isn't just thanking them, he's thanking God for them. And this is very important.

John Ortberg talks about this, that when I think of you, Woodland Hills, I should be spurred on to thank God. It should lead me to worship. Grateful to God that he made you great. Anytime you serve someone, I'm grateful to God for what he's doing through you. This was what was in Paul's heart and mind as he thanks God.

For the believers at Thessalonica, we remember before our God and Father, your work and the way you serve, it's produced by faith. You place faith in Christ. You repented of your sins, you turned from your idols, and now you worship Jesus. And this now spurs you on to serve. But then he moves from work to the word labor.

And the word labor prompted by love. Now, this is speaking of a service that is strenuous, right? That is exhausting, that brings about fatigue. And if you've walked with Jesus for any length of time and if you were ever sold a bill of goods, that give your life to Jesus and it's pretty smooth sailing after that. That's a false gospel.

You give your life to Jesus, guess what? The world is going to hate you. And you're gonna deal with a lot of nonsense. You're gonna deal with a lot of trials and difficulties and. And guess what?

We shouldn't be shocked when we're tired in the service we give to the Lord, fatigued through strenuous labor. That's why you get to the next part and your endurance. A lot of people get tired and quit. A lot of people feel the fatigue and go, I did my time. I served Jesus.

Be grateful for that. And now I'm getting a fifth wheel and I'm going to Florida.

We'll get to that in a second. Some of you are here in your fifth wheels this morning going, is there a second? We're there. Just give me just a second. Your endurance, inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Galatians, he says this, Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. And today, seasoned believer, you've walked with the Lord for a long time. You've served the church for a long time. Stay the course. Run your race.

Don't quit. For a couple of weeks now, I've been just kind of listing almost in journal form. This is personal to me, but it applies to all of us. In those moments where you feel like quitting, giving up, like, checking out, like, okay, I did that. When you don't see results, don't quit.

Keep planting. When you have questions or you doubt, stay put. Seek answers. But don't quit when you're falsely accused. Don't quit when the work is tedious, monotonous, and unappreciated.

When you're not getting a thank you, keep at it. Stay the course. When church leaders sin and fall, someone you've listened to, someone who's made a Great impact in your life. Someone who discipled you in the faith falls and you're like, well, why is everything I've learned up to this point meaningless? No, stay put.

Stay the course. Don't quit. When others walk away, you don't. When others take you for granted, you can't quit. You can be tired.

You can take a break. You can get a camper and go to Florida. Do it. But don't quit. You can retire from a job or a career or sell your company, but don't quit.

Don't stop serving. You can be hurt by another church member. You can have someone hurt your feelings, and it makes you want to leave and quit. Don't quit. You can even feel discarded, maybe like this guy right here.

But you can't quit. I actually found Uncle Herschel a new home. What do you guys think of this? I think this is his place, where he belongs. Doesn't he look like he should be there, right?

Comfortable? It's a barrel. Those are garbage cans at Silver Dollar City, actually.

You may be old, but you're not done. You maybe only have a few years left, but I think we sing something similar to this. If you're not dead, then you're not done. Run your race. When does my race end, Ted?

It's when you draw your last breath or Jesus returns. Keep running. In Second Corinthians 4, 16, 17, we read, therefore we do not lose heart. And look at this contrast here. Though outwardly we are wasting away, our bodies break down.

If you want a good word picture for that, read Ecclesiastes, chapter 12, verses 1 through 5. Solomon paints the picture of the body breaking down. Speaking of everything, from your eyesight growing dim to the grinders ceasing because you're losing your teeth, to the almond tree blossoming. Outwardly, we're wasting away. But look at this.

Yet inwardly we are being renewed, refreshed, revitalized. Day by day, we keep growing in our faith until we take our last breath or the Lord returns. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. Keep running. Don't quit.

Keep serving. You're like, I've done my time. Keep serving. Keep moving forward. Today, here's where we're headed as we move toward Philippians 2.

A growing faith. If your desire is to become more like Jesus, a growing faith increases your commitment to believers in the local church. You get to a point where you realize it's not just about you. As a believer in Christ Jesus, you are called to Help others to spur others on. We read in Hebrews 10, 24 and 25, let us consider how we may spur one another on.

I kind of view this as like the iron sharpening iron verse of the New Testament on toward love and good deeds. This is why what we're doing here today is so important and why this matters. You should leave here encouraged, inspired, ready to serve the Lord for another week, to serve one another for another week. Not giving up on meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another, cheering one another on. And all the more as you see the day approaching.

Meaning this isn't something that's decreasing as we go through life and as we get older, it's actually ramping up. The closer we get to being the Lord, the more excited we should be and the more we should want to share and help and serve. This is our desire in this church. We want to help you grow in your faith and take your next step. It's what we've been talking about.

It's why we're doing this series. Take your next step in faith and your next step in the life of this church. We want to help those who regularly attend join our church. Some of you have been going to this church for 10 years, 15 years, and you're like, ain't I a member by common law? No.

I always thought I was a member. No. We want you to take a step, aligning with this church on our essential beliefs, but becoming a part of our church, going on mission with us. We want to help church members, people who've said, I'm on mission, find ways to add value to this church family and to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Many of you have been serving for a long time.

We want to help you become leaders. And that's what we're gonna talk about next week, how to be a servant leader in the life of the church. We want you to serve. That's what today is about. It's about the committed.

We want you to serve and leverage your age, your wisdom, right, your experience, your passion, your personality to help others and not just yourself. And so that's why we've been going through. We use these circles to talk about the steps. Week one, we talked about moving from the community, which is southwest Missouri, northwest Arkansas, to the crowd today. We've gathered a crowd.

The church, Woodland Hills Family Church, is here today, but it's also a crowd, meaning there are people in this room and across campus that are not believers in Christ Jesus. So they're Not a part of the church. So the crowd has believers and non believers. And our desire is why we share the gospel and is that those who have never placed faith alone in Christ alone would repent of their sins and become followers of Jesus. Moving from the crowd to the congregation.

Travis talked about that last week, how to become a member of the church and next steps for new believers. But we don't just want you to become a member and take a seat. We want you to serve. And that's where we're at today, moving people from the congregation to the committed. And next week we're gonna be talking to the core and it's the whole church talking about how do you follow those in leadership.

So if you were to break this down, it looks like this. The crowd observes. So today there will be people here met several who they're not involved, they're just kind of checking things out. And some of you are visiting from other churches, some of you are here. You have church hurt, pain.

There's been some challenges. I talk to people almost every week who's dealing with some something from another church and how to handle that. And I always tell that person there is no rush when we say take the next step. We're not telling you to run through these circles. We realize some of you are here today healing.

Some of you today are trying to figure it out. And you need help with what has gone on in your last church or in your life in recent months or years. But you're observing. What we don't want to do is come back here in two, three, four, five years and you're still observing. We want you to take a next step.

And again, we don't have a timeline for this, but we ask that you be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading in your life. The congregation participates, they regularly gather, spurring one another on to love and good deeds. They contribute in the offering. When you become a member of the church, you're aligning with our essential beliefs. And it's the first step in going on mission.

But we don't just want you attending and giving, we want you serving and making it about others. And that's the committed, the next step. So for some of you today, we hope that you stop by one of the pop up sweet spot booths. You've been a member for a while, but you've never taken the next step to serve. And there are many people in this church, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people in the committed that serve regularly.

And in the weeks to come, we're gonna Move from the committed to the core. Because this is, this is the group that leads. And let me tell you, this is one church that loves to do this. Like, here you go, run with it. We're not a pastor led church.

We're not a committee led church. So meaning we don't have eight, 10 people that sit around coming up with decisions for one person to carry out. We're not a congregationally led church. We're an elder led church. So our desire is for people to lead.

And some of you have been serving for a while in this church and you're gonna take the next step into leadership. And so when we do starting point, right, we're moving people from the crowd to the congregation. I'm always listening at starting point to people. And almost every starting point, someone will begin to share with me what I call their checklist of what they're looking for in a church. And I always try to help with this because it's like they start sharing with me, checkbox after checkbox after check.

And I kind of go, ooh, you are describing a church down the street, not this church, and that's okay, but you don't need to come here. And we recreate that here because actually I'm friends with the pastor who leads that church down the street and you should go check it out. I was at a church in Tampa that took this to a whole nother level. Scrolling in their announcements. At the beginning of the service, they had a list of all the.

If you're just checking our church out for the first time, we encourage you to check out all these other churches too. I told the pastor that is next level at the bottom. It said, be sure to give here though, before you go to these. No, I didn't say that. I made that up.

That's a lie. It didn't say that. You would think it did. But I told him, I said, that's a kingdom mindset right there is what I love. I mean, it's like, you know, we understand God is working through other believers in other congregations.

And so we don't say, you know, you have to become a member. We're gonna give you a 90 minute tour after this of the facility and then you gotta sign on the line and your credit card. Anyway, we're not doing. We're not. That's not us.

I hope if you've been here for, you know, that's not who we are. Okay, so for some you're gonna observe and go, mm, it's not it. But for those, we're talking today for those who have made the decision, I am going on mission with Woodland Hills Family Church that you would take the next step and serve. As we move to Philippians, here's what becoming more like Jesus looks like. Becoming more like Jesus means you're becoming more interested in the interest and needs of others and not just your own.

So take the example of adulthood when you become an adult. So for those of you in your late teens, going into your early 20s, part of adulthood is that you have to start taking care of other people, not just yourself. So you don't get to into your 30s and 40s, just make enough money to pay a car payment, eat a little fast food and buy clothes like you get married. And guess what? Okay, I got someone else I gotta provide for.

We start having these kids, I gotta provide for them. Some of you start businesses, and then in your 30s and 40s, you realize, man, there are other people and families relying on me. In other words, when you wake up in the morning, you don't just get to think about yourself. You're, like, forced to think about other people. You have to make decisions on behalf of other people.

And what a great transition into the life of the church. Because when you become more like Jesus, watch what we. And before we get to the example of Jesus in verse 5, look at verses 3 and 4. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. And so it may have started with you entering this church, you know, as a guest.

And you were a guest for a while, and you had a guest mentality, and you're kind of observing, checking things out. But after a while, you stop becoming a guest and you start becoming a member. You start plugging in and you move from. No one said hi to me on my way in, which ain't gonna happen at this church, if you're any sort. I mean, you're gonna.

You may be overwhelmed with how many highs you get on the way in, and that's our hope and prayer. But some of you've been to a place and you're like, no one said hi to me. That is, you thinking of your interests, your desires and your needs. But as you move and take steps in the faith now, you walk into a church and see someone and you're like, I hope someone said hi to them. Actually, I'll take it a step further.

This is a crazy thought. I'll walk over and say hi to them. I will greet them to make sure they feel welcomed and seen. This is the Difference. Now, this is key.

And the reason I'm using the English Standard version is because this comes right out of our marriage 911 curriculum. And every. We have hundreds of marriage 911 people that have been through that, and they'd be like, if you don't say that, if you do not interpret this verse just right, Ted, we are gonna have problems. So watch. Let each of you look not only to his own interest.

In other words, every person in here, you have interest, you have opinions. Oh, boy, do you have opinions. You have desires. There's nothing wrong with that. But as a maturing believer, committed believer in this church, you can't just think about your own interest.

You have to think about the interest of others. I'll give you a great example. I'm 51 years old. We're now in our 24th year as a church, and I'm kind of like, right in the middle of the seniors wanting hymns every week to Katie Gumm and her generation. And there are things Katie will throw at me, and I'll be like, that's not how I want it.

I want more Tomlin. Give me more Chris Tomlin right now. I appreciate Brandon Lake, but I want Chris Tomlin. I could do that. But listen.

And as the lead pastor, I don't even get to do this is what I want. There are things that happen all the time, and I'm like, that's not how I would do it. Does somebody actually like what you're doing right there? That an entire generation enjoys? What I'm like, seriously?

You want to find a church that's dying? I'll tell you about a church where they keep the focus on the interest preferences of one generation and neglect the other generations. The frustration you once had about your preferences not being met. Maybe you were too concerned with being overlooked. But now you have a growing concern.

If you're moving in your faith and growing in Christ Jesus and taking steps in this church, you have a growing concern for other people, their families, what they're going through. So when something happens with the parking lot, we're gonna make a change. We're not making a change in the parking lot. Somebody just went, oh, my golly. I just got used to this the last four years.

I know you hate change, but, like, if we bring up a change, we're not just thinking about just you. We're trying to think about a lot of people, 3,000 people. And this is how it works. You've been in a new church every couple of years, focused on how it serves you. Your needs, your interests, your preferences.

Let me today encourage you to let this be a defining moment, to move from being me focused to others centered, to others centered and becoming more like Jesus. The only way this works is if you empty yourself and serve. Who's the example of verses 3 and 4? Paul gives it to us very clearly, starting in verse five, the very next verse. Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God, a thing to be grasped.

Hold on to that for just a second. Instead, he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant again. It's getting up in the morning. Some of you are in that place right now in your life where when you get up in the morning, it is just about you and your day and your needs being met. But you're going to grow in life and it's going to require you think about other people.

And it starts by emptying yourself, becoming a servant. It says that Jesus, being born in likeness of Men, verse 8, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death. Even death on a cross. Even death on a cross. I had dinner last Saturday night with two pastors.

One retired from his church after 27 years of ministry. And I'm like, that's like three years away anyway.

And then his successor was there, who's taken the ministry. And, you know, Bob still speaks at the church several times a year. But Jason and Bob, it was such a great conversation just to watch these two honor each other and interact with one another. They got along better than Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson at the Cowboys anyway. But they just.

You could tell they're friends, they honor one another. And we were having a great conversation. They told me about a book. They said, ted, have you read the Owner's Mentality? I said, I haven't.

They said, you have to get it. You have to understand what's going on and just preparing yourself for the ever changing needs of a congregation. Even though it's a business book, it's written for business. He said, but it follows, you know, three key principles. I'm only gonna share one of them with you today.

So I jumped into it, I started reading it, and the problem is, if you've ever wondered why do some businesses succeed and some fail when they move from, you know, generation one, generation two, the founders of the business, to generations three and four? And, you know, a lot of times, you know, they just. They fail. Other times they just go through the roof. They exceed expectations.

And the thing I loved about reading the book, it says owners, right? The person who. You got to identify your four or five key things that help the company be successful. And you can make changes. Obviously, times change, but you can't lose these core values.

So what are your, like, most important things? And one of them, and this is one of the three they talk about, is Frontline obsession. You don't lose Frontline obsession. I think about Chick Fil A. You got the Cathy family, who's been super successful.

And you know what? If you were to meet Dan or Bub, I almost guarantee you it would be behind a cash register at a Chick Fil A. They still love serving drinks at Chick Fil A. They haven't lost that Frontline obsession. And here's the problem.

When businesses grow, when churches grow, they become more complex. And if you're not careful, as time goes on, you allow that complexity to kill the church, to kill the organization, to kill the business. And what happens is you spend too much time in back rooms figuring out numbers and making things happen and not enough time on the front line. The very thing that made you successful, and I started applying it this week in my life, going, okay, I'm not a guest at this church anymore. Most of you in here today are not a guest in this church anymore.

But frontline obsession means you never stop thinking about the guest.

You don't get to a place where, like, I've been walking with the Lord 20, 30 years. I've been at Woodland Hills, since the beginning. Ted. I'm in year 24, and I want this, and I want that, and I want that. You've just moved away from Frontline obsession.

That if all of us step in here, going back to that first circle, thinking about the community, moving to the crowd. How do we help people? How do we help people grow in their faith? Some of you are not a guest. You're no longer just a member.

You're part of the committed. And the thing I love about the committed, those who serve week in and week out at our church. I love the stories they're sharing with me every week saying, listen, I talked to this person today. They were new. They were coming in from out of town.

I talked to this person today. That's Frontline obsession in church. May we never lose that. The desire to continue to serve the community and the crowd. I just, in rapid fire, want to take this up and end by thanking Woodland Hills.

And I just kept coming back to the introductions of the epistles and the words that Paul would say over and over again, I thank God for. And every church was a little bit different what he was specifically thanking God for. I'll start in Romans where Paul thanked God for the Romans faith first. I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because your faith, it's being reported all over the world. What's happening there is going everywhere.

He thanked the Philippians for their partnership. I thank my God every time I remember you, every time I think of you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy and willen hills, that is true for me as well. To our committed at this church, I am so grateful for you. And just like a child, bringing joy to parents.

May we all bring joy to Christ in our service and spurring one another on because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. He thanked the Thessalonians for their growing faith and love for one another. We ought always to thank God for you brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more and the love all of you have for one another is increasing after 24 years, we should be loving one another better and more. It's increasing, it's not decreasing. To the Colossians, he thanked God for their love for others.

We always thank God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ. Of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God's people. And on September 11th, we're gathering our committed, those we've been encouraging. Today, we're gathering you for a volunteer worship night here on campus. Want to encourage you to put that in your calendar, make that a special night.

And I'll share some of what I'll share with you that night. But Woodland Hills, I thank God for you. How you love one another. Show up to serve in our church every single week for partnering in the gospel with us, for taking something that started over 23 years ago and continuing and increasing in it, not. Not fading out, quitting.

We're running our race and we want to run it strong. I just tell you it's making a difference in the lives of so many. Do not grow weary. Do not lose heart. And I want to close with this clip and I'll come back and close it in a second of Dr. Dobson being asked some profound questions.

If you were going to give one last talk, you knew that you could only speak one last time, what would you talk about? I would talk about the theme of that book, which is Winning your children to Christ, your legacy, the greatest gift. I've written 35 books or so, and all of them point toward this one way or the other. That's the capstone of my professional life. If you could ask God one question, what would it be?

Why? Why what? Yeah, why indeed? There's so many questions you can't answer. That's right.

Jesus asked it. Yeah. Jesus said, that ought to bring comfort to those who say, why would you do this to me? Jesus asked the same question. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

And why is. Is such a relevant question. Right. Because God never answers it. Right.

He will not be accountable to man. What would an older James Dobson. What would you say? Here's what I've learned in life. Here's what you need to know.

Two words. Finish strong. I see.

We see the patriarchs of the Bible. Samson, Solomon. Yes. David. So many of them.

Hezekiah, who lived a godly life. Now it's true. And then fell. That's right. And I. I realize it could still happen to me.

Finish strong. Yes.

So for those ready to take the step from the congregation and just being here week after week, participating, we want to encourage you. It is not too late to serve. You're like, I am 80 years old. I am 90 years old. I'll say it again.

It is not too late to serve. Opportunities we have at our church. Starting point is next month. You can sign up and show up. This is a big one.

If you sign up to serve, I just have to encourage cause. Stephanie Watson said this to me a hundred times this week. Make sure you don't forget this last line. Show up. If you sign up and commit, which is the word we've been on today, follow through on your commitment.

Show up. Because if not, there will be a spot there. And think about the family bringing their kids and there's no one there. Like this is important that it's not just the heart to serve, the desire to serve, but the follow through. If you sign up, show up.

Sweet spot booths are gonna be outside. Pop up booths. Next Sunday, we celebrate baptism. It's not too late to sign up for baptism. We have over 50 people registered again to be baptized next week and there is still room for you.

And you can sign up and show up for that as well. The prayer team will be down front. Would you pray with me? Father, I thank you for this church. I thank you for what you're doing in the hearts and lives of those who have walked with you for longer than I've been alive, that they would finish strong, that they would run, that whatever health conditions may hit them, whatever diagnosis may hit them, whatever may slow them down, that they still won't quit, and they'll continue until they take their last breath, following you and spurring one another on to loving, good deeds.

I thank you for the seasoned believers in my life, many of them with you now who have spurred me on, grateful for them. And I just pray that the seasoned or, say, senior believers in this room would see that this is probably their most influential season of life, and that they would. They would finish strong and go strong. As an example to the rest of us, I just pray for the one who's never placed faith in Jesus that today would be the day of their salvation. We pray all of this in the authority of the name of Jesus.

And everyone agreed and said amen.